Cost of Place-holder in Vail: $100,000

Major renovations are going on in the storied, wealthy Colorado ski town of Vail. And just a measly $100,000 deposit guarantees a second home near the snow.

With a new sales center in Lionshead Village - sister of the upscale Vail Village - the ski company asked potential buyers to put up $100,000 to join a lottery for condos priced from $1.3 million to more than $9 million.

According to spokeswoman Kelly Ladyga, Vail Resorts has received "573 reservations for 63 of 67 available condominiums in The Arrabelle at Vail Square."

Commenting on the success, Adam Aron, chairman and chief executive officer of Vail Resorts said, "There is nothing but smiles at Vail Resorts today. I don't know whether we've been more excited in the past two weeks about the abundance of fresh snow that has fallen on the slopes of our five world-class ski resorts or the abundance of Arrabelle reservations that has arrived on our realtors' desks."


Arrabelle will be an anchor of Vail Square, which is now called Lionshead. It will be a hotel-condo run by RockResorts, which is owned by Vail Resorts.

"This is the most important project for this community and this company," said Jack Hunn, vice president of Vail Resorts Development Co., the real estate development wing of the resort company, told the newspaper. "This is the one that really changes the perspective of Lionshead for the better."

Potential buyers have registered for their top three choices of 67 luxury condos that will soon emerge as part of a $200 million hotel anchoring a new village plan for the long- neglected Lionshead.