Vail – The Vail Town Council approved a development agreement with a Texas company to build a $600 million mixed- use development on the site of the Lionshead parking structure that would include a W Hotel and a St. Regis hotel.
The deal still hinges on Vail Resorts Inc. removing a deed restriction on the parking structure and completion of a new structure before the old one is torn down.
The proposed project would host the two hotels, 60,000 square feet of retail space, residential condominiums and a conference center.
Additional business news briefs:
DENVER
Qwest to inspect poles after injury
Qwest will inspect its wooden poles in Colorado for decay and other deterioration after a jury found the company liable for a 2004 accident that paralyzed a utility lineman.
The Denver-based company said in recent court filings it will replace or reinforce defective poles during the review starting this month. Qwest has about 157,000 poles across the state.
DENVER
Rental vacancies dip; average rates climb
Vacancies in rental houses and condominiums in the metro area reached a six-year low during the second quarter.
The vacancy rate for small properties across metro Denver dropped to 4 percent, from 4.2 percent during the first quarter and 7.1 percent during the second quarter last year, according to a survey released Wednesday by the Colorado Division of Housing.
Average rental rates increased to $946.07 for the quarter, up from $937.18 in the first quarter and $931.53 in the second quarter last year.
DENVER
Qwest seeks to limit vacation during talks
Qwest has asked its managers and executives not to schedule time off for August and September 2008 because the company will be negotiating a new contract with its union.
The company’s contract with the union, which represents about 22,000 Qwest workers, expires Aug. 16, 2008. “We need to ensure that we deliver outstanding customer service,” Qwest spokeswoman Carolyn Tyler said of the vacation request. “It’s standard operating procedure.”
CHICAGO
Aimco to face class-action lawsuit
Aimco, the Denver-based real-estate investment trust and property manager, must face a class-action lawsuit accusing it of failing to pay overtime wages to leasing agents manning its call centers, an Illinois judge ruled.
Eight named plaintiffs made the requisite “modest factual showing” that they may have been victims of a company policy that violated the federal Fair Labor Standards Act, U.S. District Judge Robert Gettleman wrote.
WASHINGTON
Routt County mine still without plan
The Foidel Creek Mine in Routt County is the last remaining underground coal mine in the nation without an approved emergency-response plan, the Mine Safety and Health Administration said Wednesday.
The regulatory agency issued a citation to Twenty Mile Coal Co., operator of the mine, for failing to submit an emergency-response plan that complies with the requirements of the Mine Improvement and New Emergency Response Act. Foidel’s emergency plan failed to make provisions for providing breathable air for miners who could be trapped underground.
JEFFERSON COUNTY
Lockheed Martin, USAF lab win award
Lockheed Martin and the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory won an award from the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics for their Experimental Satellite System-11 On-Orbit demonstration. The 2007 Technical Achievement Award was presented Wednesday at AIAA’s Space 2007 conference.
DENVER
Software association tabs keynote talker
Tim Armstrong, president of advertising and commerce for Google’s North America division, will be the keynote speaker for the Colorado Software Industry Association DemoGala on Oct. 11.
