Telluride and Real Estate Blog

Project hires general contractor; a quarter of residences sold

Article by Amy Peters, Telluride Daily Planet Contributor - February 7, 2025

Photo courtesy of Olson Kundig

In response to customer demand, the Four Seasons Hotel and Private Residences (FS) tweaked its Mountain Village project.

While there will still be 52 hotel rooms on the second and third floors overlooking the Mountain Village pond, there will now be 43 (vs. 40) hotel residences ranging from one to five bedrooms, all individually owned and allowed to be rented. In addition, there will now be 26 (vs. 28) private, single-floor, two to five (vs. six) bedroom residences located in the north and south buildings.

Residences pricing still range from $4 million to $40 million to be built in contemporary alpine design by architects Olson Kundig with interior designs by Kundig and Clements Design. The project is poised to break ground this spring.

The co-developers of the project, Fort Partners and Merrimac Ventures out of Florida, selected Weitz Construction (Denver office), the sixth oldest architectural/engineering/construction firm in the United States, to serve as general contractor for the project.

“Weitz has done a lot of work in Aspen, Vail, and Telluride including the second phase of See Forever,” explained Bill Fandel, founding broker at Compass who, along with O’Neill Stetina Group director Brian O’Neill, are co-listing agents for the project. “Having brought all the utilities into the site this fall and put the road back together, Weitz is locating sub-contractors for the project,” O’Neill added. “That kind of mobilization is a big step.”

The development team is currently submitting construction documents to the Mountain Village building department for permitting which, in turn, will enable construction fencing to be erected ahead of excavation. Notice has gone out informing residents that the project will be vacating the lot this spring which will impact parking.

“We expect a building permit submittal any day,” noted Mountain Village Community Development Director Amy Ward. “The review will take some time, and we anticipate that a building permit could be issued this spring,”

Fandel reports impressive and early sales momentum through the fall and early-winter including three penthouses under contract “for between $22 and $30 million each.”

“This is a testament to the Four Seasons brand enthusiasts who are behind some of these larger sales,” he said. “While these are record numbers within our market, they’re more in line with the expectations of clients elsewhere.”

So far 25% of the units have either sold or are under the purview of an executed “term sheet,” averaging between $13 and $15 million each, skewing 60% hotel residences and 40% private residences.

“Interested buyers are a blend of people across all price ranges. It’s not concentrated just at that high end,” Fandel clarified. “We’ve seen a couple of low contracts in the mid-$4 million range and about 50% between $4 and $10 million, 35% in the $10-$20 million range, and the balance north of the $20 million range.”

Fandel said inquiries are coming primarily from North American buyers with a weighted number of buyers from Latin America.

The project’s commercial spaces include two premier restaurants, a smattering of bars, lounges and retail outlets, as well as a private wellness studio offering cryotherapy, light and oxygen therapies. The 2,500-square-feet fitness area includes an indoor lap pool and a state-of-the-art gym while the 6,500 sf spa, which will be open to the public, includes steam, sauna, cold plunge, and jacuzzi, along with eight treatment rooms.

As a public benefit pursuant to the PUD approvals, the FS is making a $2.5 million contribution to the town for future housing development and has included ten employee apartments as part of their development.

“We recognize that this won’t house all of their employees during construction or in future hotel operations,” Mountain Village Town Manager Paul Wisor acknowledged. “However, the developers are actively pursuing a variety of options to create housing for those who will be working on the project during the construction phase as well as when the hotel opens.”

Regarding the more immediate need for construction worker housing, O’Neill assured that the developer team is working to place master leases in regional hotels for construction workers in the West End and in Montrose and Ridgway.

Fandel and O’Neill believe this project is the realization of the MV founders’ long-term vision for the village core.

“The goal-line location at the top of the gondola will round-out the village while adding a new, sophisticated direction of architecture,” Fandel said. “MV fell into a Stucco and tile roof design approach for a long time, and here you’re going to see world class architecture emerge.”

The project will also elevate the retail and dining experience in Mountain Village, Fandel said.

“At the very onset of construction, people will be making a bet on Mountain Village,” Fandel enthused. “And we’ll all be the beneficiaries of this elevated brand standard of hospitality.”

O’Neill points out that the project will “make a big impact on maintaining body heat in the MV.”

“There’s a lot more sunshine up there,” he concluded. “Making for a robust après scene among adventurous, outdoorsy folks.”

To learn more about this Four Seasons project, please visit tellurideprivateresidences.com.

To read the original Telluride Daily Planet article please click this link.