Growth and development might be the norm for touristy Estes Park, but residents are beginning to draw the line, especially when it involves the famed Stanley Hotel.
This week, a group of longtime residents took the first steps toward blocking the construction of condos, a shopping plaza, restaurant and wedding reception hall next to the icon.
The old-school, opulent Stanley, built in 1906, has hosted renowned guests such as President Theodore Roosevelt. It’s best known as author Stephen King’s inspiration for the horror classic “The Shining,” and today’s guests are warned that ghosts wander the hotel’s hallways.
So it galled Byron Hall that the town would consider selling a 7-acre parcel of land near the Stanley to a local developer for $1.25 million. The resulting shopping and condo complex would mar the hotel’s scenic vista and degrade its grand history, said Hall, whose grandfather worked as the first superintendent of the hotel.
“The Stanley stands up there as a crown jewel of the town, and people don’t want that taken away,” Hall said.
His group collected 766 signatures on a petition that would require the city to put any sale of public land in the Stanley Historic District — including the Stanley Hotel parcel — to a vote. If enough signatures are valid, the Town Board would take up the issue Dec. 11. The sale of the land near the Stanley then would be postponed until it could be voted on by residents.
Stanley Hotel owner John Cullen also is against the current proposal, but for a different reason. He wants to buy the land and build nine luxury cottages and include a 100-foot- wide wildlife migration corridor.
Estes Park owns four lots in the Stanley Historic District, including Lot 4, which it sold to developer Ed Grueff of Estes Winds LLC last year. But the contract was rescinded on a technicality in Larimer County District Court, said Town Manager Randy Repola.
Estes Park again is offering the land to Estes Winds with the hopes of using the proceeds to build a performing arts center at the Stanley Fairgrounds and make other improvements there, Repola said.
The complex near the Stanley would help the town raise about $200,000 annually in badly needed sales-tax revenue, said Estes Mayor John Baudek.
Located just southeast of the Stanley, the Lot 4 development would be low-key and designed with a Western flavor, officials say.
“I think a lot of people believe this will be nothing but a strip mall, and nothing could be further from the truth,” Baudek said.
Estes Park’s population has steadily increased over the past decade to about 6,000. So has the number of residential projects that went unchallenged, said Fred Mares.
The Estes property owner recently led the fight against the proposed 42-condominium project called Wapiti Crossing.
Last week, public pressure helped prompt the town planning board to turn down the plan.
But as more homes compete against open space and wildlife in the town, residents are now more likely to speak up, Mares said.
“I think this and other projects coming in have tapped into some pent-up frustration among people,” Mares said. “We used to think, ‘We can’t do anything about this.’ Well, that might be changing.”
Monte Whaley: 720-929-0907 or mwhaley@denverpost.com
