Four Seasons hotel and condo resort is planned for Telluride

quote:

---

Two of Florida’s most prominent real-estate developers are escaping the crowded beaches for a corner of the Rocky Mountains, where they are launching a nearly $1 billion hotel and residential project.

Fort Partners, which has opened four Four Seasons hotels in Florida including the Surf Club, and Merrimac Ventures are building a Four Seasons hotel and condo property in Telluride, Colo., by the foot of the mountain where the ski gondolas begin their ascent.

The project will feature 52 guest rooms, where the owners expect to charge an average rate of more than $1,000 a night. Prices are still being worked out for the 68 residences, but Merrimac said the partners plan to list one-bedrooms starting at more than $2 million. They expect to break ground late next year and open the property two to three years after that. The developers have also started financing discussions with a number of lenders.

It will be the first domestic project outside the Sunshine State for either firm. Both say they are far from giving up on South Florida, where they remain active. But the Florida coast has become so overrun with real-estate developers that the partners are traveling thousands of feet above sea level to find a less-congested opportunity, in a niche ski town that hasn’t seen a new luxury hotel in more than a decade.

---

quote:

---

Despite limited competition for the high-end traveler, opening a luxury property in Telluride isn’t without challenges. The former mining town, best known for its annual film festival over Labor Day weekend, is more remote and less crowded than Vail or Aspen. Direct flights remain limited.

---