Variety is the spice of life, but the Badia family would like to keep the status quo.
At least, that’s when it comes to their Aspen home.
Joseph A. Badia, a prominent figure in the spice industry with his products widely available across the United States, acquired a $37.3 million neighboring teardown in Aspen. According to the Wall Street Journal, his main goal was to maintain the natural beauty around his own property.
The sale spans about 21 acres, including one vacant house and planning permission for two new 15,000-square-foot mansions.
Badia’s neighbor, former Sprint CEO Marcelo Claure, bought the properties in 2020 with plans to build a family compound, the Journal reported.
Badia and his wife Nancy purchased the neighboring six-bedroom house on 10 acres just last year for $18.5 million.
A real estate team from Aspen Snowmass Sotheby’s International Realty, represented by AJ Morris and Craig Morris, facilitated the purchase for Badia. He opted to buy out the estate owned by Claure to block any future developments, AJ explained in an interview with the Journal.
AJ mentioned, “Their main concern was to avoid having large speculative homes constructed right next to theirs, which would severely obstruct their views, negatively alter the surrounding natural beauty, and disturb the elk migratory path.”
Claure, founder and CEO of Claure Group, purchased his scenic swath of land back in 2020. The Bolivian-American entrepreneur ultimately listed the property for $45 million in 2023 after his changing his plans for a family compound, according to the Journal. Claure sold a different Aspen home for $18.5 million in the same year.
The Badias’ acquisition of Claure’s property encompasses two parcels. One spans 10.5 acres and contains an existing 11,000-square-foot dwelling, plus plans for a new seven-bedroom property. The other, a 10.8-acre piece of land, comes with plans for a five-bedroom home and equestrian facilities.
The plans on offer made the listing especially valuable, given the surrounding county’s restrictions on development, seller’s broker Brittanie Rockhill told the Journal at the time of listing.
Badia’s father started the Florida-based Badia Spices empire in 1967. The company manufactures and distributes spices, blends and sauces and more. Badia was acquired by the investment firm Bia Foods with BDT & MSD Partners, a merchant bank, in 2024.
AJ Morris told the Journal that the Badia family has no present plans to build on their new property, but Badia did purchase the development rights from Claure for under $4 million.
Claure’s listing agent Brittanie Rockhill of Douglas Elliman declined to comment. Claure and Badia could not be reached for comment.
