When the Westin Riverfront Resort & Spa opened on the banks of the Eagle River in 2008, the development raised the bar for luxury in Avon, a town of timeshares and workforce apartments at the foot of Beaver Creek where the architectural aesthetic previously trended to Soviet-era brutalism. Instead, the $500 million, LEED-certified Westin broke the mold with a soaring mountain modern lodge with 210 guest rooms and residences, towering over a fitness center and spa with a heated outdoor lap pool, a Richard Sandoval restaurant with a terrace overlookingBeaver Creek’s Birds of Prey downhill, and a gondola whisking guests, and homeowners, across the river and Highway 6 directly to the slopes. The development’s master plan had called for the expansion of a downstream riverfront village, but the Great Recession chilled that for more than a decade. First, in 2018, came Basecamp on the Creek, an enclave of 14 contemporary trilevel riverfront townhomes (with three bedrooms and four bathrooms, priced from $1.59 million) with sprawling decks cantilevered over the south bank of the Eagle just upriver from the Westin. A year later, just west of the resort, followed the Riverfront Village Townhomes, 19 trilevel residences (with three bedrooms and three bathrooms) that quickly sold out upon debut in 2019.

Now, sandwiched between that devolopment and the venerable Westin, the Riverfront Lodge, a four-story mountain chalet with 36 residences (from one to four bedrooms; at press time, all but one, a fourth-floor three-bedroom, two-bath unit priced at $2.39 million, was sold).

It’s no surprise, given the proximity to the river, the Eagle Valley Trail recpath stretching upriver to West Vail and downriver to Eagle, not to mention Nottingham Park—a greenspace with an outdoor amphitheater, a beach, and a lake that’s a mecca for stand-up paddleboarding—and a pedestrian promenade connecting the park with a nexus of shops, restaurants, and boutiques.

“With the addition of the gondola, the Westin has become the gateway to the mountain,” says Slifer, Smith & Frampton Eagle County Sales Manager Didi Doolittle. “With all of the improvements the Town of Avon has done, many buyers have chosen new construction in Avon over on-mountain resorts, investing in this community.”

Number of active listings on the market, at press time: 25

Median home price of active listings: $685K

Number of homes sold in 2020: 121

Median price of homes sold: $518K

Average number of days on the market: 98