Developer optimistic after election in which supporters of project won seats
 

Click to Enlarge Browse Vail Daily Photos Peter Knobel, owner of the Crossroads complex in Vail Village, is aiming to resubmit his proposal for the redevelopment of the building next month. Preston Utley/Vail Daily

Edward Stoner
November 18, 2005



VAIL - The owner of the Crossroads building says he wants to resubmit plans next month redevelop the aging Vail Village complex.

Crossroads owner Peter Knobel's plan for the complex includes condos, retail space including restaurants, a movie theater, a bowling alley, and a public plaza. He hopes to show the town his latest concept on Dec. 12, he said.

"We feel that the environment suits it getting approved, as shown by the election," Knobel said.

Town council members Dick Cleveland and Diana Donovan, who voted against the latest version of the Crossroads project when it came before the council in August, were not re-elected in last week. Knobel pulled the proposal off the table after the August council vote.

"Crossroads was a major issues in the election and the voters were in support of people who were pro-redevelopment of Crossroads," Knobel said.

The Dec. 12 submittal date would give town staff enough time for the proposal to come before the Planning and Environmental Commission at its Jan. 9 meeting, Knobel said.

If the planning commission approves the Crossroads proposal immediately, the project could come before the council by the end of January. If approved by the council, the project would be subject to review by the Design Review Board.

Knobel said the project will be smaller than the proposal the planning commission endorsed in April. Craig Cohn, who works for Knobel, said the project won't be smaller than what the Town Council last saw.

The new proposal will have about 70 condos, Knobel said.

The project still has the movie theater, bowling alley and plaza that have previously been part of the project, Knobel said.

"Everything is totally intact in this project as it was before," he said.


'Everyone agrees'

The Town Council voted 4-3 against Knobel's latest proposal at its Aug. 2 meeting. Council members who opposed the design objected to the building's height. They said they wanted to keep talking to Knobel about the proposal, but he pulled the proposal off the table, and didn't indicate when, or if, he would resubmit a plan for the complex.

Council members Greg Moffet, Kim Ruotolo and Farrow Hitt voted in favor of the plan in August. Rod Slifer and Kent Logan, who did not face re-election, voted "no."

New councilman Mark Gordon said he would have voted "yes" on the proposal approved by the planning commission, and new councilman Kevin Foley has said he doesn't know how he would have voted.

Slifer said while he can't comment on a proposal that hasn't even been submitted yet, he wants the complex to be redeveloped.

"I think everyone in Vail agrees that Crossroads needs to be redeveloped," he said. "The only issues s what it looks like and how big it is and what it is."

Gordon said it's great that Knobel is resubmitting a plan.

"These are the types of things that put meat on the bones of community," he said. "Having a bowling alley, a gathering place, all of that retail."

The last proposal for the Crossroads redevelopment included 68 condos, 60,000 square feet of retail space, a three-screen movie theater, a 10-lane bowling alley and a 30,000-square-foot plaza. At its tallest point, the building would have risen 113 feet from the plaza along East Meadow Drive.



Staff Writer Edward Stoner can be reached at 949-0555, ext. 14623, or estoner@vaildaily.com.



Vail, Colorado