Traer Creek History

The Village was originally ranch land as was typical of the Vail Valley. The original patent was by Oscar Traer in 1891; ownership passed through several family’s hands, ending with Willis Nottingham in 1945. 

The Avon Short Take-Off and Landing Airport (STOLport) once operated by Rocky Mountain Airways, was located just east of the Town of Avon.

In 1992, Bill Nottingham sold the Village to a Traer Creek affiliate.  Additional land bordering the northern side of the STOLport site was also acquired.  This additional land straddles I-70 and encompasses the south-facing mountain slope overlooking I-70, Avon, Beaver Creek and Eagle Vail. In total, the STOLport property and the additional land acquired from Bill Nottingham cover approximately 1,800 acres situated, at the time of purchase, in unincorporated Eagle County. 

In 1998, the Avon Town Council unanimously voted to annex this land into the Town of Avon as The Village at Avon. 


Arthur Erickson drew inspiration from the old Avon lettuce sheds when designing the colonnade canopies in front of Walmart and Home Depot.

Arthur Erickson drew inspiration from the old Avon lettuce sheds when designing the colonnade canopies in front of Walmart and Home Depot.

Historic Milestones

2002-Present -  Traer Creek Metropolitan District (a quasi-municipal entity with its own board and a fiduciary to its constituents) either constructs, conveys, or provides compensation for i) New I-70 full-diamond [M1] interchange (exit #168); ii) Post Blvd; iii) six (6) roundabouts; iv) the Union Pacific railroad underpass; v) Chapel Place connection; vi) East Beaver Creek Blvd Phases I-II; vii) Swift Gulch Road; viii) Highway 6 trail exaction.

2002 - Ground is broken on a new Walmart Supercenter and Home Depot at The Village at Avon.

2003 - Walmart Supercenter and Home Depot open a quarter mile from the new interchange. Buffalo Ridge Affordable Housing opens and provides approximately 244 affordable housing dwelling units.

2004 - The Arthur Erickson designed colonnade canopy that diffuses the frontage of Walmart and The Home Depot shopping center is one of twelve projects honored in the 2004 Wood Design Awards offered through Wood Design and Building and Wood Le Bois magazines.

2004 - Traer Creek begins providing, at no cost, a site for Eagle Valley Sustainability Alliance's recycling center in Avon.

2005 - The “colonnade canopy” wins acclaim in Architectural Magazine for “redesigning the big boxes.”

2005 - Traer Creek welcomes Beaver Creek Rodeo, at no cost, to the western edge of the valley floor.

2006 - Traer Creek, confirming its commitment to developing a complete and safe community, donates land immediately adjacent to I-70 exit #168 to the Eagle County Health Services District without any obligation to do so. This ends the District’s ten-year-search for a desperately needed and strategic site in the Town of Avon.

2006 - In the fall of 2006 Traer Creek Plaza opens and is the Valley’s first LEED certified mixed use (retail and office)commercial building. The McGraw-Hill Companies’ Colorado Construction awards Traer Creek Plaza with the Gold Hard Hat prize for Outstanding Mixed-Use Project. Traer Creek Plaza wins a Building of America Award presented by The Real Estate & Construction Review – Colorado Edition. Traer Creek is also nominated for the Vail Valley Partnership’s Green Business of the Year Award and is selected as one of the three finalists.

2008 - The Eagle County Health Service District’s Ambulance Response Station opens, completing construction of an architecturally unique and LEED Silver-certified building, following Traer Creek’s lead in its concern for the environment and innovative design.

2021 - The Piedmont apartments has its Grand Opening. 240 desperately needed rental units are added to the local housing supply. The Piedmont is fully occupied at opening and remains so today.

2022 - JMA begins construction of the 243 room Marriott hotel project.

Future - Construction of Planning Area A, the Village’s core, will begin.  Planning has gone through many iterations but the Village Core is designed to fully integrate commercial and residential uses. Construction of the eastern edge of the valley floor will consist of mostly residential uses.