A campaign by homeowners to block a luxury resort hotel headed for the base of Breckenridge’s Peak 8 has fused into a lawsuit that threatens to upend plans for one of the resort town’s last remaining developable sites.

Developers associated with Breckenridge Grand Vacations have been moving ahead with a project they branded as Finale, representing “the last developable land in Breckenridge.”

According to a complaint filed May 29 on behalf of homeowners at One Ski Hill Place, LLC, those final sites include an easement dating from 2010 that gave them rights to maintain shoring structures on the property that are integral to their 88-unit building, which lies adjacent.

A copy of the lawsuit received by The Denver Gazette alleges the developer, named as P8E Grandview, improperly filed for a termination of the easement earlier this spring, without receiving permission from the affected homeowner association.

Also named as a defendant is Vail Summit Resorts, which according to the filing had originally owned the property covered by the easement and had signed off on the termination despite no longer owning it.

False statements

Plaintiffs in the case allege that in the course of seeking the termination, the defendants made “intentionally and materially false statements,” including that the easement was intended as a temporary measure and that the work associated with it had been completed.

Attorney Alex Dorotik of Ingenuity Law, representing the homeowners, told The Denver Gazette that tiebacks and shoring walls originally placed in the easement were vital to his clients’ entire building.

“If they were removed, you could see a catastrophic failure,” Dorotik said.

He noted that the engineering firm that did the original work on the One Ski Hill Place had been consulted as part of the action.

Counterclaim filed

Graham Frank, BGV’s chief development officer and a partner with BGV CEO Mike Dudick on the Finale project, provided The Denver Gazette with a copy of a counterclaim filed in district court in Breckenridge June 24.

It contends that individual One Ski Hill HOA members had been carrying out a press campaign aimed at blocking the hotel that predated the suit. The counterclaim cites BGV’s 40-year history in the mountain community, saying that it had partnered with the town in managing growth, provided valuable employment, and would be developing workforce housing as part of the broader Finale project.

Last new resort

In its promotions, the developer is branding its Imperial Hotel and Private Residences as Breckenridge’s “last new resort,” one that “raises the bar on what is available in Breck.”

According to a spokesperson for the project’s formal operating entity, Finale Development Partnership, the hotel would be one part of a $500 million project. That includes parcels near the Peak 8 base where the hotel would be, along with several other non-contiguous parcels. 

Also situated on Peak 8 would be 14 ski-in/out single-family home sites called Victory Ridge – reportedly already listed for purchase at prices from $5.25 million to near $9 million — just for the sites.

Historic downtown

The partnership would also create 16 luxurious Independence townhomes situated close to Breckenridge’s historic downtown and its Breck Connect Gondola. Homes there would range from $4 million to $6 million.

The partners have been involved in other large-scale developments in Breckenridge, including Grand Colorado, Grand Timber Lodge and Grand Lodge on Peak 7.

Plaintiff’s attorney Dorotik added that the easement is non-exclusive, meaning that the new developer has rights to use the property, but could not bulldoze it or otherwise jeopardize the protections.

How might the action work out?

“What I could imagine,” Dorotik said, “is that the developer says, ‘Here’s your easement back,’ and then they work together (with us) so that our use isn’t impaired.

“The bottom line is, we want our easement back.”