With record low interest rates and the ability to retain ownership of the property in perpetuity, the Vail Town Council will consider optimizing an alternate arrangement for construction of the Residences at Main Vail during its regular meeting on Tuesday, June 15. The discussion, which is listed as an action item on the evening agenda, will focus on options to transition financing of the development from the private sector to town-initiated financing. Opportunities for public comment are available in advance of the meeting by emailing publicinput.vailtowncouncil@vailgov.com or live during the virtual meeting by registering at www.vailgov.com/town-council.  

Tuesday’s discussion is a shift in earlier agreements in which the Town Council authorized execution of a development agreement by and between the Town of Vail and Triumph Development West, LLC on March 2, 2020, for construction of 72 deed-restricted homes on the town-owned site, located at 129 North Frontage Road West. The agreement had required Triumph to fund the construction, own the improvements and operate the rental housing development.

However, as the development application has been making its way through the town’s development review process, opportunities to place the town in a controlling position have been identified in which the town would retain annual rental income from the development to cover annual debt payments from town-initiated financing. In this scenario, the role of Triumph Development would shift from a leasehold interest developer that owns and operates the improvements on the property to a fee-based developer with a property manager role upon execution of a management agreement.

Public financing options in the form of tax-exempt certificates of participation will be reviewed at Tuesday’s meeting for the estimated $24.4 million housing development. Public sector financing is currently at record low interest rates which the Town Council recently experienced in financing $15 million for the Public Works Shops expansion and renovation project earlier this year. The town’s existing debt is minimal.

Three public financing options for Residences at Main Vail will be presented during Tuesday’s meeting with terms varying from 20 years to 30 years. To review a staff memo on the options, visit www.vailgov.com.

The Residences at Main Vail development application is in varying stages of review by the town’s boards. On May 10, the Planning and Environmental Commission authorized final approval of the development, with conditions, following multiple meetings. Hearings are continuing with the Design Review Board. Design Review Board | Town of Vail (vailgov.com)

The Residences at Main Vail have been designed as a 100% deed-restricted, for rent, residential development to include a mix of one- and two-bedroom apartments containing at least 144 beds and 82 parking spaces onsite. Additional amenities include individual storage unit lockers, on-site laundry, indoor and outdoor community gathering spaces and a solar panel installation for on-site energy production. The central location near the Town Center roundabout provides convenient pedestrian access to Vail Village and Lionshead Village.  More than 200 year-round and seasonal residents of Vail will call the Residences at Main Vail home.

Construction of the new homes is anticipated to begin in September 2021 and will be completed and ready for occupancy by November 2022. To make way for the new development, the Town of Vail and the Board of the Children’s Garden of Learning have collaborated on the relocation of the current Children’s Garden of Learning early childhood education center. In separate agreements between the town and Children’s Garden of Learning, the school will be moving to a temporary facility in Lionshead in time for the start of the 2021-2022 school year.

For additional details, contact Vail Town Manager Scott Robson at 970-479-2105 or srobson@vailgov.com.