$1.5 Million Virtual Office Opening in Vail Suburb

The tiny town of Avon, about 12 miles west of Vail, is at the entrance to Beaver Creek, a posh ski resort filled with multi-million estates, expensive hotels, golf and a home of former President Gerald Ford.

It also is now home to the $1.5 million White River Executive Center, the first “virtual office” complex in Avon. The project, developed by local resident Whitney Ward, allows tenants to pay less than $200 a month to get a human to answer your phone and the use of a convention room.

Virtual office tenants share staffing costs and pay extra for services such as Web design, word processing and mailings. The advantage is a tenant doesn’t need to physically occupy the space and give the illusion of a prestigious address close to Vail.

Whitney also expects the 60-office building to serve as an ”office away from the office” for business people and second homeowners who come to the Vail Valley for golf and skiing. The center is outfitted with high-speed T-1 data lines for speedy Web access.