Land for future Colorado ski resort up for auction

CORRECTION (March 15, 4:35 p.m.): A previous version of this article misidentified the property that is being developed. 

Almost five dozen acres are up for auction at the base of a well-known ski resort in Colorado as the owner tries to end a decades-long deep freeze of development.

FallsCreek Group put the 59-acre plot of land up for an online public auction, the company announced this week. The land is at the base of the Steamboat’s Ski area’s Pioneer Ridge in Colorado, which counts more than 1 million visitors annually.

No date for the auction’s conclusion or minimum bid were disclosed.

The ski resort is served by a single base, the largest ski area in the world to have that distinction, according to the press release. The development of a second base would ease overcrowding and improve logistical issues at the resort.

The second base was approved with the property’s master plan back in 1970. Thomas Grant’s family purchased the Ski Village property for development around the same time, but the area has yet to be developed; Grant is the managing partner of FallsCreek Group.

The property connects the northern boundary of the ski area with downtown Steamboat Springs. The base will provide access to the north half of the ski area and would include a 12-passenger gondola to the Mount Werner Summit.

The development potential of the land is enormous. The wooded site is expected to ultimately include residences, hotels and luxury shops. The ski company is expected to start developing the Steamboat Pioneer Ridge ski terrain adjoining the future ski village this year.

There may not be a minimum bid needed on the land — at least one that has been publicly stated — but the seller plans on landing plenty of hard, cold cash in the auction. A bid package request for the property singles out “high-net-worth individuals and or large investors and developers.”