Silverthorne officials gave primary authorization for the town to buy the Silver Inn for just under $5.3 million at a recent meeting. 

Silverthorne Town Council approved the purchase for the near 30-year-old, 30-key hotel on a first reading at a Wednesday, Dec. 10 meeting. 

“While the Town has adjusted the budgets for the general fund and the capital improvements fund due to declining sales and lodging tax revenues, the Silver Inn is being purchased using the Town’s 5A and Urban Renewal Authority (URA) fund,” the town wrote in a statement to the Summit Daily. 

The 5A fund was created by a voter-approved measure meant to be for workforce housing. 

The town stated it acquired the property to preserve future development or workforce housing opportunities. It is currently commercially zoned. 

“We see it as a key piece of property that we’d be able to do a variety of things (with),” interim town manager Mark Leidal said. 

Town staff members confirmed there are no current plans to redevelop the property.

While presenting the two-story, approximate 13,400-square-foot purchase to council, Leidal said the scheduled closing date is Jan. 21. He said the owners approached the town around 18 months ago looking to sell the property. The town did an appraisal on the property, which he said showed it was worth $4.9 million. The town made an offer with that price, and the owner turned it down, according to Leidal. 

The property was up for sale for around a year, and the town learned the property was going to auction Dec. 1. Leidal said the town wanted to engage with the owner before it went to auction and was able to get it under contract for “really close to what the appraisal was.”

A staff memo for the Dec. 10 meeting detailed $527,850, which is around 10% of the purchase price, has already been deposited to the title company “in earnest monies.” 

“Have you let Target know that we’re purchasing this land?” council member Tim Applegate asked Leidal. 

Target neighbors the property, and town staff members told the Summit Daily the purchase should not have much impact on the store.

Leidal answered that the town has not contacted Target. 

Silverthorne Town Council unanimously voted to approve the purchase on a first reading. Council members Erin Young and Bruce Butler were absent. 

The Silver Inn is located at 675 Blue River Parkway and was originally built in 1996, according to a staff memo. To the north of the property is the Target, and to the south is Summit Motor Sports Club. It is across the highway from the Blue River. 

The Geographic Information System for Summit County lists Silver Inn LLC as the owners of the property. It also demonstrates ownership is tied to a post office box for Matthew Kipta.