REAL ESTATE IN THE NEWS
REAL ESTATE IN THE NEWS
News in the Roaring Fork Valley of Particular Interest to the Real Estate Community
Compliments of the Aspen Board of REALTORS® A rundown of government and business activity over the last month, focusing on issues and items that are of particular interest to the Real Estate community.
ASPEN
City Implements New Park Rental Policies
With increased usage of the city’s public parks, officials revisited rental rules and will implement new guidelines, the Aspen Daily News reported. Part of the new system delineates between a park rental and a commercial rental. Park rentals will include any event that is four hours or less in duration, and will allow a maximum of 125 participants. Park rentals will also only be allowed to have limited infrastructure, such as yoga mats or pop-up tents, and will be booked 90 days or less in advance.
Commercial rentals of parks will also be allowed with a new commercial fee that will cost $25 per day. Hourly rental fees will also be implemented. Special events, on the other hand, will be categorized into two levels. Level one events would have no alcohol use, no street closures, less than 250 people, limited infrastructure and would last one day. Level two events would include at least one of the following: alcohol sales or distribution, street or park closures, multiple-day duration, significant infrastructure and more than 250 people including vendors, staff and volunteers.
Restaurants, Residents Will Have to Compost
Aspen City Council unanimously approved the strictest composting ordinance of their term and one of the most stringent in the state or the nation, the Aspen Times reported. The city will require all commercial businesses holding a retail food license to separate organics from substances designated for trash disposal, going into effect Jan. 15, 2026. That’s when all commercial businesses and multifamily properties shall separate organics from substances designated for trash disposal. As part of the ramp-up, by Jan. 15, 2028, every owner or occupant of a premises within the city, including all premises in a Residential Zone District generating organic waste shall separate organic materials from substances designated for trash disposal.
Record Retail Sales in 2022
Hotels, restaurants, shops, and other Aspen business sectors collectively produced a record-setting $1.2 billion in taxable sales in 2022, according to the latest figures available from the city of Aspen’s finance department and reported by the Aspen Times. Last year’s sales total got a major assist from inflation, which peaked nationally in June with a 9.1% rate and gradually declined, with December ending the year with an annualized 6.5% rate.
December crowned 2022 with $169.7 million in taxable sales in Aspen, a 13.4% improvement over December 2021. Brick-and-mortar sales comprised 84% of the retail spending in December, and online/external sales made up for 16% of the sales.
Aspen Starbucks to Close
The Starbucks in Aspen shut in February because of “issues of nonpayment” with franchisee Manhattan Capital, according to a spokesperson for the Seattle-based chain, the Aspen Times reported. It was one of eight across the country to close. Starbucks and Manhattan Capital first reached a franchise-license agreement in 2016. The agreement allowed Manhattan Capital to open a certain number of stores and allowed its use of Starbucks trademarks. In addition to the one-time franchise fee per location, Manhattan Capital was required to pay 7% of its stores’ monthly gross revenue and a 1% advertising fee to Starbucks. Manhattan Capital filed for Chapter 11 protection in Eastern Pennsylvania Bankruptcy Court in August. The filing said Manhattan Capital owed $3.9 million to Starbucks in royalties and other fees.
Snowmass Village
Storage Facility Opens in Old Snowmass
Amid a market in which availability at regional storage facilities has been limited in recent years, two entrepreneurs have opened a new storage center in Old Snowmass, the Aspen Daily News reported. Snowmass Self Storage, developed by Ryan Chadwick and business partner Michael Forrest, opened in January. It’s located next to the Conoco gas station at the corner of Highway 82 and Snowmass Creek Road. The 50-unit facility is made up of two buildings, both with drive-up access. It features a mix of unit sizes, and was designed to accommodate large vehicles, boats, ATVs and snowmobiles. It also has smaller unit sizes for skis, bikes, stand-up paddleboards, everyday household items and furniture.
Snowmass Condos Sell Rapidly
East West Partners, and Slifer Smith & Frampton Real Estate announced that the newest residential collection in the Snowmass Base Village, Cirque Residences at the Viceroy Snowmass, sold 41 of the 46 of its available slope-side residences in the first eight days of sales, the Aspen Times reported. List pricing for the residences range from $2.5 million to $11.75 million, with sales reaching over $150 million in the first five days of sales.
To date, East West Partners and Slifer are responsible for over half a billion dollars in total closed and pending sales volume in the Snowmass Base Village, including Cirque x Viceroy, Aura, Electric Pass Lodge, Havens on Fanny Hill, One Snowmass East and West , Lumin, Limelight and the original Viceroy Residences.
Basalt
Park Improvements Continue in Downtown
The revitalization of Historic Downtown Basalt will result in multiple construction projects happening concurrently in early spring through part of summer, though only minimal traffic impacts are expected, the Aspen Times reported. Basalt Town Council approved two contracts to move forward with Phase III of development for the Basalt River Park. These projects include the construction of a restroom with a bus stop shelter on Two Rivers Road and a bandshell for performing arts in the park. The restroom/bus stop will house a 300-square-foot restroom, with two rooms and a mechanical room, and a roofed open-air bus stop.
Carbondale
Cripple Creek Backcountry Merges with Basalt Bike and Ski
Cripple Creek Backcountry, which got its start in Carbondale 12 years ago, is expanding its reach into mountain biking and other summertime pursuits after its recent merger with Basalt Bike and Ski, the Glenwood Springs Post Independent reported. Basalt Bike and Ski was founded in 2006 by Joel Mischke in Basalt, and later bought out the former Ajax Bikes location at Colorado Highway 133 and Dolores Way in Carbondale.
