Aspen, Colorado

Aspen is known for its skiing, shopping, fine dining, and high prices. In a town like Aspen, building a home comes with many obstacles, the primary being budget. When building a custom home in Aspen, build times are often 16-24 months, and finding contractors and sub-contractors is a continual struggle. As you can imagine, with this long of build time, budgets typically are exceeded and often times doubled! At SmartPads, we build the homes off-site and deliver them to the home site. We are able to build the home at a fixed price (which is approximately 40% of the overall cost) and deliver the home to the site 95% complete. This building method not only allows us to build a higher-quality product, but we can also build the home in as little as 3 months! Once the home is delivered to the site, a local General Contractor is in charge of completing any remaining items, such as landscaping and the building of decks, balconies, and garages. Typically, these final items only take a few weeks’ time before the home is fully complete and ready to move in! 

Aspen, Colorado

About Aspen

The resort town of Aspen is well-known as one of the world’s leading ski destinations. It is situated in the Roaring Fork Valley amongst the Elk Mountain in central Colorado. At nearly 8,000 feet, Aspen is an outdoor playground for people of all ages. Skiing, luxurious dining, and a diverse variation of high-end and eclectic shopping are a few of the main attractions that bring avid travelers and well-known celebrities to Aspen.

Although Aspen only has a population of roughly 6,600 people, there are nearly 100 restaurants and bars for locals and visitors to enjoy, providing an option for every palate.

In the late nineteenth century, Aspen became a hub for folks looking to strike it rich during the silver boom. In 1887, Aspen became the first town in Colorado to provide electricity to the whole town, however soon after, the town was devastated and almost transformed into a ghost town by the demonetization of silver.

With ranchers and farmers occupying the town until the 1930s, skiing was then introduced and began attracting a variety of people, including hippies, high-rollers, and cowboys. In 1946, the Aspen Skiing Corporation was founded and it has completely transformed the town. Skiing in Aspen offers access to four distinct mountains: Snowmass, Ajax, Highlands, and Buttermilk. Snowmass is now the second largest ski resort in the nation, making it a hub for adventure lovers. 

Aspen sees nearly 300 days of sunshine a year, providing the ideal setting for year-round activities. In the warmer months, locals and visitors enjoy activities such as rafting, biking, hiking, fishing, skiing, and rock climbing. In the winter, this luxurious resort town can expect an average of nearly 300 inches of snowfall, which leads many to world-class skiing, snowmobiling, ice fishing, and much more! 

Accessing the town of Aspen by car is very easy in the summertime. There are multiple routes to town, including Independence Pass, which is the highest paved road in North America. When the winter hits, Independence Pass closes, and access becomes a bit more limited. Often times, visitors choose to fly to Aspen, taking advantage of the 4 airports nearby, 1 of which includes the Aspen/Pitkin County Airport, which is conveniently only 3 miles from downtown Aspen.

SERVICE AREA FAQ’S 

  • Based on your design choice, SmartPads will build luxury prefab homes starting at $255 – $275 SQ/FT for our larger homes. In addition to the home cost, the client is responsible for on-site costs, general contractor fees, and the delivery and setting of the home. Depending on the finish selections and level of customization, the cost of the home can increase. For Aspen homes, there will often be upgrades to higher-end kitchen appliance packages and custom materials to be fitting with the caliber of home expected in the area. In the end, SmartPads could save an Aspen homeowner hundreds of thousands of dollars compared to local construction costs. Our business model works well in Steamboat (our home base) but really shines in Aspen.

The 2 major savings associated with building a prefab home are time and money. In Aspen, home building costs can range from $800 – $1500 SQ/FT.  SmartPads sells the home starting at $185 to $200 SQ/FT + on-site costs and all-in costs. SmartPads homes will save Aspen buyers around 20% to 30% or around $150 + per SQ/FT to deliver a complete project. SmartPads prefab homes are also sold at a fixed cost, providing a solution to budget blowouts which often occur for site-built mountain town construction.

Based on your design choice, SmartPads will build luxury prefab homes starting at $185 SQ/FT for our larger homes. Typically, the home accounts for approximately 40% of the overall budget depending on the design and topography. On-site costs include excavation, foundation, General Contractor fees, tap fees, delivery, etc. Depending on the finish selections and level of customization, the cost of the home can increase.

SmartPads can build a custom luxury single-family home in about 2 months before delivering to the homesite and depending on your local site completion time after the homes arrives, many projects are fully complete in 4 -6 months. 

Yes. All SmartPads designs can be customized. SmartPads can also create a custom plan to match your needs at an additional cost.

SmartPads builds stick-frame homes using the strongest and most efficient materials available. Cedar and metal exterior siding, metal roofs, closed-cell foam insulation, high-altitude energy-efficient windows, and an array of luxury interior finishes including (but not limited to) granite, quartz, custom cabinetry, and more.

To finance a SmartPads home custom luxury prefab home, you simply need a normal general construction loan from the lender of your choice. It’s no different from any construction loan for site-built homes. Usually, a local bank to your location is the best bet. Get ready to save lots of interest as your homes will be built considerably faster than traditional on-site construction.

Generally, prefab homes are allowed in every town in Colorado; however, each neighborhood has specific guidelines and requirements. You can check specific HOA guidelines by looking at the neighborhood covenants to ensure modular construction is allowed. A local realtor can also help with this.