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
Aspen School District Superintendent to Leave for AVSC
Aspen School District Superintendent David Baugh will leave his position on June 30 to become executive director of the Aspen Valley Ski and Snowboard Club, the Aspen Daily News reported.
A joint ASD-AVSC news release said AVSC offered Baugh the position after a “10-month process.” AVSC Board President Ryan Smalls said in the release that Baugh will help the club strengthen its collaboration with the school district and implement the club’s strategic plan.
Baugh will replace Mark Godomsky, who left his post in the summer of 2023 to take a job in his home state of Maine. Godomsky was AVSC’s executive director for seven years. Under Baugh’s leadership, ASD advanced toward becoming an International Baccalaureate School District and executed a voter-approved bond issue.
Aspen Sales Tax Plateaus in 2023
Another year, another $1.2 billion in overall sales for Aspen’s retail economy. Year-end sales tax and revenue figures released by the city showed 2023 edging 2022 in overall taxable retail sales by 1%, the Aspen Daily News reported. 2023 amounted to $1,230,492,169 and 2022 posted $1,220,328,560. The biggest increase was sales in health and beauty with 93% for a total of $8,145,708, and the largest decrease was in marijuana sales with 19% for $7,826,470.
Tooth Playground Getting Pulled
The city of Aspen is planning a complete overhaul of the playground at Wagner Park by the end of 2025 and pulling its “tooth” climbing structure, the Aspen Daily News reported. The Wagner Park playground is nearing the age at which the city seeks to replace play structures; it was installed in 2005. It’s already starting to deteriorate, and the existing layout provides limited play opportunities for children between ages 2-5.
The new playground will partially be funded by private donor Brett Mufson and construction should start by the end of 2025. Design sketches show the new playground to be more similar to structures recently installed in Herron Park, featuring natural features and different areas designated for varying ages.
CycleBar and Pure Barre Abruptly Leave Town
Fitness studios CycleBar and Pure Barre announced they were closing with an email to employees and customers in late February and didn’t give much notice—the owners sent the notification the day they shuttered their doors, the Aspen Daily News reported. CycleBar won the Aspen Chamber Resort Association’s Business of the Year award in 2022. CycleBar Aspen was the only dedicated indoor spin cycling business in town and Pure Barre provided a body-weight-lifting counter to the cardio. Both are national brands under the same umbrella, but rarely are they combined in a single location under the same ownership. They were owned by Michael and Stephanie Ibasco, who were based out of Las Vegas and purchased the businesses in January 2022 from Jordan Bullock.
Snowmass Village
Sketch Plan Approved for Workforce Housing
The Snowmass Village Town Council approved sketch plans for the development of 80 workforce housing units – one of the largest projects for workforce housing coming from the town’s 2021 housing master plan, the Aspen Times reported. Approval of the sketch plans means the Draw Site, an affordable housing project that would build these units of workforce housing in a parcel of land on the Faraway Ranch North Subdivision directly northwest of Snowmass Town Hall, has passed the first of three steps toward final approval.
Snowmass Ski Area to See Improvements
Aspen Skiing Co. updated the town of Snowmass Village on future improvements to the ski area. Those include: the extended Coney Express quad, with access across from the Snowmass Mall and a mid-station access point; a Cirque T-bar replacement; upgrade the Village Express to a 10-person gondola — possibly a telemix to allow chairs and gondola; upgrade the Alpine Springs lift to a 6-pack; upgrade the Elk Camp chairlift to a 6-pack; maintain the yearslong approval for a new Burnt Mountain quad lift; expansion of the Dawdler area for intermediate terrain for learning; and a surface lift at Sam’s Knob.
Hiking trails will also see an expansion by 10 miles from 36 to 46 and help mitigate mountain biker and hiker trail conflicts. As a result of all the proposed changes, the ski area’s comfortable carrying capacity would increase from 12,500 skiers daily to 14,820.
Basalt
Hoffmann Hotel Opens in Basalt
The new 122-room Hoffmann Hotel opened in Basalt in March, the Aspen Daily News reported. The property features a wide, inviting lobby that blends with the restaurant seating and feels like an extension of the nearby bar. In order to draw in locals for a community feel, the programming will include live music one or two times per week, with playlists piped out through an extensive sound system on the other days. There will be food and drink specials at the Hoffmann House, the hotel’s restaurant and bar.
The hotel features 1,500 square feet of meeting space with floor-to-ceiling windows providing great views of Crown Mountain and the top peaks of Mount Sopris. The meeting room has indoor and outdoor space that will be available for rent by community organizations and smaller niche spaces are also available One of the first events hosted by the hotel will be the Basalt High School prom on April 27. The Hoffmann Hotel is the centerpiece of the Tree Farm development across Highway 82 from Whole Foods.
