There are ski mountains…and then there’s Steamboat, with its ‘champagne powder’…a brand so strong that even this year, four airlines arrive here non-stop from New York, Atlanta and Chicago without going near DIA. Buffalo Pass north of the main gondola, has some of the deepest snowfall records in the state…and 2,000 feet below, you can buy a new, 1-bedroom ski-in ski-out condo for $225,000.
In 2006, 47-acre Wildhorse Meadows at the foot of Steamboat Mountain got off to such a fast start that 41 single-family sites sold out in months, and handsome Trailhead Lodge, with condo prices into the millions, contracted 70% of its units before opening day. Wildhorse, after all, is building its own gondola, set to open in February to the ski area base. There are plans for more luxury homes to come…along with one wrinkle that sounds like opportunity knocking, for anybody who’d like to be part of this at a fraction of the price.
That would be First Tracks, where Wildhorse did 47 deed-restricted condos, 200 yards from the gondola. As on typical government-mandated affordables, there were limits on what appreciation you could make; and you had to work in Routt County to buy. But that all goes out the window today, as First Tracks moves to open-market sales on a revised agreement with the city. Prices are about the same (studios from $179,000, 2-beds from $269,000)…but other limitations are gone. No rules on appreciation, or where you live, what you make, or whether you can rent it out.
“Here’s a product modified from deed restricted to market rate, but the pricing stayed about the same,” said Kerry Shea, Wildhorse’s director of sales, as we toured a 2-bedroom that, save for the laminate tops instead of granite, looks for all the world like it was built for resort skiers, not as an “affordable.” Out the balcony, Steamboat’s Storm Peak towers overhead…and down the hill a few blocks is the new pavilion for Steamboats’ Strings Music Festival.
Part of the deal–Wildhorse Meadows amenities, including resort style pools in a heated slab patio and three hot tubs melded into a landscape inspired by famous Strawberry Hot Springs. To sweeten the deal, you can get a 2009-10 ski pass-for-2, along with a membership in a cozy ‘Alpine Club’ with on-snow ski valet, if you buy by Dec. 20.
Eight families, some from the Front Range, have purchased in the last two weeks. Trailhead Lodge is open today just off the Mt. Werner exit from U.S. 40…or call toll-free for details, 877-886-7772.
WHERE:
First Tracks at Wildhorse Meadows, studio, 1-, 2-bed condos originally deed-restricted, move to the open market at Steamboat Ski Resort. Two 2009/10 season passes & Alpine Club membership with purchase before Dec. 20. U.S. 40 to Mt. Werner (ski area) Exit, rt 0.5 mi. to Pine Grove Rd., rt to Bangtail, left to sales center
PRICE:
From $179,000, 1-bed $225,000, 2-bed $269,000
WHEN:
Today and all week, 9 a.m.-5 p.m.
PHONE:
877-886-7772
WEB:
