Alterra Mountain Co., the provider of the Ikon Pass, will relocate from the River North neighborhood to the former Denver Post building at the corner of Colfax and Broadway, according to sources with direct knowledge of the transaction.
Earlier this summer, Alterra had informed state and local officials that it was considering relocating its headquarters to Salt Lake City, setting off a mad scramble to keep the company in Denver.
At its July 22 meeting, the at 2% interest for tenant improvements if Alterra relocated its offices in Upper Downtown.
The authority’s board also voted to expand its boundaries to include 101 W. Colfax, the former headquarters of The Denver Post, which the city acquired in 2024.
The Colorado Economic Development Commission, in an emergency meeting on July 27, approved $3.9 million in additional incentives.
Those included a $1 million cash grant for the creation of an “Outdoor Recreation Hub,” an interest-free loan of $1 million to help with facility costs, and $1.92 million in state Job Growth Incentive Tax Credits linked to the creation of an additional 106 new jobs.
About three weeks later, Alterra cut an undisclosed number of jobs, citing difficult conditions following poor snow conditions last winter that resulted in a drop in skier visits.
The timing of the Open Denver award and the boundary expansion seemed more than coincidental, .
Denver City Council approved that boundary expansion Monday.
Alterra has been an anchor tenant at RiNo’s Zeppelin Station since 2018, with about 40,000 square feet. That development, however, saw its food court, a key feature, empty out during the pandemic.
That triggered a court-ordered receivership in 2024 that was resolved in March.
With its lease set to expire in May 2029, Alterra Mountain has been scouting other headquarters locations in LoDo and RiNo, before landing on the former Denver Post Building, which opened in 2006, making it younger than other options in that area.
The Hancock administration conducted a judicial space study in 2020 that determined that the Denver Courts and the District Attorney’s Office needed more room.
The city at the time saw 101 W. Colfax, located near the Wellington Webb building and City Hall, as the solution.
Initial plans were to add 15 courtrooms at an estimated cost of $30 million. But with the city facing a looming budget deficit, the plan met with opposition from the City Council.
Downtown’s depressed office market also resulted in the building sitting about half empty, with around 150,000 square feet available.
DP Media Network, the legal name of the company that owns The Denver Post, held the master lease on the building following the sale and defaulted on its lease payments in August 2025.
In June, the DP Media Network agreed to pay $13.5 million to the city to terminate its obligations under the master lease agreement three years early.
Alterra’s relocation seems to answer several concerns for the city.
It retains a signature corporate headquarters and gives Upper Downtown a boost, while also reducing the financial strain on the city’s budget tied to its ownership of 101 W. Colfax.
Besides hosting Alterra corporate staff, space in the building will be leased for a new Outdoor Recreation Hub, which is expected to host outdoor recreation companies, winter gear makers, and other suppliers.
Alterra Mountain Co. owns the Steamboat and Arapahoe Basin resorts, and operates Winter Park on behalf of Denver. Its Ikon Pass offers access to more than 60 resort locations around the globe.
