Here’s a deeper dive into the 320,000-square-foot development set to change Keystone Resort
Summit Daily News
Kit Geary/Summit Daily News
Project partners have buttoned up the exterior and made significant headway on interior work for the condominiums, restaurants and hotel comprising one of Keystone’s largest-ever developments, Kindred Resort.
Kindred’s Marketing Director Amy Kemp said the team is optimistic the Kindred Hotel could start taking bookings as soon as January to officially open by the summer. With the construction finish line in sight, the team released more details on what exactly the 320,000-square-foot development will entail.
Developers have said they want the $300 million addition to serve as Keystone Resort’s base center and plan to have it host ski school, too. According to Shervin Rashidi, a co-founder of the development team, his company is the third to attempt such a project and have been crafting the vision for nearly a decade.
In addition to the 107-room hotel, the development includes three restaurants, 95 luxury condos, event space and more. In the center of three, 52-foot-tall towers, two of which are for condos and the other for the hotel, will be a courtyard with an astroturf field, fire pits and yard games overlooking the River Run Gondola.
The restaurant group behind Summit County favorites such as Sauce on the Blue, which Rashidi is a part owner of, will run two of the three restaurants in Kindred. Chef Eric Berggren will return to Summit County after clocking in 20 years in the fine dining scene to help lead two spots: Kinji, a sushi and Asian fusion restaurant, and Goodz Tavern, which will offer classic ski town dishes with a high-end twist.
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The third restaurant pays tribute to a woman who the community considers a pivotal figure in Keystone and Summit County history, Lula Myers. Myers, who also served as inspiration for the Keystone Resort ski trail “Schoolmarm,” was a beloved school teacher who arrived in Summit in the early 1900s.
Kemp said Myers’ pioneering spirit helped stake her claim as a Summit County historical fixture and having what will be “Lula’s Restaurant” on a site neighboring what was once her ranch seemed like the perfect fit.
“She also loved to invite people into her home and have amazing dinner parties,” she said. “She was really known for her graciousness, the food (she made) and for gathering people together.”
Lula’s Restaurant will live in the lobby of Kindred Hotel and be managed by Vail Resorts. Kemp said it will feature upscale farm-to-table Colorado and American cuisine.
Summit County history is baked into numerous aspects of the resort, according to Kemp. For instance, the rug of the resort’s lobby is inspired by an aerial photo of the Argentine Mine District and different lounges and rooms give a nod to famous peaks and landmarks.
The first floor of the Kindred Hotel will also house a bar, which will be around the corner from a kids club with games and activities and a private club. Members of the private club get access to the resort amenities such as the outdoor heated pool and the fitness club in addition to valet ski parking. It will also have member events such as first track days and wine and cheese apres ski parties.
Kemp said the team worked to design a 4.5 star resort largely geared toward those who seek out luxury.
“Our goal is for Kindred to be a gathering spot and social hub, and to become the best slopeside venue in the ski industry to host weddings, events and conference groups,” Rashidi said in a recent news release. “We want to strategically drive more business for our new town and other local businesses, especially during the historically off-peak times of spring and fall.”
Kindred’s general manager, Dan Dohner, said the views are what set the resort apart. He said the 6,000-square-foot meeting space in the resort might have the “best views of any meeting space throughout the mountain region.” Additionally, around 70% of the hotel rooms have views of the mountains and two-thirds of them have decks.
The 95 luxury condos are nearing completion as well, Kemp said, and will feature one to four rooms each. According to Kindred’s site, around 87% of the ski-in-ski-out condos have already been claimed.
