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ENLARGE
Ralph Gunning of Castle Creek Construction and Bob Jackson of Mountain Terrascape bulldoze the old Orchard Inn in El Jebel. No new development plan for the property is expected for now.
A highly visible midvalley site where an old restaurant buildiing was demolished over the weekend will sit vacant for the foreseeable future.
Basalt officials said Monday there is no application for a new development at the old Orchard Inn property on the southeast corner of the El Jebel traffic light. The property owner, Mid Valley Development Co. LLC, received a demolition permit Sept. 24. Heavy equipment started tearing down the building on Saturday and completed the job Monday. The work fueled questions about development.
The site is dominated by towering cottonwoods trees next to irrigation ditches and smaller fruit trees. The Weigner family converted an old ranch house on the property into a restaurant and added onto it in the late 1970s.
The property was sold in the late 1980s to a company affiliated with part-time Aspen businessman Charlie Moss. The site housed a succession of failed restaurants, including Cilantro, Calypso and Mermaids. The last restaurant closed several years ago and the building sat empty for years.
Vandals broke out the windows and caused other damage. Many observers regarded the boarded-up building a blight on Basalt and El Jebel. The owner wanted the building razed for safety reasons, according to town officials.
Basalt officials said Monday there is no application for a new development at the old Orchard Inn property on the southeast corner of the El Jebel traffic light. The property owner, Mid Valley Development Co. LLC, received a demolition permit Sept. 24. Heavy equipment started tearing down the building on Saturday and completed the job Monday. The work fueled questions about development.
The site is dominated by towering cottonwoods trees next to irrigation ditches and smaller fruit trees. The Weigner family converted an old ranch house on the property into a restaurant and added onto it in the late 1970s.
The property was sold in the late 1980s to a company affiliated with part-time Aspen businessman Charlie Moss. The site housed a succession of failed restaurants, including Cilantro, Calypso and Mermaids. The last restaurant closed several years ago and the building sat empty for years.
Vandals broke out the windows and caused other damage. Many observers regarded the boarded-up building a blight on Basalt and El Jebel. The owner wanted the building razed for safety reasons, according to town officials.
