May 19, 2012

SandBoxBlogs: Aspen Times "No Little Nell for Snowmass Base Village?"

Really?.....that "Related then lost the whole project to foreclosure in the wake of the financial crisis.???

Sure about the red herring of "The Great Recession" being responsible for Pat Smith and Related Cos "losing" the "whole project"?

A forensic investigation of all the money, not just the surface money and surface players to back up that synopsis might not be a bad idea before locking it into yellow ink.

Brent Gardner-Smith:
"SNOWMASS VILLAGE — When Related Companies put Base Village under contract recently, the package of assets did not include the right to brand and operate a hotel as The Little Nell Snowmass.

“The license agreement was terminated in late 2010,” said Jeff Hanle, spokesman for Aspen Skiing Co.

Skico owns and operates The Little Nell hotel at the base of Aspen Mountain and owns the rights to the brand.

The Little Nell in Aspen is one of only three hotels at ski areas in the west that carry both a five-star and a five-diamond rating, along with the Stein Erickson Lodge in Deer Valley, Utah, and the Four Seasons in Jackson Hole, Wyo. The stars are awarded by Forbes and the diamonds by AAA, the American Automobile Association.

In 2007, Skico executives were planning on operating The Little Nell Snowmass as a five-star, five-diamond hotel and licensing the Little Nell name to another operator in Jackson Hole.

Today, the Jackson Hole deal is well off the table, and it is unclear whether a Little Nell Snowmass deal will be revived.

“We remain committed to and engaged in Snowmass and look forward to seeing Base Village and the entire resort realize its full potential,” Hanle said. “However, at this time, it is premature to comment on any potential involvement of Aspen Skiing Co.”

After buying Base Village from Skico and Intrawest for $169 million in 2007, with the Little Nell Snowmass deal in place, Related then lost the whole project to foreclosure in the wake of the financial crisis.

The four European banks that now own the asset have reached a deal to sell it back to Related for an as-yet undisclosed price. The deal is expected to close by the end of the year....."
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