Triumph Development announces development application submittal for Booth Heights neighborhood

Vail, Colo. – May 31, 2019 – Triumph Development announced Friday that it has submitted a development application to the Town of Vail for Booth Heights, an exciting new residential development aimed at creating, maintaining and sustaining community within the Town of Vail.

With the aim of helping the Town meet its ambitious locals’ housing goals, Booth Heights will be located just north of the East Vail Interstate 70 interchange on the only undeveloped Housing District parcel within Town limits. With 61 Employee Housing Units, and 73 total homes, the new neighborhood will make the most meaningful net addition to workforce housing in the Town’s recent history. The neighborhood has direct access to the Town’s East Vail bus line.

Vail-based Triumph Development is under contract to purchase the 23.3-acre site from Vail Resorts as announced last fall. In addition to making the land and required water rights available, Vail Resorts is committing to a long-term master lease for a portion of the rental units. Through the past winter and spring, Triumph made significant community outreach to ensure its application is reflective of the Town’s needs and community concerns.

Recognizing both the need for locals’ housing and the nearby critical wildlife habitat, Vail Resorts downzoned the parcel in 2017. Prior to the rezoning, the entire property was zoned Two-Family Residential, which is one of Vail’s free-market housing zones. The rezoned property set aside 17.9 acres of Natural Area Preservation for wildlife and open space, and consolidated development potential onto 5.4 acres of Housing, which requires that 70 percent of the development be deed-restricted for locals. 

“With 42 deed-restricted rental apartments and 31 for-sale townhomes, Booth Heights will serve a variety of locals,” said Michael O’Connor, principal and chief operating officer of Triumph. “Of the 31 townhomes, 19 will be deed-restricted for local residents and 12 will be market-rate, creating the subsidy needed to develop the neighborhood as contemplated by the Town’s zoning.”

Critical to the development application is an environmental impact report (EIR) as well as a wildlife mitigation plan, prepared by Western Ecosystems, Inc.  According to O’Connor, the EIR and proposed wildlife enhancements are some of the most substantial ever proposed for development on private property in Vail.

“Wildlife protection and enhancements have been fundamental to our development plan from the beginning. In addition to laying out a plan that minimizes impacts to the surrounding open space, we are proposing to permanently set aside and enhance a substantial part of the property at a ratio of more than 3:1 when compared to the portion of the site that will be developed,” O’Connor said. “I’m very proud of the Triumph team for designing a project that can provide much-needed housing and wildlife improvements. We believe this new neighborhood can be a model for environmentally-responsible development that helps address our valley’s critical housing shortage.”

The wildlife mitigation plan outlines a site layout that protects wildlife and proposes enhancements to the Natural Area Preservation parcel that can happen after project approval.  In addition, there will be rules and regulations for the development both during construction and while residents live in the neighborhood that will protect wildlife.

“We look forward to continuing our collaboration with the Town of Vail and the nearby residential neighborhoods to help protect wildlife habitat, not only on the 23-acre parcel, but also across the nearby 1,800 acres of wildlife winter range,” said O’Connor.

Vail’s Planning & Environmental Commission is expected to start reviewing the application in June.