If you’ve thought about creating a mountain retreat for your family but had given up the idea after seeing where prices are headed in Vail and Breckenridge, Koelbel and Company has an eye-opener for you today on the scenic end of Grand County, 15 minutes north of Winter Park. Koelbel has bought over a hundred homesites at Grand Elk, the golf resort near Granby, and is ready to show off its first offerings there: a neighborhood of big single-family homes and ranches at prices way below those I-70 resort areas.
Stop by Koelbel’s information center at Rendezvous, on the north end of the town of Winter Park, and Grand Elks’ sales team will give you one of the first looks inside Koelbel’s Fairway Villa model home in Grand Elk — a main-floor master-suite plan with wide-open, mountain-themed entertainment spaces and a two-car attached garage. The price is $495,000, a real price that can deliver a home on a lot in Koelbel’s new neighborhood.
Next door, you can see a 1,704-square-foot ranch plan that Koelbel is framing up, with a base price of only $465,000 — way below the average price of a single-family home back in the Denver area now. When you tour the finished main-floor master-suite model, you’re looking at around $50,000 in upgrades for special wood floors, a fireplace and surround, and other goodies — but Koelbel’s basic package includes the cabinets and wood beam ceilings.
More remarkable is the view out the back. Koelbel is releasing five sites, one of which backs to the third fairway of the Grand Elk course and two to BLM open space. The panoramas are characteristic of this part of Grand County, including craggy Arapahoe Peak to the north. Koelbel’s premiums for those three prime lots are only $10,000 to $25,000.
Not surprising, a Boulder couple have already taken the offer, planning to actually move up here year-round, while giving the kids a place to come and hang out on weekends.
“This part of Grand County is really a year-round experience,” says Koelbel’s Kristin Hanson — not just the downhill, but Nordic skiing close by, and flyfishing, hiking and other summertime allures in the Arapahoe National Forest, at Grand Lake, Granby Reservoir and Rocky Mountain National Park (25 minutes north).
To give you a sense of that, Hanson and other team members will give you a family day pass to the YMCA’s Snow Mountain Ranch just for touring the model, a $60 value that could show you the winter side of that appeal with Nordic trails and other attractions.
You’ll see the City Market right outside Grand Elk, and you can explore Granby’s dining, including The Grille at Grand Elk Ranch & Golf Course, where a pool and unlimited summer golf are included as part of your community membership.
And you’ll see how accessible Grand County is — 90 minutes from Denver to Grand Elk, 70 minutes to Rendezvous in Winter Park, where you’ll check in for your tour, all while avoiding the Eisenhower Tunnel.
The Snow Mountain Ranch pass offer is good for the first 50 visitors to tour the model. Rendezvous’ Visitor Center is just beyond the town of Winter Park beside the Cozens Ranch and Museum.
Take I-70 west past Idaho Springs to U.S. 40, and continue west on 40 about 28 miles to Winter Park; proceed to just beyond town, on the right side of the highway. Or call the Rendezvous sales team at 970-726-5177 or visit RendezvousColorado.com.
The news and editorial staffs of The Denver Post had no role in this postap preparation.