In Brief: New library director; condos in Snowmass sell like hotcakes; Bed Bath & Beyond closing in Glenwood

Pitkin County chooses new library director

The Pitkin County Library Board has appointed Genevieve Smith to fill the position of Pitkin County Library director. The position is being vacated by longtime Director Kathleen “Kathy” Chandler who is retiring. Smith will assume her new role on Feb. 26.  

Library Board President John Wilkinson said the board made its decision after a long and deliberate process. “We couldn’t be more fortunate than having Genevieve as our next librarian,” he said.

A native of the Roaring Fork Valley, Smith grew up in Carbondale and graduated from the University of Northern Colorado. She taught English for three years at Basalt High School and coached speech and debate. Then she worked for the town of Snowmass Village, where she began studying evenings for a master’s degree in library science from Clarion University.

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Smith began her career with the Pitkin County Library in 2010 as a library assistant and has been promoted through the ranks. For the past two years, she has served as assistant library director in charge of collection development and programming. She established and has curated the library’s vast eBook and digital resource collection, which aims to bring the library to patrons wherever they are.

Early sales success for Snowmass Cirque Residences

East West Partners, and Slifer Smith & Frampton Real Estate  announced Monday that the newest residential collection in the Snowmass Base Village, Cirque Residences at the Viceroy Snowmass, sold 41 of the 46 of its available slope-side residences in the first eight days of sales. List pricing for the residences range from $2.5 million to $11.75 million, with sales reaching over $150 million in the first five days of sales.

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To date, East West Partners and Slifer are responsible for over half a billion dollars in total closed and pending sales volume in the Snowmass Base Village, including Cirque x Viceroy, Aura, Electric Pass Lodge, Havens on Fanny Hill, One Snowmass East and West , Lumin, Limelight and the original Viceroy Residences.  

“We really hit on all the right things at exactly the right time with Cirque x Viceroy and with a price point that is a sweet spot for this market,” said Toscha Vozzella, East West Partner’s project manager for Cirque x Viceroy. “Given the success of the sales launch, I think it’s clear the Aspen/Snowmass market continues to be world-wide destination that is attractive to buyers looking for a legacy mountain home.”

All 46 residences are in a new tower of the Viceroy Snowmass and were sold turnkey with a furniture and housewares package including kitchen, bath accessories, linens, TVs and window coverings. Floor plan options include 2-bedroom and 2-bedroom lock-offs, 3-bedroom lock-offs, 3-bedrooms + dens and 4-bedroom Grand Penthouses. The residences range in size from 1,189 to 2,386 square feet. 

Ownership includes access to the full-service Viceroy Snowmass amenities and services, including multiple on-site restaurants, in-room dining, year-rounded heated pool and spa and spa pools, world-class spa, fully equipped fitness center, full-service ski valet, residential services, on-site concierge and more. Construction began in November 2022 with estimated completion in Q3 2024.

Bed Bath & Beyond closing in Glenwood Springs

The Glenwood Springs Bed Bath & Beyond at Glenwood Meadows will be closing soon, with little information about when or what might take its place. 

After the corporation announced defaulting on loans, the company said it would have to close additional stores throughout the nation this year. Glenwood Springs, as well as its Grand Junction location, were added to the list of closures. 

“They’ve been really vague about everything, but everything is on sale,” said Lisa Parmelee, operations manager for the Glenwood store.

Parmelee said that the location is no longer taking coupons, but memberships are still being honored. The current discounts are around 10 to 20%, with some of the holiday stuff marked down to 50%.

She said the discounts will get progressively higher throughout the next month or two. 

Vail police chief retiring

After 21 years of service, Police Chief Dwight Henninger announced his retirement from the Vail Police Department effective March 17.  

During his tenure at the Vail Police Department, Henninger received many awards and aimed to bring stability to the agency.

“I am particularly proud of the exceptional Vail Police employees I have had the pleasure of leading, of the work building trust with the Eagle County Law Enforcement Immigrant Alliance and of the emergency management work to build the capacity of Vail and the Northwest Region to respond to critical incidents,” Henninger said. 

Henninger completed a term as the president of the International Association of Chiefs of Police in October 2022. In this role, he represented Vail and Colorado worldwide and domestically, helping advance the policing profession in the 170 countries that are members of the association. His efforts to create a long-term strategy of trust building between policing agencies and the communities they serve has been recognized as a significant shift from the organization’s previous history of single-year presidential priorities. 

Henninger has accepted a newly created position with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives as the senior law enforcement partnership adviser in Washington D.C.