Yacht Club in Steamboat Springs - 1,170 Square Foot Deck

The new owners of the Yacht Club building are proposing creating a 1,170-square-foot deck on a roof overlooking the Yampa River. Enlarge photo — Photo by Matt Stensland

Yacht Club seeks rooftop deck
By Tom Ross (Contact) - Reporter Steambaot Pilot & TODAY
Friday, October 17, 2008

Steamboat Springs — The new owners of the Yacht Club building have plans to add a dining deck on the roof of the restaurant, 811 Yampa St.

River Front Partners LLC, of Fremont, Neb., purchased the building and two adjacent parcels for $4.5 million in early July. In addition to the restaurant building, the entity led by Ellen and Rick Fauss acquired an open green space, a small employee parking lot and the steel building currently housing Backdoor Sports.

The developers recently sub­­mitted plans to the city of Steamboat Springs for two new mixed residential/commercial buildings that would be built on the lawn and the site where Backdoor Sports now stands.

The Yacht Club building would remain, but seating capacity would be expanded through the creation of a 1,170-square-foot deck on top of a flat roof overlooking the Yampa River, according to architect Tom Jarmon of Eric Smith Associates.

Senior City Planner Jona­than Spence said the developers would need to obtain a variance to the water body setback ordinance. That ordinance requires that new buildings be set back 30 feet from the banks of the Yampa.

The Yacht Club, operated by Mor­­­ton and Ellen Hoj, is somewhat unusual, even on the south side of Yampa Street, because it fully encroaches on the river setback. The fact that the existing building already abuts the river and an existing ground level deck virtually overhangs the river could make it easier to get the variance, Spence said.

“We’ve been pretty firm with all the developers on water body setbacks,” Spence said. “But this is a little bit of a different animal.”

Jarmon informed Spence in a memo that in addition to adding a deck on the roof of the Yacht Club, the developer intends to add 58 square feet to the building to allow for a staircase needed to provide the required second exit for the deck.

The Hojs did not build the dining room addition that encroaches on the river setback, and they have announced plans to move on from the Yacht Club to open a new fine dining establishment, The Diplomat, in The Victoria at 10th Street and Lincoln Avenue. They could not be reached for comment this week, but a sign on the door of the Yacht Club says the dining room will be closed until Dec. 15.

Ellen Fauss previously told the Steamboat Today that she and her husband have been in discussions with prospective restaurant operators.

Backdoor Sports owner Peter Van De Carr has told the Steam­boat Today he has an option to move his business to a new building at 655 Yampa St. that still is in the development process.

The two new buildings next door to the restaurant would be three stories high and include retail spaces on the ground level and seven residential units above. There would be on-site parking spaces for each unit in the building.