Dave Collins with his wife, Libby.
When Dave Collins lived at the Antlers in 1976 he certainly didn’t foresee working for the Antlers many years later. He joined the Antlers team about four years ago as project manager overseeing all of our platinum remodels. It is a big job considering how many owners have upgraded their units in recent years. While some of the remodels are small jobs, one or two per season is down to the studs. Right now in Vail the construction trade is in high demand. Not only is the Antlers able to provide a better cost for our owners by having Dave manage the projects, but owners would be hard pressed to find a contractor to take on any smaller jobs in this market. His expertise is invaluable. Dave keeps the projects moving and on schedule so that we can get remodeled condos back in the rental pool for peak seasons.
As Magda King says, “Dave is simply the best! He is thoughtful, smart, and of great support to all of us. I am not sure what we did to deserve him. We are very fortunate”
So who is Dave Collins? Like so many here, he moved here to ski. Back in 1970 he worked at Bill Duddy’s Ski Rentals and taught skiing. In 1973 he got into the construction business and built log homes, about 50 to 60, of them until 1980. He moved back to Denver and took on some large projects including the Oxford Hotel. He then moved just a little further south and built homes in Castle Rock. Then in the mid 1980s Beverly Hills called. He moved out to LA, lived on a boat and built homes for big wigs in the entertainment industry. In 1995 he sailed that boat up to the Northwest and built homes on Bainbridge Island outside of Seattle until he got a call to come back to Vail to work on the Austria Haus, Alpine Club at Arrowhead and other Arrowhead developments including a $40 million home. He built the Adam’s Rib Clubhouse (now Frost Creek) and more. In 2008 after the financial and construction bust he went back to teaching skiing and even got his level 3 certificate. Kind of a big deal at his age, as he says. We are now lucky to have that breadth of experience put to good use in bringing our condos to platinum levels.
He has been married 14 years to his girlfriend from 1970 whom he met at the Gondola Ski Shop. He has one daughter in New York, four step children, and three step grand kids (2 in Denver and 1 in LA). He lives in Gypsum, drives a big truck and a roadster. He still loves to ski, ride motorcycles, golf and fly fish.In his spare time he works on his house and also does wood work.
The Antlers Maintenance Department with Associate Executive housekeeper, Gladys Contreras and General Manager, Magda King.
