The proposed Legacy at Vail Square, a 20-unit condo complex, was never built. (Slifer Smith & Frampton Real Estate)
After initially blocking the sale, a judge in Eagle County has agreed to let a prominent Vail family sell the site of their failed condo project to a hotel developer for $18.5 million.
500 Lionshead Circle, the last undeveloped parcel in Vail’s Lionshead Village, is under contract by Douglas County-based SV Capital Partners. SVCP was initially scheduled to close on the sale April 30, until District Court Judge Rachel Olguin-Fresquez pressed pause on that idea.
The property is at the center of a legal dispute between Vail developers Scott Ryan and Jaques Lazier, who together had plans to build a 20-unit, $75 million condo complex there. Those plans fell through last year, as both men testified at a hearing in Eagle on Thursday.
“There has been no development activity on this Lionshead project whatsoever for the past year,” Lazier attorney Scott Drusch told Olguin-Fresquez. “Mr. Ryan personally shut down this project last May and the parties have been trying to sell this property ever since.
“And when I say shut down, I mean terminate all of the construction contractors, pull all of the funding from the project. So, nothing has happened for the past year.”
Ryan, who claims he has spent more than $10 million trying to develop the site, is suing Lazier for allegedly trying to sell it without his permission and without assurances that Ryan will receive his portion of the proceeds. At Thursday’s hearing, he and his attorneys asked Olguin-Fresquez to bar Lazier from selling the land while Ryan’s lawsuit is litigated.
“Your honor, this is a sad day for what was a partnership that arose out of a friendship,” said Ryan’s lawyer, Christian Hendrickson, near the end of the two-hour hearing.
“The project is not lost … This can easily be refinanced. It is a $20 million property. This issue can be addressed if what was supposed to happen from the outset actually happens: the partners coming together and agreeing on what needs to happen next.”
500 Lionshead Circle was last appraised at $21.3 million in January, according to Lazier’s testimony, but the highest offer for it has been $18.5 million from SVCP. Lazier recalled meeting Mark Cooley, the principal of SVCP, in Cherry Creek recently to finalize their deal.
“He showed interest instantly but was concerned about being able to build on our parcel only and inquired about whether the adjacent property was available. The conversation led to him saying he would buy both parcels at the same time and build a hotel,” Lazier said.
Reached for comment after the hearing, Cooley declined to say how much money SV Capital is paying for the property that’s next to Lazier’s. Cooley said that he doesn’t yet have details about the proposed hotel, which he hopes will break ground in 2025.
“Our firm is in the business of developing luxury resort, hospitality and condo projects,” Cooley said of SVCP, which has projects in Steamboat Springs and other tourist areas.
Thursday’s hearing ended with Olguin-Fresquez lifting an injunction she had placed on 500 Lionshead Circle, allowing SVCP to buy it. That sale is now scheduled to close May 30. But the Ryan-Lazier case does not end with the sale of 500 Lionshead Circle.
“What the court sees this as being about is a contract intended to make money,” the judge said, “and money damages are not necessarily prevented if the property is sold.”
The proposed Legacy at Vail Square, a 20-unit condo complex, was never built. (Slifer Smith & Frampton Real Estate)
After initially blocking the sale, a judge in Eagle County has agreed to let a prominent Vail family sell the site of their failed condo project to a hotel developer for $18.5 million.
500 Lionshead Circle, the last undeveloped parcel in Vail’s Lionshead Village, is under contract by Douglas County-based SV Capital Partners. SVCP was initially scheduled to close on the sale April 30, until District Court Judge Rachel Olguin-Fresquez pressed pause on that idea.
The property is at the center of a legal dispute between Vail developers Scott Ryan and Jaques Lazier, who together had plans to build a 20-unit, $75 million condo complex there. Those plans fell through last year, as both men testified at a hearing in Eagle on Thursday.
“There has been no development activity on this Lionshead project whatsoever for the past year,” Lazier attorney Scott Drusch told Olguin-Fresquez. “Mr. Ryan personally shut down this project last May and the parties have been trying to sell this property ever since.
“And when I say shut down, I mean terminate all of the construction contractors, pull all of the funding from the project. So, nothing has happened for the past year.”
Ryan, who claims he has spent more than $10 million trying to develop the site, is suing Lazier for allegedly trying to sell it without his permission and without assurances that Ryan will receive his portion of the proceeds. At Thursday’s hearing, he and his attorneys asked Olguin-Fresquez to bar Lazier from selling the land while Ryan’s lawsuit is litigated.
“Your honor, this is a sad day for what was a partnership that arose out of a friendship,” said Ryan’s lawyer, Christian Hendrickson, near the end of the two-hour hearing.
“The project is not lost … This can easily be refinanced. It is a $20 million property. This issue can be addressed if what was supposed to happen from the outset actually happens: the partners coming together and agreeing on what needs to happen next.”
500 Lionshead Circle was last appraised at $21.3 million in January, according to Lazier’s testimony, but the highest offer for it has been $18.5 million from SVCP. Lazier recalled meeting Mark Cooley, the principal of SVCP, in Cherry Creek recently to finalize their deal.
“He showed interest instantly but was concerned about being able to build on our parcel only and inquired about whether the adjacent property was available. The conversation led to him saying he would buy both parcels at the same time and build a hotel,” Lazier said.
Reached for comment after the hearing, Cooley declined to say how much money SV Capital is paying for the property that’s next to Lazier’s. Cooley said that he doesn’t yet have details about the proposed hotel, which he hopes will break ground in 2025.
“Our firm is in the business of developing luxury resort, hospitality and condo projects,” Cooley said of SVCP, which has projects in Steamboat Springs and other tourist areas.
Thursday’s hearing ended with Olguin-Fresquez lifting an injunction she had placed on 500 Lionshead Circle, allowing SVCP to buy it. That sale is now scheduled to close May 30. But the Ryan-Lazier case does not end with the sale of 500 Lionshead Circle.
“What the court sees this as being about is a contract intended to make money,” the judge said, “and money damages are not necessarily prevented if the property is sold.”
