Grand Lodge on Peak 7
Breckenridge, CO
Started
2007
Expected Year of Completion
2013
Size of Units
1,250 square feet, on average
Building Type
Ski lodge
Grand Lodge on Peak 7 is yet another example of a Breckenridge Grand Vacation project that provides top-tier amenities coupled with high energy efficiency.
The development is being constructed in a ski-in, ski-out location, just steps away from the Independence SuperChair ski lift at the base of Breckenridge Ski Resort’s Peak 7, along the BreckConnect gondola route. The five-star, time-share resort includes a restaurant; a day spa and salon; a lobby bar; movie theaters; a family fun center; a grotto for adults only; and a large aquatics area with an indoor-outdoor pool, hot tubs, a plunge pool with a slide, and a zero-entry kiddie pool.
According to executive director of resort operations Kit Armour, the construction plan for Grand Lodge on Peak 7 includes five phases—with expected completion of the entire project by the end of 2013—and the first building is already complete and includes 68 one- and two-bedroom condominiums, each about 1,250 square feet. The master bedrooms can be locked off from the secondary bedrooms so that two parties can use one unit, and each lock-off suite also includes an efficiency kitchen. Because area building codes restrict wood-burning stoves, there is a gas-burning fireplace in each master suite.
The resort is designed in a mountain-lodge style, with moss-rock stone and wood siding. “We’ve designed it to melt in with our environment,” Armour says. Fitting the building to the terrain and topography of the building site was challenging, though, particularly since Grand Lodge on Peak 7 is located above Cucumber Gulch, a small nature reserve that Breckenridge Grand Vacations couldn’t disturb. The firm therefore put in additional work to ensure that its new facility would not pollute water going into nearby holding ponds.
Breckenridge Grand Vacations is incorporating a number of other green initiatives into Grand Lodge on Peak 7, and to do so it is using the services of trusted, like-minded companies such as Commercial Design Engineering Ltd., an HVAC and plumbing company with LEED expertise. Breckenridge’s green team has worked to develop programs for composting, carpooling and shuttling, and reducing light pollution—and already, Armour says, an elaborate computer system has been incorporated into the development to efficiently manage lighting and other energy-consumptive elements in each residence. Motion detectors monitor when a room is vacant, and the computer system adjusts thermostats, lights, and other electronics accordingly.
Colorado’s cold climate means that the construction season is typically short. “There’s a limited amount of time where the weather actually cooperates,” Armour says. “Having guys out on scaffolding in zero-degree weather doesn’t work.” However, this year’s mild winter helped Breckenridge Grand Vacations get a jump on its schedule: by February 2012, workers were busy completing plumbing, mechanical, and electrical work for the second building at Grand Lodge on Peak 7.
On any given day upwards of 30 workers are working to complete the luxury time-share resort, and their finished product is sure to strengthen Breckenridge Grand Vacation’s tourism toehold in the surrounding area. ABQ
