Jul. 18, 2003 - Vail Resorts on Thursday unveiled its $400 million plan to reinvigorate Vail's Lionshead Village. 

The idea is to inject new life into a utilitarian village built without much aesthetic concern and bring more visitors and new business to the area. 

The proposed design entails two hotels, single-family homes along Gore Creek, ground-floor retail and additional parking, all wrapped in a European-style pedestrian mall that mirrors Lionshead's more stylish neighbor, Vail Village. 

The plan requires local approval, and construction is at least a year away. 

The prospect for a new Lionshead easily outweighs the disarray that will come when Vail Resorts levels the industrial gondola building and Sunbird Lodge. 

"I'm really anxious to see this happen. Lionshead isn't that comfortable as a shopping area. It's not easy for people and it's not pretty," said Nicole Hoffmann-Ewing, general manager of the General Store, which will soon sit directly across from a five-star hotel instead of the decrepit Sunbird. 

"I'm sure it will disrupt business for a little while," Hoffmann-Ewing said. "But it will be worth it." Vail Resorts owns four major parcels totaling about 12 acres in Lionshead and plans distinct phases of development for each tract. 

On the site of the gondola building and Sunbird, the company envisions an 81-room, luxury hotel run by RockResorts, the high-end hotel chain of which Vail Resorts is a majority owner. 

Sixty additional condominium-style units inside the hotel will be sold to owners and the rooms pooled into the hotel's inventory. 

Vail also plans an ice rink and new skier bridge over Gore Creek adjacent to the new hotel. 

When the ski company bought the 349-room Marriott in Lionshead in July 2001 for $49.5 million, it hailed the buy for the potential of an empty parking lot behind the hotel. 

That lot now is planned to anchor a 90-room hotel with a restaurant and underground parking. Almost half of the hotel will be condominiums that will be sold or rented. 

On another parking lot, now used for employee parking, the ski company sees a new bus transit center, office space and 36 employee-housing units in a six-story building atop more underground parking. 

On the village's tennis courts, Vail Resorts is planning four residential lots. 

It will be the sale of these high-end homesites and the condominium units inside the two hotels that will help fund the construction of the Lionshead project. 

While many of the retailers applaud the notion of a new Lionshead, some are concerned they will be left out of the loop. Under current plans, a portion of the village would be left outside the pedestrian-oriented and ice rink-anchored mall. 

"Redevelopment needs to be done, no doubt. Just not in the way they want to do it," said Craig Arford, 17-year-owner of Vail Ski/Bike Tech in Lionshead. "The way they have it now, we'll be facing the back of their buildings, facing the Dumpsters. They obviously need to take the local people's interests into account." The town of Vail has worked closely with Vail Resorts for the last year, making sure that the ski company's plans mesh with the town's comprehensive vision for Lionshead. The town had marked the need for additional hotel rooms, increased retail, more parking and employee housing as primary needs in the aging village. 

"This proposal addresses those things," said Vail Mayor Ludwig Kurz. "I think what they are planning now will become a new asset for the town." The town also hopes that Vail's efforts will spark similar makeovers among Lionshead's business owners. 

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