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Silvertree Hotel under contract

Steve Alldredge
Snowmass Village correspondent

The 260-room Silvertree Hotel, one of Snowmass Village’s oldest and largest businesses, is under contract for sale to a handful of local investors, including Basalt developers Jim Light and Jim Chaffin.

The sale continues the recent Snowmass Village trend in commercial properties toward consolidation of ownership. The contract also includes the 140-room Wildwood Lodge and the Snowmass Conference Center. If it closes, the sale will put Snowmass Village’s largest hotel and its only conference center under ownership of the same interests that have recently taken control of the Snowmass Center and much of the Snowmass Mall.

For many years, there had been few changes in the ownership of local commercial properties. But in the last year, there have been numerous property consolidations and sales throughout Snowmass Village.



In addition to Chaffin/Light Associates, the partnership that has entered into a purchase agreement with longtime Silvertree owner Rod Burwell includes Wilhelm Family Partnership Interests and Jeff Klein. Klein’s company recently purchased a partial interest in portions of the Snowmass Mall and the Snowmass Center, which includes the Conoco gas station property. David Wilhelm, along with Light and Chaffin, is a managing partner of the Roaring Fork Club in Basalt.

“I think it’s a good thing for town,” former Town Councilman Bob Purvis said. “A consolidation of ownership of the upper village commercial core may make it easier to reinvent and revitalize that area. And that is important to the village as a whole because the upper village area is a vital commercial core for our tourist resort business.”




Light and Chaffin developed the original Snowmass Club, a number of affordable housing projects and contributed properties to the Anderson Ranch Arts Center, the Snowmass Chapel and to the town for trails.

“We feel like this is a kind of a bookend opportunity for us,” said Light, co-managing partner of Basalt’s Roaring Fork Club. “Our first role in Snowmass was as the town’s second major developer. Now in this new role, we’ve combined with some new partners to explore this urban renewal opportunity. We’ll be listening to second-home owners and residents to get their ideas before we proceed.”

The purchase agreement is scheduled to close in April 2007.

“I think what it says for town is that some smart people who I respect a lot have a lot of confidence in the future of Snowmass. I think it’s great that they do,” said former Mayor Jeff Tippett.

Wilhelm, Chaffin and Light also purchased the Holland House ski lodge in Aspen last fall.

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