A quick Google search identifies Vail as one of the world’s most bucket-listed mountain town destinations: exceptional in all seasons—even with no snow. On the surface, Vail certainly lives up to its reputation, but how can you offer all things to all comers when you’re missing a home base for the cultural arts? 

That’s the question being asked by a recently formed citizen consortium called the Vail Cultural Alliance Group, which represents more than a dozen arts organizations throughout the valley. Having a home, says Vail gallerist Ramsey Cotter, roots people in their community. “We want people to take pride in where they live and invest themselves in this place. Vail is so siloed,” she continues. “We have handfuls of people doing their own thing, but how do we create synergy between us all?”

That synergy, as Cotter and others envision it, will be centered in The Hub, a yet-to-be-constructed 34,000-square-foot building on a nearly one-acre parcel (currently occupied by a preschool) between the existing town library and Dobson Ice Arena. In theory, it’s a building that can accommodate everything from office space and indoor-outdoor community gathering areas, to performing arts and gallery space to civic functions and even a rooftop bar, and restaurant or food hall. Beth Slifer, a major catalyst behind the project, assembled a list of the most desired uses and approached the town with the group’s request. “The town gave us a small amount of money to figure out what was possible,” she explains. Local architecture firm Zehren & Associates created a preliminary plan for the site that accommodates all the items on the group’s wish list. Slifer then developed a monthly needs assessment matrix, identifying and prioritizing critical information such as anticipated attendees, size accommodation needs, and technology and acoustics requirements. Just collecting the data, she says, made stakeholders cognizant of the fact that, Gerald R. Ford Amphitheater aside, the tony resort community lacks a central gathering space that’s dedicated to arts and culture. “Everyone recognizes that we don’t have anything for the cultural arts in this valley,” says Slifer. “Other world-class resorts have it; why can’t Vail?”

Cotter agrees. “We do look to Aspen because we want to be that, culturally. Having a center that people can access year-round is so good for mental wellness and community building.” Cotter is hopeful that younger residents of Vail have a say in what happens in this new space because, she notes, that demographic isn’t necessarily tuned into Bravo! events or other long-standing cultural offerings at the Ford Amphitheater. “How do we present culture to them in a desirable way?”

Pointing to Immersive Van Gogh (a VR-enhanced touring exhibition that has sold 5+ million tickets since 2017) and ABBA Voyage (a holgraphic concert hall in London with lifesized digital avatars of the Swedish band that has sold over a million tickets since May 2022) Slifer sees an opportunity for The Hub to incorporate technology fueling a next-gen arts and culture renaissance worldwide.

“This building won’t be completed until 2030,” she says. “Over the next six or seven years, we can and should be preparing for the next big thing.”

Promenade Upgrade

One of Vail’s sweetest and most popular nooks is about to get some long-needed TLC. Starting in September, the Town will undertake a two-phase renovation of the Gore Creek Promenade. The grassy pocket park in Vail Village (roughly located between the International Bridge and Up the Creek restaurant on the creek’s south bank) hasn’t seen a significant upgrade in almost three decades—even as the pressure on it ramps up each year. Drawing on survey responses from both locals and second homeowners, priorities include updating the grass on the park’s east end and making it more sustainable, increasing seating, and improving access, while maintaining the park’s charm. The town has budgeted $425,000 for the project. Officials will take bids this summer, commence construction in September, then resume next spring, with a hopeful completion date in June 2024. vailgov.com