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The Snowmass Club, which Aspen Skiing Co. has owned for 23 years, is under contract to a Pennsylvania-based golf-course development company. The deal is expected to close in January.

Jill Beathard / Snowmass Sun

SNOWMASS VILLAGE — The Snowmass Club & Golf Course, which Aspen Skiing Co. has owned for 23 years, is under contract to be sold.

Skico announced Wednesday that Toll Golf, a division of Toll Brothers Inc., which develops and operates golf courses, had signed a letter of intent and will finalize the purchase and sale agreement this week. The deal is expected to close in January, Skico said.

The sale will comprise all the buildings and operations of the Snowmass Club, including the restaurants, golf course and other amenities. Toll Golf also will take over management of the homeowners’ associations of the club’s residences, said Skico spokesman Jeff Hanle.

David Richey, president of Toll Golf, said his company currently has no plans to make changes to the club. The firm will begin the due-diligence period of the transaction before looking at long-term plans, he said.

“We hope it’ll be a lot of business as usual (after closing),” he said. “We hope to learn about the club and the needs and wants of the members, and we hope to be able to deliver on those.”

Toll Golf, based in Horsham, Pa., is the golf development and operations division of Toll Brothers. The division was formed to assist with golf amenities in its parent company’s residential developments, but it also acquires, owns and manages country clubs both within communities and free-standing, according to its website.

The Snowmass Club employs 200 to 275 workers, depending on the season. Skico announced the contract to club employees Wednesday morning. Toll has said all current employees are eligible to apply for rehire, according to Hanle.

Hanle said Skico was not seeking to sell but rather was approached by Toll Golf.

“We’ve been approached a number of times throughout our history of owning the club,” Hanle said. He said the company looked at what Toll Golf could do for the property and what “it would do for Snowmass and for the valley” to sell.

“It allows us to concentrate on running ski areas,” he said.

Richey said the Snowmass Club made a good match for Toll Golf, which is looking to expand. This will be its first golf property in Colorado.

“Obviously it’s a fabulous location and very well-known,” he said. “We have 12 residential golf communities that are all comparable and in fabulous locations.”

The Snowmass Club has more than 1,000 members. A golf membership at the club costs $50,000.

jbeathard@snowmasssun.com