While some of the world’s most elite athletes will compete in the 2017 Ski World Cup in Aspen, Colorado, this week, there’s another prize on offer—the first ski lodge in the town is selling for $25 million. Sitting near the confluence of Castle and Conundrum creeks, the 85-acre Highland Bavarian Lodge was built in 1938, according to property records. The property features a two-bedroom main house, which is the original lodge, a two-bedroom log bunkhouse, with its original stone fireplace and hardwood floors, a two-car garage, a large barn and artist studio, according to the listing.
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Highland Ranch Ltd. is registered as the owner of this historic lodge in property records. According to broker Brian Hazen of Coldwell Banker Mason Morse, the Coffey family, including brothers Bruce and Mac Coffey, sons of the couple who bought the home in 1963, are the actual owners.
Four generations of the Coffey family have enjoyed the home as their vacation getaway.
Mr. Hazen acquired the listing over a year ago from the family.
"The brothers are getting older, the kids have grown up and the Highland Ranch has been too much to handle for the family. They felt it’s time to sell it," said Mr. Hazen.
The property has been on the market for more than a year, but Mr. Hazen said they're now targeting "high rollers" attending the Ski World Cup.
"People are coming from all around the world, and many of them might want to find a luxury permanent residency in Roaring Fork Valley," he said.
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And its history might be the biggest selling point. According to a historic designation application to be submitted to Pitkin County by the Coffey family, Highland Bavarian Lodge is one of the earliest, if not the first, ski resort lodges to be developed in all of Colorado.
"It was one of the first attempts to bring European-style skiing to Colorado in 1936. The grand plan was to create a ‘Switzerland of America,’" said Sara Adams, a land-use and historic preservation consultant who prepared the designation application report for the Coffey family. It is at least the first ski lodge in Aspen, she said.
The property retains its historic features, and only minor alterations have been made, including remodeling the two bunk rooms—one of which was designated for men and the other for women—into guesthouses with king-size beds.
But the historical nature of the house has also caused some inconvenience for selling this property. Until Pitkin County decides about the historic designation of the three buildings on the property, it’ll be difficult for new owners to make any renovation or improvement.