The planted landscape island on East Lionshead Circle, just west of the Welcome Center, is gone. The Town of Vail's weekly construction update for Oct. 12 says crews finished removing it last week. That was the first visible step in a project that has been on paper for years. The building next to that spot is up next. The same update schedules demolition of the Lions Pride Building at 500 E. Lionshead Circle to begin Oct. 26, 2026, and says the work should take about three weeks.
That puts the loudest work of the year in Lionshead's quietest weeks. The gondola is idle, several kitchens are dark, and parking is free. If the schedule holds, the old building should be cleared close to the day Vail Mountain opens. The Lionshead that greets skiers in the first days of the season will have a gap on its main circle where a familiar building stood.
What comes down, and what replaces it
The Lions Pride commercial building sits across from the Lionshead Parking Structure. Vail Daily reported that it is best remembered as the former home of the Swedish Clog Cabin. The paper also reported that the building has been vacant since 2020 and the project went through several versions before reaching its current form. It was first proposed as Lionshead Circle Residences and later renamed Montelisse. The plan replaces both the commercial building and an aging parking deck on the 500 and 534 E. Lionshead Circle parcels, which are owned by Telemark Ventures LLC.
According to the same Vail Daily report, here is what is planned for the site:
- A seven-story building of about 85,341 square feet
- 37 condominiums, which may be owner-occupied or rented short or long term
- A below-grade garage with 159 parking spaces
- A heated, paved walkway that circles the building
The heated walkway may be the change people notice most day to day. A long-dark storefront on the route between the parking structure and the gondola will become a building with a snow-free edge. The project's approvals came through the Planning and Zoning Commission and Design Review Board. Vail Daily reported one commissioner's reasoning when he voted yes on Sept. 8:
"It's probably a change that's overdue for Lionshead as a destination. I worry for the long-term success of the community that without some redevelopment, Lionshead will only continue to age."
Bill Jensen, Vail Planning and Zoning Commission, as reported by Vail Daily
The last hurdle before construction was water. The Eagle River Water & Sanitation District agreed to an allocation for the project this summer, which the paper called one of the final steps before a construction permit.
A start date that keeps sliding toward opening day
The demolition date has moved more than once this fall, and each move has pushed it closer to the start of ski season. The town's weekly updates show the change:
- Aug. 31 update: demolition projected to start Sept. 15
- Sept. 28 update: start moved to Oct. 12
- Oct. 12 update: start moved to Oct. 26, with about three weeks of work
Three weeks from Oct. 26 runs to about Nov. 16. Vail Resorts lists Nov. 13 as Vail Mountain's planned opening day. On the current schedule, the last few days of demolition already overlap the first weekend of the ski season, and any further slip would push more of the work into it. The town's notice also says excavation and shoring follow demolition, pending approval of the building permit, with Hyder Construction as the contractor throughout.
The town posts these updates every week. Its Oct. 12 bulletin is the most current source for the schedule, and it is where the next change will appear.
The weeks the demolition shares
The timing makes sense alongside the rest of the Lionshead calendar. Fewer people come through the circle in these weeks than at any other time this year, and the dates line up:
| Date | What's happening in and around Lionshead |
|---|---|
| Sept. 28 to Nov. 19 | Free parking in all Town-operated lots |
| Oct. 14 to Oct. 15 | Alpine Pizza closed |
| Oct. 25 to Nov. 5 | Bart & Yeti's kitchen closed |
| Oct. 26 | Lions Pride demolition scheduled to begin |
| Nov. 11 to Nov. 12 | Lionshead ticket office preseason hours, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. |
| Nov. 13 | Vail Mountain opening day; Eagle's Nest Marketplace opens at the top of the Eagle Bahn |
| Nov. 20 | Winter parking period begins |
Bart & Yeti's kitchen closes the day before demolition starts and is listed as closed through Nov. 5, about halfway through the scheduled work. The free-parking window covers the entire demolition schedule with a few days left over. As of the page reviewed, the town said detailed winter parking information would be posted in mid-October.
The Lionshead Welcome Center, at 395 E. Lionshead Circle and closest to the work zone, stays open daily from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. all year. Town buses are free, and the posted 2026 schedule keeps service to the Lionshead Transit Center and West Lionshead Plaza through mid-December.
Where to eat while the lot is loud
The Town of Vail Welcome Centers' Fall 2026 Restaurant Guide, updated Oct. 8, lists 19 Lionshead establishments. Many of them stay open through the shoulder season.
- Blue Moose Pizza: daily 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., open through the off-season apart from a three-day cleaning closure with dates to be announced
- Garfinkel's: football-season hours, noon to 8 p.m. Monday through Thursday, noon to 9 p.m. Friday and Saturday, 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sunday
- Alpine Pizza: 11:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. Sunday through Wednesday and until 8 p.m. Thursday through Saturday, closed Oct. 14 and 15
- Bart & Yeti's: 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Thursday and until 8 p.m. Friday through Sunday, with the kitchen closed Oct. 25 through Nov. 5
- Casa Jalisco: the guide lists 10:30 a.m. to 9 p.m., Wednesday through Monday, at 616 W. Lionshead Circle
The guide says its information can change and suggests calling ahead. It was a snapshot as of Oct. 8. Casa Jalisco's own website lists different daily hours from the guide, so it is worth calling before you go.
After opening day
The season's events begin on opening day. Vail Après runs Nov. 13 through Jan. 3 and opens with a Stoke Sessions concert from 4 to 7 p.m. on Nov. 13. More Stoke Sessions follow on Nov. 20 and Dec. 4. On Nov. 27, the Arrabelle rink hosts a skating show from 4:45 to 5:30 p.m., followed by the Lionshead Tree Lighting at 6 p.m. More skating shows are scheduled on Dec. 5 and Dec. 12. Lionshead's first holiday evening will take place a short walk from a site that will likely be well into excavation by then.
The larger plan west of the garage
Montelisse is the redevelopment Lionshead can already see. West Lionshead is the much bigger one still in planning. At the Vail Town Council's June 16 update, Vail Resorts as site owner and East West Partners as developer presented a conceptual plan they are working on with the town. Vail Daily's coverage described the proposed pieces:
- A new gondola up to Eagle's Nest
- 52,000 to 58,000 square feet of dining and retail
- A public parking garage and transit hub with 300 to 350 spaces
- 220 to 280 housing units, both market-rate and deed-restricted
- Space for skier services, a wellness facility and a music venue
Council members asked how condominium-hotel units would count toward the housing total. They also pressed for benefits to locals as well as visitors, and asked about public access to the event venue and public restrooms. The partners aimed to turn the concept into a predevelopment agreement "by fall," followed by council debate, public input and a vote. The reporting we reviewed for this post doesn't show a council vote on that agreement yet, so West Lionshead remains a concept as of mid-October. The demolition on East Lionshead Circle is scheduled to start in two weeks.
If you want to talk through how Montelisse, West Lionshead and the next few seasons fit together for your own place on the circle, the team at Griffin & Gardner follows these projects week by week and is happy to go over them with you. Let's Connect.
