Hotel & Mixed-Use Development

Keen Partners + Open Hospitality, St. Regis & W Hotels, Lionshead Redevelopment Project

Vail, CO

Project Team

Co-developers: Keen Partners, Open Hospitality Partners

Equity Partner: Hillwood, A Perot Company

Architects: 4240 Architecture, Elkus Manfredi

Engineers: Kimley Horn

Retail Consultant: Open Realty Advisors

Parking Consultants: Walker Parking Consultants

Entitlement Consultants: Braun Associates

Located in the heart of Lionshead, one of four pedestrian villages situated at the base of Vail Mountain, the Lionshead Redevelopment was a 6.2-acre, $900 million mixed-use project being developed by Keen Partners, Open Hospitality Partners, and Hillwood, A Perot Company. Keen Partners, where Mr. Mitchem served as Design and Development Director, served as a consulting partner with a focus on the hotel components.

Just 100 yards from the Eagle/Bahn ski lift, the project would have replaced the existing Lionshead parking structure with two luxury hotels, both branded and managed by a major international operator; a retail-oriented pedestrian street; and a newly built conference center.

A 2,149-stall parking structure would have also been built, completely below grade, increasing current capacity by 52 percent. The garage would include valet service, an information center, and a transportation hub connecting the project to the county’s free bus network, which links Vail to nearby cities and the Eagle County Regional Airport.

Following a public request for proposal and municipal approval processes, the team was selected to redevelop the site in a public/private partnership with the municipality of Vail. Groundbreaking was planned for spring 2010, with garage delivery expected in 2012. The conference center, retail space, and two hotel components were scheduled for completion in 2016. The project was paused and ultimately canceled in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis.

Mr. Mitchem supported all aspects of the development, with a particular focus on feasibility and predevelopment work on the hotel properties. He also wrote the project and financing memoranda, as well as various presentations to involved parties.

Keen Partners was an owner and a developer of institutional quality hotels and hospitality-related real estate. It was created with a focus on the integration of leading hotel brands into complex mixed-use projects.