Significant changes are finally on the horizon for Granby Ranch, evidence that the 5,000-acre Grand County development may finally be finding its niche as a year-round resort.
Resort developer Gerry Engle has spent much of the past three years trying to reposition the ranch, which includes the SolVista Basin ski area, as a community that caters to “first-time second-home” buyers from the Front Range.
“The beginning was really about trying to find a vision for this place,” said Engle, principal of the Edwards-based Atira Group, which is developing Granby Ranch with owners Marise and Celso Cipriani. “This year will be this first year that the construction is finally visible.”
Three new developers have signed on to build projects at Granby Ranch, including Dundee Realty USA, owner of Arapahoe Basin and developer of several high-end residential projects in the Vail Valley.
From top to bottom
Avon-based Dundee, a subsidiary of Toronto-based Dundee Corp., announced recently it plans to build 350 condominiums and townhomes both at the base and atop the SolVista ski area.
Construction will begin this spring on Dundee’s first phase, called Base Camp One, featuring 64 furnished one- to three-bedroom condos starting in the low-$300,000 range.
“I think Grand County’s time has come,” said Greg Finch, executive vice president of Dundee. “This is an opportunity to be involved on the ground floor in something that is going to be really big.”
Real estate prices and demand in Grand County are on the rise, aided in large part by the new base village being built at nearby Winter Park Resort by resort giant Intrawest.
But at least one local real estate broker said he’s worried about the growing inventory levels in the Granby area.
Other major projects in the works include the 800-home Grand Elk golf community and the 700-unit Orvis Shorefox development.
Not enough activity?
“I have my concerns that there isn’t enough activity to support this large number of units,” said Ray Steinbach of Granby’s United Country Real Estate Central.
Meanwhile, more development is in the works. An affiliate of the Denver-based Adair Group recently completed 54 condos at Granby Ranch, 50 of which have been sold. It plans to break ground this spring on another 87 units priced between $202,000 and $299,000.
A third company, Lodgepole Homes, also recently bought 71 single-family sites at Granby Ranch.
The developers are following Englewood-based Village Homes, which purchased 280 homesites at Granby Ranch in 2005. Forty-eight of its homes have sold to date.
The community will eventually have about 4,000 homes, making it one of the largest mountain-resort communities in the state.
Cash infusion lined up
Last summer, Engle lined up a $30 million cash infusion for infrastructure work on the project in the form of a bond issue, a loan and an investment.
Other projects this summer include the $3.5 million conversion of the resort’s Headwaters Golf Course into a Jack Nicklaus golf course and a $5.5 million remodel of the SolVista base lodge.
The Ciprianis bought the property, then known at the Silver Creek ski area, out of bankruptcy in 1995 for $12 million. The previous owners were killed in a plane crash.
“It has been a long time coming, but I think excitement is finally building for this community,” said Jim Glenn, owner of Glenn Realty in Granby. “Their horizontal sales have been very good over the past two years.”
Staff writer Julie Dunn can be reached at 303-954-1592 or jdunn@denverpost.com.
