Snowmass closes in on land purchase for workforce housing

More workforce housing could come to the heart of Snowmass.

The town on Tuesday moved a step closer to purchasing four acres behind the Snowmass Center to use for workforce housing. The Snowmass Planning Commission approved, with conditions, Eastwood Snowmass Investors’ redevelopment design of the center and its surrounding area, which designates land parcels at the site for residential or commercial use.  

Eastwood owns the center and its surrounding land.

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As per local regulations requiring the separation of commercial and residential land usage on the site, the town council must approve the plan before completing the purchase. With commission approval in the Tuesday meeting, town council is slated to continue the review process on Dec. 16.

Jordan Sarick, general partner of Eastwood Snowmass Investors, said selling the land to the town would be a “win-win.”

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“It’s good for us. But I really like that we can also do something good for the town,” Sarick said. “We have a housing crisis — not just in this community, not just in this valley, but in many parts of the country.”

If the sale goes through, Snowmass will spend $12.5 million on the land, which includes the four acres and additional area around the center not to be used for housing, according to its 2025 budget. 

The town could build up to 130 housing units on the land, furthering the town’s goal to provide 185 workforce housing units by 2030 as outlined in the town’s Housing Master Plan. 

But the sale is not yet final. 

Town council must still approve Eastwood’s plan for the 40-year-old center, which increases the square footage of the building by about 31%, doubles the size of the post office, and enlarges Clark’s Market. 

Though the planning commission approved the design, with conditions, commissioners voiced various concerns about the three-story redevelopment. 

While the new design of the Snowmass Center includes an atrium and outdoor space on the second floor above Clark’s Market to foster community building, Council member Jim Gustafson worries that the design lacks elements encouraging organic interactions between residents.

“I think it kind of misses the point when you have these spaces where you have to go to,” Gustafson said of the designed community spaces. He would prefer the interactions to happen without having to go to a designated community building space. 

He estimates that he has been to the current Snowmass Center about 25,000 times over the course of his time living in Snowmass to either go to the grocery store or visit the post office.

During those visitations, he valued bumping into other community members as at the current center the post office and Clark’s Market are barely separated and encourage interaction, he said. 

The new design for the center separates the doors of the Clark’s Market and the post office by 120 feet, which the commissioners worried would limit these interactions. 

The commissioners set a condition to create a cover for the outdoor pedestrian commute between the spaces, including areas to sit, decorated areas, fire pits, and more, to encourage community building. 

The commissioners also voiced various concerns about the design of the building, discussing their condition that the redevelopment is an “architectural element that is iconic in nature to define the Snowmass Center as a significant landmark that enhances and blends with the existing character of Snowmass Village as a world class ski destination.”

They discussed whether the current plan could be considered “iconic.”

“When I first saw the plans I thought, ‘It’s a good looking project,'” Planning Commision Chair Brian Marshack said.

He added that a height variance for the building could benefit the design. 

“At the end of the day, something that would create a sense of place,” Marshack said, of his preferred design. “Architecture can do that very easily without breaking the bank.”

Kathleen Wanatowicz, who runs community relations for Eastwood, said Eastwood’s goal is to keep the original character and purpose of the building in their new design.

“The Snowmass Center is a very special place, and it is the center of community interaction in Snowmass Village. And the intent of this PUD amendment remains the same: of being the community hub of Snowmass Village,” Wanatowicz said of their redevelopment plan.

Skyler Stark-Ragsdale can be reached at 970-429-9152 or email him at sstark-ragsdale@aspentimes.com.