Steamboat Pilot & Today

Steamboat Springs — Blackhawk Loft Townhomes were conceived from the beginning to give vacation home buyers a clear alternative to the peeled log and stucco western lodge theme that has proliferated here throughout much of the last decade.

The first building in the 24-townhome project is currently under construction on Village Drive, less than a quarter of a mile from the gondola building. The project designers are aiming for a style they call "primitive modern."

"The townhomes will look unbelievably full of detail like a little diamond," Architect Scott Myller said. He and partner Katie Kiefer are the principles in West Elevation Architecture.

The project aspires to honor the materials and style of aging agricultural buildings in Northwest Colorado while pulling in modern design elements, Myller said.

"We tried to break the building into 100-year-old ranch building scale," Myller added.

Kiefer said the Youngs, who live on Long Island, N.Y., and own a metal fabrication plant, deliberately set out to establish a market for vacation homes here based on a fresh aesthetic.

"We felt, and they continue to feel very strongly that a lot of what is in the marketplace today looks alike," Kiefer said.

Blackhawk will be arranged around a European style courtyard with the intent that the buildings appear randomly placed, Kiefer said. The exterior materials will include steel deck railings, variegated colors of concrete block, and a small amount of board and batten siding. But the predominant exterior material will consist of seamless wood that will closely resemble stucco in appearance. The project will also feature wood garage doors.

Listing Realtor Bill Maynard of Coldwell Banker Silver Oak said the construction values will also bring something new to Steamboat.

"This is more expensive construction than what we're used to in Steamboat," Maynard said. "There's so much masonry and steel."

Ultimately, Maynard said the project will include 24 units in six buildings. The initial building under construction this summer will include just three units. Pat Berka of Colorado Professional Builders in Steamboat is the general contractor.

The townhomes are large, ranging from 2,064 to 2,228 square feet. The tentative price range is $550,000 to $650,000. Maynard said the floor plans approved by the Youngs deliberately limited the number of bedrooms to three in order to keep them large.

Kiefer agreed the Youngs' intent was to offer bedrooms large enough to allow more living space and furniture than the typical ski town master suite.

The interior of the townhomes will be noteworthy for exposed steel and wooden beams, hardwood floors, open steel staircases and even some exposed electrical conduit.

Some doors will slide on tracks, reminiscent of something one might see in a converted loft or even a barn.

The fireplaces will pick up the same concrete block on the outside of the building, with surrounds of natural stone.