Vail’s residential market has a new kid on the block—and just in time for ski season. Altus Vail, a five-story residential building completed earlier this year, has opened its doors in Vail’s coveted Vail Village and is the first major development to do so in over a decade.

The landing of Altus in one of Vail’s most popular neighborhoods couldn’t have come at a better time. Last year, the region raked in a record-breaking $3.5 billion in real estate sales, likely due at least in part to the influx of pandemic-induced digital nomads who fled urban areas for traditionally vacation locales. But with these record sales have come with historic lows in inventory, making Altus’ arrival all the more welcome.

Altus Vail, a new 30 unit residential building in Vail Village contains nine residences, six penthouses, and fifteen employee housing units.

The multi-unit building aligns with changing consumer tastes as well. Whether tenants are looking for a vacation home or permanent mountain residence, multi-family homes have become more attractive for their on-site amenities, low maintenance, and proximity to other goods and services (Altus is within a 5-minute walk from Gondola One, town center, and the Gerald R. Ford Amphitheater). Plus, in the slightly dated Vail market, “new” residences with updated utilities and designs are also highly desirable. 

Part of the appeal to Altus, however, is that the lived experience is less like a multi-tenant building and more like a single-family home. The 15 units (nine residences and six penthouses) boast high-end appliances like Sub-Zero and Wolf, energy efficiency, and indoor-outdoor living spaces typical of stand-alone homes. Each unit shares an elevator with only one other unit, making entrances feel more private than your standard condo building. The homes are also comparable to most detached luxury homes in terms of square footage with the penthouses ranging to upwards of 3,000 square feet. Each residence contains a private 8-foot deck as well that expands the overall footprint to the outdoors.

Both residences and penthouses have 8-foot decks with 3-panel glass retractable doors that face the mountain.

Altus boasts thoughtful modern design that speaks to high-end residential builds. The project team, which included developer Gore Creek Group, architect Will Henschel of 359 Design, interior designer Kellye O’Kelly from OCG, and Denver-based Slate Real Estate Advisors joined forces to create a design that was contextual to Vail while elevating the building vernacular. Located at the entrance to Vail, Henschel articulates that “it was important that this building speaks to the Vail brand, but it also needs to look like something that’s new and fresh.” To achieve this effect, the facade is comprised of stucco, metal cladding, composite siding, and aluminum-clad wood windows. 

For the interiors, O’Kelly explains that the design vision was to “have that mountain modern feel, but bring in textures and layers that bring the outdoors in.” Natural textures like charcoal limestone for the fireplaces, bathroom tile that evokes natural stone, and wide oak European flooring help achieve this indoor-outdoor synthesis. In the six penthouses, skylights and double-height ceilings also achieve this integration of the outdoors, so much so that architect Herschel says the team refers to them as “sky homes.”

Design-focused real estate brokerage Slate Real Estate Advisors is presiding over the sale of the homes and partner and employing broker Stan Kniss is thrilled for the opportunity to represent the first significant development in Vail Village since the Four Seasons. “It’s been a long time coming,” says Kniss, “And now that we’re entering ski season, we’re able to deliver some of the best new real estate in years. There’s really nothing quite like this on the market and we’re excited to welcome our new owners in the coming weeks!” 

Slate Real Estate Advisors is a proud presenting sponsor of this year’s Denver Design Week. Learn more about Altus Vail here.