The Basalt store in the Willits commercial district near Whole Foods and its Aspen store remain, The plan is to keep both Carbondale locations, including Cripple Creek’s flagship store in the La Fontana Plaza on 133 and the Basalt Bike retail and servicing shop. Come fall, all retail and service operations are expected to move to the Basalt Bike location, and the La Fontana location will house offices and online fulfillment functions for the company. The Basalt Bike location in Willits and Aspen would also remain, along with Cripple Creek Backcountry locations at Aspen Highlands, Avon, Silverton, Denver and Seattle.
Glenwood Springs
Land Split Approved on Controversial Missouri Heights Property
Garfield County commissioners, on a split 2-1 vote, approved a small land subdivision near the site in Missouri Heights northeast of Carbondale that was rejected as a camp for autistic children during a lengthy public review two years ago, the Glenwood Springs Post Independent reported. Commissioners upheld the decision of county Community Development Director Sheryl Bower who last fall approved the Fussner Minor Subdivision, located off Fender Lane and accessed via the private Harmony Lane. The plan divides the larger 41.3-acre lot into two lots, one 36.2 acres and the other 5.1 acres, to accommodate up to four residential units. That can include two primary residences and two accessory or secondary units.
Reenergize Incentives Applications Open
A Garfield County program that provides financial aid for home energy-efficiency upgrades is back for 2023 with a new rebate schedule that extends benefits to even more residents, the Glenwood Springs Post Independent reported. ReEnergize Garfield County helps low- and moderate-income households lower their utility bills and make their homes healthier and more comfortable. The program funded upgrades in 49 homes and helped another 78 families tap into state and federal funding in its first year.
Through ReEnergize, households earning 80-150% of the area median income (AMI) can qualify for $2,000-$4,000 in financial aid toward recommended home energy measures, depending on income. (Last year’s upper limit was 120% of AMI). For a family of four in Garfield County, the new 150% cap equates to an annual income of $141,300. Anyone interested in ReEnergize assistance should enroll as soon as possible, because funds are limited and there is already a wait list of applicants carried over from 2022.
Bed, Bath & Beyond Closing
The Glenwood Springs Bed Bath & Beyond at Glenwood Meadows will be closing soon, with little information about when or what might take its place, the Glenwood Springs Post Independent reported. After the corporation announced defaulting on loans, the company said it would have to close additional stores throughout the nation this year. Glenwood Springs, as well as its Grand Junction location, were added to the list of closures.
Pitkin County
New SkiCo CEO Named
Aspen Skiing Company has named Geoff Buchheister as its new chief executive officer, the Aspen Daily News reported. Buchheister started onboarding with SkiCo in February. His first priority will be to spend the next two months learning and transitioning responsibilities from President and CEO Mike Kaplan, who officially retires on April 30 after working for SkiCo for the past 30 years.
Buchheister joins SkiCo from his current role as chief operating officer at Whistler Blackcomb, where he has been since 2019. Whistler Blackcomb is a Vail Resorts’ operation. Buchheister has nearly 25 years of overall ski industry experience, primarily gained at Park City where he spent 16 years in various leadership roles. He joined Vail Resorts in 2014 when it acquired Park City Mountain Resort, and then was appointed to lead the company’s urban ski areas: Afton Alps, Minnesota; Mt. Brighton, Michigan; and Wilmot, Wisconsin. In 2017, he was named general manager of Keystone before taking on his current role at Whistler Blackcomb.
Buttermilk Mountain Renovations Completed
Aspen Skiing Co. hosted a ribbon-cutting ceremony in February marking the official opening of the newly renovated base area at Buttermilk Mountain, the Aspen Daily News reported. The upgrades include a new guest services building and the retrofitted Bumps Restaurant, now known as Buttermilk Mountain Lodge. The $23 million project puts the final touches on the overhaul of the base area that started with the construction of The Hideout, a kids’ ski school center, and upgrades to the parking lot and drop-off area in 2014.
The project is part of an ongoing spending spree SkiCo has made across its mountains with barely a pause during the pandemic years. SkiCo completed the $10.8 million Big Burn chairlift replacement in summer 2020. During the pandemic, it completed The Hub, a 53,000-square-foot, all-electric, 43-unit affordable housing project in Basalt’s Willits Center. The complex was completed in late summer 2021 at a cost of nearly $19 million.
Lost Marbles Conservation Easement Completed
A conservation easement donated by the McBride family to the Aspen Valley Land Trust completes a two-part effort to preserve the pristine and remote land, the Aspen Times reported.
The bulk of the family’s nearly 2,000-acre Lost Marbles Ranch was protected in 2019 through a donated conservation easement to the land trust; the family’s donation of the second easement will protect the remainder of the ranch.
“Dedicating our land to its highest and best use — wildlife habitat — was an important and easy decision for our family,” said Pete McBride, son of John and Laurie McBride. “It is great to know the open space, agricultural legacy of this land will continue for generations to come — not just for its stewards and any livestock, but also the elk, bear, beaver, raptors, songbirds, and so many more.” Lost Marbles Ranch is part of a 5,300-acre wildlife corridor across private properties from Snowmass, Capitol, and East Sopris creeks, and it is bordered by public land.