Getting your player ready...
Doug and Loan Fleetwood of Parker owned a ski condo in Summit County since 1996; but when they discovered Base Camp One at Granby Ranch, re-priced last year to 35% off its 2009 prices, the deal was too good to pass up. “It’s the kids that ask to go back to Granby Ranch,” says Loan Fleetwood, readying daughters Elan, 8, and Mandy, 6, to head up this weekend. “They do everything on their own — get on the QuickDraw chairlift by themselves, use the sledding hill and ‘snow mountain.’ They feel more grown up; you don’t get that at any other resort.”
This weekend is a chance to not only to see Base Camp One, right beside the lifts at Granby Ranch’s SolVista ski area, but also take advantage of a Presidents Day free-ski-gear special: up to $3,000 worth if you contract now. Base Camp One is exactly at the halfway point of selling its 1-to-3-bedroom condos…far enough that developer Greg Finch of Dundee Resort Development is looking at prices – still 35% off, and contemplating a bump.
“It’s the gen-Xers that are saying, ‘Hey, let’s do it,'” Finch told me. “They’re active, they’re involved, and they want to bring their friends.”
That crowd watches from the patio at Seven Trails Grille as their kids ski, and roast s’mores by the firepit later on. Later this year, owners get another dividend as Granby Ranch opens its pool and hot tub steps from Base Camp One – adding to a package of amenities that already includes season lift passes (and bike trials by summer); four foursomes on the Headwaters Golf Course; fly-fishing on Granby Ranch’s lease along the Fraser River; a riverside overnight camp, and more.
Meanwhile, these are large, luxuriously appointed units, some as much as $250,000 off their 2009 price: The Fleetwood’s is a 3-bedroom plan with 1,875 square feet, including a loft, and a huge deck overlooking the base mountain and a forest panorama. “The girls love to hike,” Loan Fleetwood adds, noting that the family also snowshoes, boats on Granby Reservoir, and has made friends with numbers of other families – a few from back east, but mainly from Boulder, Erie, Castle Pines and other Front Range areas.
Developer Finch adds that being at the 50%-sold mark opens up even better financing opportunities. “We have great momentum now,” he says. “With the economy improving and the stock market at 12,200 we should be able to raise prices, and the people who have bought are already making money.”
Base Camp One, still at 35% off, can be toured via Granby Ranch’s Mountain Preview Center, 15 miles past Winter Park on U.S. 40 to Village Road (before the light), then right 2 miles.
If you go…
WHERE: Base Camp One at Granby Ranch, 35%-off on new 1-to-3-bed ski-in/out condos beside SolVista; ski/golf/fishing membership included; Presidents Weekend special, up to $3,000 family ski equipment free with purchase. 300 Base Camp Cir., Granby; from I-70 take U.S. 40 west 43 mi. (15 mi. past Winter Park) to Village Rd., right 2 mi. to the Mountain Preview Cntr on left
PRICE: From under $200,000
WHEN: Today & daily 8 a.m. – 5 p.m.
PHONE: 970-887-5250
WEB: BaseCampLiving.com
Mark Samuelson is president of Samuelson & Associates, a homebuilding/real estate communications firm. You can e-mail him at mark@samuelsonassoc.com.
