One River Run in Keystone Resort Colorado

One of the most speculated and rumored projects in Keystone Ski Resort recently has been the moving of the River Run Gondola.  Originally, it was planned to be the first stage of a partnership between Marriot Hotels and Vail Resorts…creating a ski-in / ski-out luxury time-share type of complex within Keystone Ski Resort.

Marriot ended up pulling the plug on the project and now Vail Resorts has submitted preliminary plans to Summit County using essentially the same plan.  The project begins with moving the Gondola at River Run Village in Keystone Ski Resort, followed by building a new complex in 3 different phases.  The project in its current form consists of 183 new properties, being a mix of studio condos along with 1,2,3, and 4 bedroom condos.  The location of One River Run in Keystone Resort is to be built in the current Hunki Dori parking lot next to The Springs and Red Hawk Lodge.  This project will finish off River Run Village to create a beautiful destination ski resort.

One River Run Keystone Colorado Drawing

Project Narrative: One River Run (An Excerpt from the documents submitted to Summit County, March 2008)

River Run Village, located southeast of the junction of US Highway 6 and Keystone Road, is a mixed-use development of commercial and residential units oriented to the existing ski slopes south of the scenic Snake River. One River Run At Keystone conforms closely to the River Run Village Master plan in layout, size scale of building exterior materials, and character of landscape. This includes permanent improvements, which will remain part of the Village and temporary ones in areas subject to later construction. Temporary improvement will be installed to ensure safe and convenient circulation, temporary parking, and erosion and dust control. The project is located within Parcel A (One River Run) of the River Run area within the Keystone PUD in Summit County, Colorado. The site is approximately 4.813 acres on a lot
that is used as a supplemental parking lot for the ski operations. The Springs and Redhawk Lodge and Condominiums are located north and east of the site, respectively. The site overlooks the Snake River to the south, which also runs along the west boundary of the site. The adjacent area southwest of the site contains the ski school, retail areas, cafeteria building, and support for the gondola located on the south side of the Snake River, across from the One River Run site. Vehicular access to the site is from Hunki-Dori Court on the east side of the site via Montezuma Road. Pedestrian access to River Run Village’s main retail and arrival area is by way of 2 pedestrian bridges. These pedestrian bridges cross the north fork of the Snake River on the west side of the site, at the north and south ends of Building 1. The Fire Department would access the One River Run project from Hunki-Dori Court and will be able to exit the site two ways: 1) they can take the existing path that starts just north of Building 1 and connects out to Montezuma Road between the North Fork of the Snake River and The Springs, or 2) they will go to the end of Hunki-Dori Court and take the trail along the Snake River that goes through the Gondola Plaza and over the bridge into River Run Village. Marriott Vacation Club International (MVCI) and Vail Resorts Development Company (VRDC) had previously planned this site as a hotel/condominium development under the constraints of the River Run PUD and Summit County approvals. That project had progressed to the Building Permit stage. In these previous efforts, a discussion of the project was conducted with The Springs, Redhawk and the Keystone Neighborhood Association.

One River Run Front View

The current proposed site plan by Vail Resorts Development Company is consistent with the previous efforts and maintains a view corridor for The Springs between Buildings 1 & 2. VRDC has met with both the Spring’s and Red Hawk HOA presidents to present the current design direction. Both have indicated full support of the proposed project and the direction of the design. Beginning Spring 2008, Vail Resorts will be relocating the Gondola (presently on the south side of the Snake River) to the north side of the Snake River adjacent to proposed buildings 1 & 2. The relocation of the Gondola will also include the development of a Plaza area adjacent to the new gondola and the One River Run project. In the first phase of the One River Run project, the existing utilities servicing The Springs and The Redhawk developments will need to be relocated due to existing utility locations running directly through the project site. The project is based on the development standards of VRDC’s luxury lodging brand Rock Resorts. The project currently consists of 183 units total (a mix of studios, 1-bedroom, 2- bedroom, 3-bedroom and 4-bedroom units).

The building concept has essentially remained as three main unit buildings (1, 2, and 3) of 5 stories built over an underground parking garage and on snow skier services The project will be constructed in three phases from west to east (opposite from the previously approved site plan of the Grand Residences) in the building sequences of 1, 2, and 3. It is currently anticipated that the garage will be constructed in similar phases concurrent with each corresponding building.

Circulation:
The traffic circulation on the site will be to the north of the structure. Access will be from Hunki-Dori Court into the existing Springs driveway. The entry Port-Cochere on the One River Run building is located between Buildings 1 and 2. Parking for the project will be
operated by full time valet services managed by the buildings’ property management. All cars are dropped off at that location where the valet will transport the vehicles into the underground parking garage (the entry is just west of the valet).

One River Run Side View

Landscaping:
The proposed landscaping plan utilizes a mix of conifers, deciduous trees, shrubs, perennials, and native grass areas to landscape the project. The landscaping around the buildings focuses more on deciduous trees and shrubs with increased use of conifers to the north. The heavy use of deciduous trees and shrubs next to the structure allows for a greater number of plantings while still maintaining compliance with the County’s Fire Mitigation Regulations.

UPDATE 4/18/08:
The One River Run project was approved by Summit County, Colorado this week. This gives a green light to proceed as planned and new developement will now be official in Keystone Resort. Some of the highlights and other infomation from the approval are:

  • Project will be LEED certified.
  • Vail Resorts wants to operate it as a “condotel” so it will have a high-end hotel feel and amenities, but will be all full-ownership condos.
  • There will be mandatory 24-hour valet parking.  Due to the space in the garage, it is tandem parking so self-parking will not be possible.
  • Vail Resorts has tried to create a better “skier experience” and therefore have expanded the plaza and common areas over what was originally in the Marriot plan, so better for Keystone Resort overall.
  • Vail Resorts also modified the original plan to preserve more of the view corridors for the Springs.
  • There will be paved, plowed pedestrian trails leading around the building on both sides so that Springs and Red Hawk guests can easily get to the gondola (those guests will not be able to walk through the building itself).
  • The president of the Springs HOA commented that the developers have done a great job coordinating with the owners in the surrounding buildings and trying to address their concerns.
  • Their goal is to break ground in spring of 2009 and complete one phase per year, starting on the west side and completing the major amenities (pool etc) and skier services (restaurant/rental shop) as part of Phase 1.
  • Traffic patterns seem to be a major concern of the surrounding homeowners.  Since there will be no public parking in that area anymore, the developers think that the traffic will decrease.  They also plan to limit the size of the trucks that can do deliveries to the loading dock so that there are not large semis going in and out.
  • Marketing research has shown the demand for larger square footage – hence the larger unit available (1BRs start at 825sqft, 2BR’s at 1264sqft, 3BR’s at 1713sqft and 4BR at 2116).

For more information about One River Run and the investment opportunities surrounding the project, contact The Walsh Group in Keystone. They specialize in Keystone Resort Real Estate and can help you find the perfect investment property in Keystone Ski Resort.

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