ASPEN, CO-A partially build mixed-use development that is in Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings will be up for auction in August. Sheldon Good & Co., which is holding the auction, tells GlobeSt.com that it is difficult to judge what the price that auction will fetch at this point because “the auction is being utilized to gauge the market as a price discovery technique.”

The site—at one time the location of the Stage 3 Movie Theater—now contains a partially-built, three-story building which, when completed, will house 30,000 square feet of residential, retail and office space. 

The property will be sold absolute, regardless of price, with a suggested opening bid of $3 million, according to Jim MacDonnell, executive managing director of Sheldon Good’s Denver office, which will be managing the marketing and auction sale of the property. 

Sheldon Good tells Globest.com that interested parties would most likely be investors/developers both locally and in other parts of the US looking to acquire a project and establish a presence in the Aspen resort market.

Because the development is a Section 363 sale in the Bankruptcy Court, title will be delivered to the successful bidder free and clear of all liens and encumbrances, says MacDonnell, pointing out that it is an “important consideration for a developer or investor interested in completing construction and selling or leasing the individual commercial and residential units.”

Located at 625 E. Main St. in the center of Aspen’s downtown business district, this project was one of a handful of core development sites that the city approved within the last three years, says MacDonnell. “About 15% of the total construction—including the basement and foundation, the most difficult and time-consuming portion—was completed before the owners suspended construction and declared bankruptcy.”

When finished, the building will offer 10,573 square feet of prime retail and office space, five penthouse residential apartment homes and five for-sale affordable housing units to satisfy Aspen’s Affordable Housing Program, according to a prepared statement.  Patio decks, valet space and below-grade, private parking are also included.

The penthouse homes, located on the building's second and third floors, range in size from 1,228 square feet to 1,998 square feet of luxury living space and offer one or two bedrooms. The ground-floor retail space has visibility on Main Street and loading dock access to an alley behind the building. Second-floor office space will be accessed by a striking contemporary lobby entrance off Main Street, with elevators leading from the parking garage to a rooftop terrace. The auction, which has been approved by the bankruptcy court, will be held at the St. Regis Aspen Resort in August.