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Steamboat Springs — When the Gansmann home in The Range at Wildhorse Meadows is complete, it will be notable for the Romanesque, copper-topped turret at the northwest corner of the home. The turret will house a dramatic spiral staircase.

It also could be the first single-family residence to be completed in the large development adjacent to The Tennis Center at Steamboat Springs.

"We wanted to create something really interesting to pull arriving guests up to the main level of the home," said architect Mike Olsen, of Michael JK Olsen Architects.

The Range is a neighborhood of 41 single-family homes in the broader Wildhorse Meadows project near the Steamboat Ski Area's Meadows parking lot.

In total, the Wildhorse Meadows development includes eight separate land parcels, including First Tracks, an affordable housing project with 98 units (two of four buildings are nearing completion); the 86-unit Trailhead Lodge slated for completion in June; four parcels slated for 150 mountain loft-style condominiums and townhome residences; and a hotel site approved for 200 units. Developer Resort Ventures West also is in final negotiations with Steamboat Ski & Resort Corp. for a people-mover gondola linking Wildhorse Meadows to the resort base.

The Gansmann house, being built by general contractor Scott Gansmann, will comprise four bedrooms in 4,200 square feet on a 0.24-acre lot. The 41 lots in the subdivision sold for an average of $525,000 beginning in October 2006.

The subdivision lots were buildable in September 2007, but as the real estate market softened in late autumn, the owners - many of them intending to build speculative houses - took a wait-and-see approach. There was no home-building activity in the subdivision throughout the summer of 2008.

The Gansmann home is listed on the Steamboat Springs Multiple Listing Service with an asking price of $3.295 million.

Olsen said his clients' decision to build was based on their observation that recessions have rarely lasted more than 16 months. Because luxury homes in that price range usually take 18 months to two years to build, he said the developers are optimistic they will be ready to acquire a certificate of occupancy as the market pulls out of the current economic crisis.

Olsen, thanks in part to long-term client relationships, will have the opportunity to establish the design aesthetic in the neighborhood.

"It's just coincidence that we've designed the first five houses in the neighborhood, but by no means is there a common theme to their style," Olsen said. "While they're all designed for the mountain environment, they all showcase a variety of architectural styles."

He has five clients who either have had their plans approved by the design review board for The Range or have engaged the process. Another three potential clients have contacted him about designing homes at The Range, but they haven't begun the process, he said.

Mariana Ishida, of Resort Ventures West, confirmed that just one other architect is working with a client at The Range.

She said she is pleased with Olsen's ability to meet the design standards for a variety of clients and still give each home a distinctive look.

"All of the homes fit, but they all look different," Ishida said. "He has taken the design guidelines and applied them to different styles."

The guidelines stress stone, heavy timbers and even artistic concrete but no river rock.

One of the stated objectives of the review process at The Range, Ishida said, is to allow for architectural flexibility that results in individual interpretations. The objectives also encourage developers to reflect Steamboat's ranching heritage. It may not be immediately apparent in the home being framed this winter at 2791 Bronc Buster Loop, but the next home in line on Lot 28 will have a more obvious Western look. It will feature large log columns by the front door, hand-hewn siding and corroded metal roofing.

The building permit for that project has been issued, Olsen said, but construction may or may not begin this summer.

The Gansmann house, in addition to the European-looking turret, will feature reclaimed timbers on the interior to go with arched glue-lam beams that have been distressed to match the reclaimed lumber.