Getting your player ready...
If you charted prices for luxury ski condos since 2009, you’ll see a graph that drops like a ski slope – costs-per-foot plummeting for two years and then leveling out. On the SolVista mountain 90 minutes west of Denver at Granby Ranch, Dundee Resort Development (its Base Camp One sold 30 luxury-sized, ski-in/ski-out condos this year) has looked at those numbers…and not only plotted the bottom of the slope, but the point where prices started to lift off again.
“We’re clearly seeing the turnaround,” said Greg Finch, president of the U.S. subsidiary of $3 billion-backed Toronto-based Dundee Resort Development. Prices-per-foot at Base Camp One topped off late in 2009 averaging $450/square foot…then nosed over to around $238 by second quarter of 2010. From that moment, Finch notes, prices at Base Camp One have begun angling upward, to around $280 or $290 now.
Meanwhile, coming into the new season from its setting overlooking the base of family-friendly SolVista (three lifts are now open) the project posted some of the highest sales in Grand County this year. During those months Base Camp One sailed past the 50%-mark in total sales (which makes financing easier) – and to keep up the momentum, resort specialists at Granby Ranch are giving you two good reasons to look at those prices now, before New Year’s: Come visit Base Camp One this weekend or over the holidays, and your family can ski SolVista and its terrain for free during your visit. And if you like the experience, Dundee is offering a Christmas Special that could have you in a luxury 2-bedroom or 3-bedroom ski-in/out home, with your HOA including skiing and a number of foursomes of golf on Granby Ranch’s Headwaters Golf Course, totally covered for your first two years of ownership.
Finch adds that Base Camp One is already on track to increase prices in 2012. Dundee Resort Development has plenty of experience dealing with ups-and-downs of the ski market. When Finch became president in 1992, he did mixed-use developments around Beaver Creek, then purchased popular A-Basin near Denver and launched it on a 15-year expansion. In 2006, Finch drove over the ridge from U.S. 40 near Granby and eyed SolVista and its scenic valley – ski mountain on one end; golf course descending to the Fraser River on the other, crested by peaks in Rocky Mountain National Park. The ski area was headed for a major upgrade – new terrain to appeal to younger skiers, and a new look for the lodge and its Seven Trails Grille (Base Camp One residents congregate there at the end of the day to watch their kids ski in). Jack Nicklaus Design was making over the Headwaters course – and together with a new pool and spa tub (it opens this season) Finch saw a genuine four-season resort experience – skiing, golf, mountain biking, and fishing (Base Camp One residents get to fish Granby Ranch’s private lease on the Fraser River as part of their package).
“Ski resorts are historically more resilient than cruises and other sport-oriented resorts in maintaining momentum through a down market,” Finch said, noting that U.S. ski areas saw their best-ever performance last year with over 60 million visits. At Granby Ranch, you can tour one-bedroom units from under $200,000; 2-and-3-bedroom homes with room for visiting friends and family (including the Christmas Special) from just under $300,000…all with huge decks, fireplaces, and choice finishes. Granby Ranch’s Mountain Preview Center is 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, Christmas Special on 2-3 bedroom ski-in/out condos beside SolVista; 2 years skiing, package of golf foursomes & HOA dues included free; ski free this weekend when you tour. 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 Mountain Preview Cntr on left
PRICE: From under $200,000, 2-bedroom condos from under $300,000
WHEN: Today, Saturday, Sunday & daily 8 a.m. – 5 p.m.
PHONE: 888-850-4615 toll free WEB: BaseCampLiving.com
