Solaris, the new center of Vail Village, is expected to be finished in the winter of 2009-10, featuring a bowling alley, ice rink, movie theater, shops, restaurants and residences.
One of Vail's landmarks, Crossroads, was torn down last spring. The replacement project - Solaris - is scheduled for completion in two years.
Bowling may not reach the magnitude of skiing in Vail, but it will at least be another local option once the Solaris project is completed.
By the winter of 2009-2010, Solaris will dominate the center of Vail Village, once occupied by Crossroads. Sure, right now the area is still a giant hole, but according to Solaris director of sales and marketing Craig Cohn, development is happening quickly and in less than two years, the space will include a large ice skating rink (converting to a fountain in the summer), a 10-lane bowling alley, a three-screen movie theater, three high-end restaurants, a handful of new shops and 77 residential units.
The residential units range from luxury two-bedrooms to two-story penthouses with mountain views. The list of amenities reads like palace menu. They offer everything from world-class concierge to childcare to limousine services. Prices for the new residences start at $2.3 million and reach $19 million, while club membership featuring fractional ownership goes for $1.9 million.
“We really wanted to provide more possibilities for residents and visitors to Vail,” Cohn said. “The design allows for more activities and alternatives for people on bad-weather days, or whenever people feel like doing something new and different.”
Solaris has yet to reveal the specific shops and restaurants included in the project, but regardless, the vision is to bolster the entire dynamic of Vail Village.
“I want to create effortless mountain living with metropolitan convenience, unsurpassed quality, amenities and service,” said Solaris developer Peter Knobel on the company’s Website: solarisvail.com. “I want to change the way people live in Vail Village.”
You may have already noticed a number of new shops and restaurants that sprung up in the village last summer and fall – a new Luca Bruno store, a gourmet food market, a crepe shop, the newly renovated Verbatim bookstore. Not to mention the mammoth, brand new Arrabelle village in Lionshead sporting an old European look.
Keep an eye on the sky and an ear to the ground. Vail is changing.
Video
Craig Cohn of Solaris stopped by Fresh Tracks on Feb. 16, 2008, to discuss what's in store for the Solaris project in the works at Crossroads. Find out what luxuries lie ahead for the new center of Vail Village.
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