A proposed development in a familiar area in Vail....Crossroads Center. The "Crossroads" project put me in the center of a bitter battle between town council members, the developer, design review committee members and the residents that would rage for 2 years. Luckily I was spared from greater knowledge of what would turn out to be one of the most costly redevelopment plans in Vail's history. There were even some town council members who lost their seats over this contentious issue.

At it's core, the old Crossroads Center (remember Clark's Market??) was showing it's age, both from a design and structural perspective. Change was needed and a large scale development was proposed to take over the space in it's entirety. 

Once again, Jeff Winston, Design Consultant for the city for many years, wanted a 3D animation to show the proposed development in the existing environment. This time the concern was the sheer size of the proposed building. An animation clearly showing the scale of the new building against the existing site was critical. I created a "fly-down" style animation showing the existing Crossroads center buildings and replacing them with the proposed model. Luckily, the architecture firm for the developer had nearly completed the building design and I was provided a completed architectural model to use.

I have no idea how my animation was used or received at the time. I know the developer eventually got his plan approved, with some modifications. It is the current "Solaris Residences".

Below is the animation I created along with a picture of the current Solaris Residences. This photo is from Trip Advisor and I believe it's the standard building shot used by the Solaris Residences management team. Credit to the original photographer/owner. I have a provided a link to the Solaris Residences web site as a courtesy since I'm using their name and an image though I have no opinion either way about the project, the redevelopment plan or the residences.