Carbondale
Food Truck Court Proposed for East Carbondale
The owners of property on the east entrance to the town have submitted a plan to remodel an existing white stucco house at 111 Main Street to provide indoor seating, a small bar, restrooms and a commissary for food preparation, the Aspen Daily News reported. A courtyard to the east would accommodate three food trucks and additional seating when weather permits. The application was submitted by Richard and Kathryn Camp and their business partner Terrance McGuire, who formerly owned Johnny McGuire’s sandwich shop in Aspen, and would operate one of the food trucks while the other two would rotate.
The application said the property owners brainstormed what to do with the space, which is just east of the Carbondale Clay Center. The eastern edge of the property is undeveloped and shaped like a pie piece by the intersection of Main Street and the Rio Grande Trail. The owners decided their “practical options” came down to higher-end townhomes using the existing zoning or pursuing a rezoning for the food truck court.
Glenwood Springs
Developer Brings Back Plans for 577-Home Community
A development firm that is seeking approval for a reworked 577-home private golf community located in the hills southeast of Glenwood Springs received a chilly reception from its neighbors, the Aspen Daily News reported. The executive team from Georgia-based Storied Development met with about 65 people at the Colorado Mountain College Spring Valley campus to outline their plans for Spring Valley Ranch. Approvals for the sprawling 6,000-acre property were granted in 2007, and Storied Development is looking to amend those before purchasing the property.
The amendments include clustering the residential development, doubling the open space, closing some land for the intended benefit of wildlife, creating breaks to reduce wildfire risk and adding 58 units of affordable housing and 17 units of worker housing for ranch employees. Garfield County is just starting its review of the massive project. The county Planning and Zoning Commission likely will begin meetings this summer. Neighbors are concerned about the impacts on quality of life, infrastructure and wildlife. The Ranch’s plan calls for an 18-hole golf course, a nine-hole “short course,” a clubhouse, a small, private ski hill on southwest-facing slopes and about 20 miles of trails with limited public access.
Pitkin County
Pitkin County Leads State in Bear Reports
Pitkin County led Colorado’s 64 counties by far in 2023 for bear reports and instances where bruins got into trash in 2023, according to Colorado Parks and Wildlife information reported by the Aspen Daily News. There were 429 bear reports logged in Pitkin County in 2023. That ranged from 250 “sightings” of bears to 105 cases where bears were able to access trash or other human food sources. There were also 28 cases where Aspen-area bears broke into vehicles.
Seven bears were euthanized in Pitkin County in 2023, second only to the 10 put down in El Paso County, which includes Colorado Springs. The next highest number of bear reports was 272 in both El Paso County and La Plata County, which includes Durango. Boulder County had 270 reports. Closer to home, Eagle County had 163 bear reports in 2023 and 58 cases where bears accessed trash, but no euthanizations. Garfield County had 181 bear reports, 41 cases of bears getting into trash and one euthanization. Statewide, CPW received 3,526 reports of bear sightings and human-bear conflicts.
Airport Sets Passenger Numbers
The Aspen-Pitkin County Airport set a record in 2023 for the passengers flying in and out on commercial flights in a calendar year, the Aspen Daily News reported. The total number of passengers of 627,919 edged out the prior record of 626,124 passengers from 2019 by 0.3%. The passenger number was up 2.6% from 2022.
A growing number of flights compared to recent years, greater efficiency in filling seats and good weather in December all helped establish the record. The airport is served by three commercial carriers — United, Delta and American — whose flights are handled by third-party operator SkyWest Airlines. United is the dominant carrier in the Aspen market. There were 6,564 scheduled flights into the airport in 2023.
WE-cycle Setting Rider Records
WE-cycle celebrated its 10th anniversary last year by providing 180,212 rides, which nearly doubled the ride count in 2022, the Aspen Daily News reported. There were nearly 10,000 individual customers accounting for the rides. Rides increased in Aspen, midvalley and marginally in Snowmass Village, but the big boost came from the launch of service in Carbondale in August, where 17 bike stations were installed to provide 80 electric bikes and pedal bikes. There were an average of 203 rides per day, with 79% of them on e-bikes. A rider survey showed that 36% of respondents use WE-cycle in combination with RFTA buses while another 7% used bikes in conjunction with internal bus service in Aspen and Basalt.
SkiCo Closing Some Lifts Midweek
Aspen Skiing Company (SkiCo) decided to close redundant lifts most weekdays in response to the dip in skier traffic, a decision which affects four lifts across three of the four mountains, the Aspen Daily News reported. The Gentleman’s Ridge lifts on Aspen Mountain and the Coney Glade lift at Snowmass ski area will be closed Monday through Thursday. The Thunderbowl lift at Aspen Highlands will be closed Mondays only.