Village Voices: Base Village staff look at plans for summer; adds ice cream shop to the mix

For this month’s Town Talk, the Snowmass Sun asked Andy Gunion, managing partner of East West Partners, for an update on how things are going in Base Village amid the novel coronavirus pandemic.

Needless to say, not much is happening. On a recent Sunday afternoon, the walkways were empty, businesses were shuttered and all was quiet except for the sounds of music and skateboard wheels sliding across the barren ice rink area where two people were practicing their skills.

However, according to Gunion, there is some activity and news to report from Base Village. The east One Snowmass building is 98% to 99% finished with just the various tenant build-outs and some “punch list things” on the outside to complete, which should happen soon now that construction has been allowed to resume.

East West Partners also is working on the build-out of the plaza level commercial space in the Capitol Peak building, adjacent to the west One Snowmass building and Eye Pieces, for its newest Base Village tenant: Sundae Ice Cream, a Colorado-based artisan ice cream shop with locations in Vail, Edwards and Glenwood Springs (opening soon) that plans to open in Snowmass this summer, Gunion said.

“This is the last retail space not leased in the village,” Gunion said. “We’ve always considered having an ice cream shop here. … A lot of our new food and beverage offerings are more health-focused, so we wanted to offset that with a treat option.”

Gunion said the Base Village ice cream shop was originally on track to open before July but that the construction schedule is being re-evaluated due to COVID-19. A more formal announcement about the new ice cream shop will be released in the near future, Gunion said.

When asked how Base Village and East West Partners have been impacted by the COVID-19 crisis, Gunion said that while losing the last few weeks in March and early April has been hard, so far the drops in sales and tourism has mostly aligned with what the village would expect in the normal offseason.

However, Gunion noted that doesn’t make the losses for tenants due to the crisis any easier and emphasized the fact that the summer season is a mystery.

Base Village staff is working with tenants to evaluate what reopening, when it is safe to do so, will look like and what summer events will be possible with new social distancing and safety protocols.

“We’re creating plans for summer knowing we have to be flexible,” Gunion said. “Once it makes sense for people to travel and visit, we want people to feel safe and think this is a great place to be to hike, bike and take part in other activities as a family but also away from other people.”

Gunion said East West Partners also has worked with its tenants and properties to help support the community through things like donating 130 pairs of goggles for the national “Goggle for Docs” campaign, and the care package giveaway for furloughed employees at the Viceroy Snowmass Resort, which is owned by Snowmass Ventures, a joint-venture that includes East West Partners, Aspen Skiing Co. and KSL Capital Partners LLC.

Snowmass Ventures also owns Base Village, though East West Partners manages the village operations.

mvincent@aspentimes.com