East One Snowmass building close to completion, set to be “substantially” finished in March

Over the first few months of winter, officials have expressed positive engagement and traffic throughout Base Village as a result of having new businesses and spaces open to the public, including The Collective and mix6, Eye Pieces of Snowmass and Straight Line Studios.

But these new businesses that opened for the first time in December are just a handful of what’s planned to come online in Base Village early this year.

The east One Snowmass building, which will include a mix of private residences and local businesses and was initially set to open in January, is still receiving its final touches. The public will see a sort of phased opening of the building over the next several months as each tenant works to finish the build-out of their spaces, said Andy Gunion, managing partner of East West Partners in Snowmass.

On a recent afternoon, Gunion weaved through the hallways and stairwells teeming with people working in the new Base Village building. He showed off a few of the fractional ownership residences, which can have as many as 15 owners and are fully furnished.

Gunion also explained that the contractors working for East West Partners should be finished with all 11 fractional and 19 whole ownership units in the east building, along with their amenities — including a private gym, pool deck and an Inspirato lounge open to all Inspirato members and One Snowmass residents — by mid-February.

The rest of the building “core and shell” should be “substantially completed” by March 1, Gunion said.

“It’s been a really good start to the season,” Gunion said of Base Village. “A lot of people have been waiting to see what this place is going to look like when it’s actually finished, and now they’ve been able to get a sense of what it will be.”

According to Gunion, East West Partners recently sold three penthouse units over a 15-day period, one in the Limelight, one in the Viceroy and one in the east One Snowmass building, which he attributes to the new businesses and spaces added to Base Village this season.

He said the total value of the three sales was around $25 million, and said East West Partners has also sold seven of its 11 whole ownership units in the west One Snowmass building, along with about 20 of the roughly 90 fractional ownership shares in the east One Snowmass building that have been placed on the market so far.

Although he said East West Partners anticipates the newest One Snowmass building to be mostly finished by March 1 — minus some landscaping that can’t be done until spring — he said some of the building tenants might open their doors later.

The new Snowmass Clinic is one of those tenants. Originally set to open in mid-January, the new roughly 6,000-foot acute illness and injury care space will open after the ski season in April.

“We decided we did not want to pursue opening until all of the construction on the exterior is complete,” said Jennifer Slaughter, chief marketing officer for Aspen Valley Hospital, referring to some ongoing exterior brick and concrete work in the new clinic area.

“And we thought well, even if it is completed during the ski season, that’s the middle of our busiest time and closing even for one day isn’t feasible.”

The Snowmass Clinic will continue to operate out of its Village Mall location until after the ski season in April, Slaughter said, and noted that both clinic and hospital officials are excited to move into the Base Village space.

The new Alux Spalon and JUS Aspen locations also are expected to open after March 1, as Gunion said the two businesses are working with separate contractors to build out their spaces. The Snowmass Sun could not reach either business owner for comment.

However, King Yoga, run by local yogi Aaron King, is on track to open by March 1.

King, a longtime Snowmass local, said he’d hoped to open his Base Village studio earlier but is working through some layout changes with East West Partners’ contractors, who are building out his space.

From daily classes for adults and kids, to teacher training for aspiring yogis, King said he has a lot of offerings planned for his Snowmass studio and is excited to open in March.

“In the past, King Yoga has been about me, but I want to help younger teachers find a voice and give them the space to grow,” King said. “I’m really excited to bring King Yoga to Snowmass. It’s a beautiful space and a hidden gem to me.”

mvincent@aspentimes.com