Groundbreaking is targeted for May construction on a row of new luxury townhomes near the base of the Wildhorse Gondola and Meadows parking lot in Steamboat Springs.

Real estate listing agent Jon Wade with The Steamboat Group said the project, which was originally envisioned as part the Wildhorse Meadows neighborhood planned unit development, will start with a first phase of 21 four-story townhomes in six buildings on a strip of sloped land between Mount Werner Road and Broomtail Lane. The initial phase in the development dubbed “ROAN,” named for a color of a horse, is expected to be completed in November 2026, Wade said.

The ROAN development was recommended for approval by the city planning department and then approved unanimously with no variances at the Steamboat Springs Planning Commission meeting on March 13, which included approval of 30 units in nine buildings on 2.3 acres.

Already the project has four large signs advertising the ROAN as “an exclusive collection of three-and four-bedroom mountain townhomes with direct Wildhorse Gondola access.”

City Planner Jeremy Brown said the area is zoned Resort Residential that is meant for higher density development.

“This Wildhorse development was a continuation of the vested PUD,” or planned unit development, Brown said. “It is infill development that we are always interested in supporting as it is one of the goals of the community plan.”

Wade said the initial units will range in size from 2,600 to 3,000 square feet in three-or four-bedroom units with a starting price of $3.6 million per unit. The four-story units will extend in height a little above the sidewalk along Mount Werner Road, which is the main entrance road to Steamboat Resort, but owners would enter the units from driveways below off Broomtail Lane.

The townhomes’ main view would face south toward the Wildhorse Gondola, including looking down from planned top-floor hot tubs. Resident parking is planned for oversized one-car garages as well in the driveways off Broomtail Lane.

Construction will start on the west end with an amenity building located just downhill from the roundabout at Steamboat Boulevard with townhomes continuing to across the road from the Arnold Barn area. Construction of more townhomes is anticipated to curve from the Arnold Barn area to near the Knoll parking lot, the listing brokers explained.

An improved walkway is planned so that owners can walk to the Wildhorse Gondola, and the units are situated in the green zone which allows short-term rentals, Wade noted.

The initial construction of 21 townhomes is anticipated to break ground in May, followed by an additional three buildings with nine more units, said Ryan Shattuck, co-listing broker with The Steamboat Group. Townhome construction is projected to continue below the curving entrance road to the resort with 48 additional units.

“There is no set date for the construction of the additional 48 townhomes as it will really depend on the pace of sales for this first phase,” Shattuck said.

The ROAN is a project of developers RAL Companies based in New York City that has built other luxury properties including in Colorado such as Four Seasons in Vail and Hotel Madeline in Telluride. Steamboat Springs-based HLCC Construction Co. is the selected contractor.

“The developer RAL Companies has a stellar reputation, and we expect these to be top-notch townhomes from a quality and design perspective,” Shattuck said. More information can be found at ROANSteamboat.com.

The New York City-based developer purchased 13 acres total between Mount Werner Road and the Wildhorse Gondola and has plans for eventual construction of condominium units in the flat lands directly adjacent to and north of the Wildhorse Gondola base, Wade said.

An adjacent property that is not part of the ROAN development is a wetlands area between the Meadows parking lot and the Wildhorse Gondola base. That 2.6-acre property is owned by RP Steamboat Springs LLC and is zoned commercial and residential but is not currently on the market, said Gavin Malia, a broker with Ascent Real Estate in Steamboat Springs, despite a property for sale signage on the site.

That parcel also encompasses the proposed pathway for an extension to the west of the Wildhorse Gondola base to reach the Meadows parking lot for possible future development of a higher-speed gondola. “The city of Steamboat Springs and Steamboat Ski Resort continue to work together on an effort to bring gondola transportation from the Meadows parking lot up to the base area,” said Maren Franciosi, Steamboat Resort senior manager of communications, on Friday.