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Show a arenes Semdag Page 1.4-Wasatch Canyon Reporter, 11 January - 24 January 1995 Real Estate: The St. Anton Project at Solitude — Alex miller There is a standing joke in Vail Colorado. It goes something like this: Q: “How can you identify a ski school instructor at Vail?” A: “They’re the ones who try to sell you a condominium on the way up the chair lift.” Well Hab dinsides. past ski schooler, past ski patroller, past surveyor, past Vice. president of Vail Associates, took that joke one step further. The condo he will try to sell you would likely be one he built. Bob Buckley, recently of Vail Colorado, but now firmly entrenched in Salt Lake City, is the developer of The St. Anton Lodge, one of two luxurious new lodges to be built at Solitude ski resort. As reported several weeks ago in this paper, Solitude is entering to an aggressive development phase. The St. Anton Lodge is part of that plan, and will be built concurrently with Creekside condominium development. Buckley’s project is the only development —_ currently where they can build a connection with the place and the people who are there year after year. People really fall in love with these lodges, how can they help it.” In talking to Buckley it is hard not to get caught up in his vision of an exclusive but comfortable mountain retreat in the old European style. After walking the site which is adjacent to Solitude’s slopes on one side and surrounded on two other sides by Forest Service land, it is also hard to imagine a better place for it. His plans call for lodge with two wings which will contain a small hotel, condominium units, and limited retail space which includes a small restaurant and bar. | The condominium wing of the development will contain 33 one bedroom condominium units which range in size from 840 square feet to more than 1000 square feet. Only the finest construction materials will be used including maple on the interior wood trim (maple has the warmth of pine but it is harder and The Proposed St. Anton Lodge at Solitude Ski and Summer Resort guests by virtue of its location. “One of the things that really attracted me to this area and this canyon, other beauty, is family, who in addition to being the developers of possible, local stone. Hand hewn timbers will reflect the traditional-feel of European craftsmanship. The most modern and efficient materi- antees an element of exclu- is modeled after the very successful Vail lodges: The Sonnenalp Hotel and the Christiana. Like these, the St. Anton Lodge will be a combination family style hotel and condominium lodge. “The family style lodges were always the successful in Vail,” Buckley.” Visitors are attracted to this style most says really lodge als will be use in such area as window design finish materials. The impression one gets is that Buckley’s lodge will rival in quality anything you can find in ski country, including the local standard bearer, the Stein Erickson lodge in Deer Valley. The primary difference between the St. Anton and other lodges is its size and the privacy afforded owners and decks) sivity as well as an uncrowded and unspoiled future which is crucial to a sense of what he refers to as “Mountain Joy,” a phrase which he coined and which he elaborated upon later in our conversation. Buckley’s commitment to the project goes further than that of a typical developer. He intends to live in the top floor of the hotel wing of his 70,000 square foot lodge. His family’s residence (not a bad flop joint given its penthouse location, five bed- rooms, unparalleled view Salt Lake Valley * Snowbird/Alta (801) 944-9444 Park City « Deer Vailey (801) 645-9444 ‘napoli st aaapl arc | ga Magee | Fern Baird Principal Broker Powder Beach Realty supports the preservation of undeveloped land in the canyons. Upon request and with permission from the seller and buyer, Powder Beach Realty will | donate ten percent of its commission to FRIENDS OF ALTA. FRIENDS OF ALTA is a private, non-profit, volunteer organization dedicated ‘to the conservation and beautification of upper Little Cottonwood Canyon. Its endeavors are _ solely supported by the private funding. for which rooms and the retail space so run, to the sense of camaraderie which the skiers in a rental pool. With these two wings Buckley feels he will create a lodge which is of a size sufficient to keep a lodge owner busy, but is small enough to retain the sense of. intimacy which Buckley feels is important. In addition to the main lodge Buckley will eventual- ly build “Mazots” 11 (a detached Swiss word which, roughly translated, means ‘cabin’). The renderings of the Mazots immediately bring to mind fairy tale cabins in the woods. The combination of the handsome main Lodge along with the intimate Mazots nestled in the trees of the 3.4 acre POWDER BEACH REALTY to the mountains range from a the excitement of a long unspoiled powder units available than its obvious Buckley’s opinion this guar- which enormous the fact that only 560 bedrooms can be built in the entire development.” In has a clearer grain) and, if Bob Buckley has taken a considered carefully approach to his development two will be a short flight of stairs away from the 12 guest he and his family can best serve the guests. Condominium owners in the adjacent wing will have the opportunity of making their approved by the Deseelhorst Creekside, own the resort. and site uses the land to its best advantage. The unique qualities of the site and Solitude Resort were two important reasons that Bob Buckley chose Big Cottonwood Canyon to pursue his life long dream. “Solitude has that ee sense of ‘Mountain Joy’ that I looked for when I was working at Vail and, in fact, that I have always looked for. When you are here, you are closely connected to the mountain with its streams, trees and solitude.” It is this sense that he feels sets Big Cottonwood canyon | apart from other places he enjoy, to a naturally intimate setting which lends a sense of retreat. He is constantly - amazed at the amount of snow the Cottonwood canyons receive and is deeply moved by what he perceives as a completely unique setting. While Buckley is thankful. for his years at Vail and the © advantages they afforded him, one gets the sense that he thinks Vail has lost the essential ingredient he finds here, his elusive “Mountain Joy.” Buckley is careful to praise Vail for its manifest charms and he obviously believes it is still one of the finest ski resorts in the world (who could argue?). He spent more than 20 years there working up through the ranks, doing every job from patrolling the mountain to laying down roads for the first subdivisions around Vail Village. In his final years at Vail, ‘Buckley was a vice president in charge of Vail Associates’ consulting wing. In this capacity he drafted proposals and lent his experience to resorts from as far away as Japan to as close as Idaho. He was offered jobs at Telluride and at a new resort in the heart of the Canadian Bugaboos called Revelstoke. All of these places had one advantage of another but in the end, Solitude, for all the reasons mentioned above as well as some practical con- has looked. He feels that it siderations, seemed has the things that people go perfect place. like the |