Aspen, CO – Chabad Terminates Contract on Silver Ranch

Aspen, CO – The Jewish Resource Center Chabad of Aspen, which planned to purchase Aspen’s Silver Lining Ranch for its new community center, has terminated its contract to buy the property in the face of a legal battle with neighboring homeowners who claim neighborhood covenants don’t allow the religious center on the property.

Attorney Richard Neiley, who represents the Little Start Foundation, which owns the ranch, confirmed that he received a letter from Chabad terminating the purchase contract yesterday afternoon.

Chabad won approvals from Aspen City Council in May to build a 700-square-foot housing unit on the property and make some changes to the traffic flow pattern around the existing 14,000-square-foot lodge-like building. Chabad had been under contract since last September to purchase the 6.5 acre property for $13.5 million.

On Monday, the Little Star Foundation filed a lawsuit in Pitkin County District Court against the Stillwater Homeowners Association, where Silver Lining Ranch is located, and the homeowners association members, (as was reported here on VIN News). The suit asks a judge to issue an injunction stopping the HOA from threatening litigation, which had prevented Chabad from executing its contract to purchase the property. The deal was originally scheduled to close on June 3.

The lawsuit is “definitely going to go forward, especially now that Chabad has terminated the contract,” said Neiley, adding that he would likely amend the lawsuit complaint.
“It’s an unfortunate turn of events,” Neiley said.

Chabad attorneys and Rabbi Mendel Mintz, who heads Chabad Aspen, could not be reached for comment.

The Little Star Foundation is run by professional-tennis-player-turned-nun Andrea Jaeger. The foundation serves children with terminal illnesses by treating them to mountain activities. The foundation operated a camp at the Silver Lining Ranch since the late 1990s, but moved its operations to Durango in 2005. Jaeger says funds from selling the property are crucial to the financial health of her foundation.

In 2007, Jaeger hoped to sell the ranch as a single-family home, but City Council wanted to see a nonprofit remain on the land.
In January 2009, the Stillwater HOA amended its covenants so that only a single-family home or a facility for terminally ill children would be permissible on the land. Jaeger’s lawsuit claims that the changes were made without her knowledge.

Prior to the January amendment, Stillwater homeowners say the covenants on the Silver Lining Ranch property would only allow a facility for terminally ill children, while Jaeger claims that the covenants would allow City Council to make amendments to the original approval for the ranch, which it did in May.
Citing the pending litigation, a Stillwater homeowner contacted Thursday declined comment.

What’s next for the Jewish community center remains unknown. Chabad Aspen in 2006 received approval to build a new 30,000-square-foot center on the south side of the 400 block of Main Street, but initially abandoned those plans in favor of the Silver Lining Ranch.