In early 2018 from her home in Idaho Springs, Mary Jane Loevlie was enjoying wine with a neighbor and looking up the mountainside from the Argo Mill and Tunnel, the historic tourist destination she owns.

“Out of the blue, I said, ‘Gosh, I wonder if we could put a gondola up there,” Loevlie said.

More dreaming was followed by expert consulting, which was followed by investor recruiting, land dealing, politicking and approvals that were followed by an alleged multimillion-dollar theft that threatened to sink the deal.

All leading to a recent groundbreaking.

Gov. Jared Polis was on hand with a large crowd of officials, businesspeople and supporters to mark construction of the Mighty Argo Cable Car.

From the base of the Argo Mill and Tunnel — that red edifice impossible to miss along Interstate 70, still standing a century removed from operations that powered the gold rush here — a gondola will rise a scenic 1.2 miles to a mountaintop plaza. There customers will find food and drink, a small amphitheater for concerts and events, and a launch point to a mountain bike park being billed as “world class.”

Sprawling more than 25 miles through the city of Idaho Springs-owned Virginia Canyon Mountain Park, the trail system could be years in the making. But trail-building is underway; 6 miles of new riding is expected by the end of this summer, with access via hiking and biking trails already on the ground by the Argo.

As for the gondola and mountaintop development, Loevlie’s team is aiming to be finished by the end of 2025.

A lifelong Idaho Springs resident and international entrepreneur, Loevlie thinks of the project at the intersection of heritage tourism and recreation. The mountaintop is being called Miners Point.

“Within an hour from Union Station (in downtown Denver), you can be looking at the Continental Divide and four fourteeners and hiking or biking or just having a brew,” Loevlie said.

Compared with her initial vision over wine, “it’s become much, much more,” she said. “Much bigger than I ever thought it would become.”

How big?

“This is probably the biggest thing to happen to the city of Idaho Springs since the gold rush,” Mayor Chuck Harmon said. “I truly mean that. This is going to be quite the economic shot in the arm.”

He praised Loevlie’s miner-like persistence — especially key in 2021.

Following city approvals for the project, the Mighty Argo Cable Car investors learned nearly $4.5 million in escrow had vanished. They sued owners of the holding Virginia-based title company and, in 2022, were awarded $8.7 million as part of a farther-reaching case that led to indictments by a federal grand jury.

“We probably dealt with 30 to 40 banks and private-equity firms trying to rebuild our funds. … It’s been very painful,” Loevlie said. “One of the positive things is, all of our investors have stayed with us through thick and thin.”

The $58 million project is anchored by Doppelmayr, the world leader in cable cars, and its European funding partner, FUNIS Infrastructure Investments.

“It’s the perfect, unique historic location with sound financials that convinced us to invest in the project,” Doppelmayr CFO Sebi Luond said in a statement.

The area has seen something similar, Harmon noted.

Having been involved with a local historical society over the years, he previously had his curiosity piqued by an aerial tramway that once carried passengers up around Silver Plume. That was at a time “when cars were primitive and getting to Silver Plume was quite the trip,” Harmon said. “I’d been pondering, thinking something like that would be great.”

Not all locals think so.

“Let me tell you, I don’t look at Facebook,” Loevlie said.

The gondola expects to attract 500,000 people a year. Critics see their little town ill-prepared.

The mayor points to an attraction just up I-70.

“Something similar goes on in Georgetown with the Loop Railroad,” Harmon said. “You really don’t even notice, because it spreads people out over several hours during the day.”

Still, Idaho Springs is planning to build a parking structure off downtown to meet new masses. The structure, too, has been contended for obscuring the scenic, rustic character of the town — contended like the apartment complex taking over the iconic Golddigger football field. Construction recently broke ground.

For the future employees of the Mighty Argo Cable Car, housing is another question.

“I don’t have a good answer, and I would suggest many municipalities around Colorado and lots of places don’t have a good answer,” Harmon said. “Housing here is virtually already at a crisis level. That I openly admit is a problem.”

In terms of the city taking on a locally unprecedented trail system, he sounded confident. For every gondola ticket sold, 50 cents is going to trail maintenance.

And Colorado Mountain Bike Association has pledged support. That’s the nonprofit currently building trails resembling the kind of vaunted trails sought at lift-served ski resorts.

Following developments at Floyd Hill and Maryland Mountain, the group sees Virginia Canyon as “the third leg in changing the overall perception of Front Range riding,” said Executive Director Gary Moore.

“Most people when they think of riding in Colorado, they think of Grand Junction, Fruita, Crested Butte or one of those other mountain areas considered destinations,” he said. “The Front Range just hasn’t ever been seen that way.”

Virginia Canyon could change that, he said.

The whole project represents the next big change for a town familiar with change, Loevlie explained. Her generation saw I-70 arrive, just as previous generations saw the mining boom and bust.

With a shiny color, the gondola will honor the attraction that sent the first masses.

“As you see the red mill, you will also see these golden nuggets going up the mountain,” Loevlie said. “It’s going to be amazing.”