REAL ESTATE IN THE NEWS
REAL ESTATE IN THE NEWS
Current Events 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
Former Library Building Headed Toward Historic Designation
The Aspen Historical Preservation Commission recommended that the city place a former Pitkin County Library building under an “AspenModern” historic designation, the Aspen Daily News reported. The building, located at 120 E. Main St., was designed by well-known Aspen architects and designers Fritz Benedict and Herbert Bayer, as well as Ellen Harland — one of Aspen’s first female architects. Built in 1966, it is regarded as a classic example of Wrightian architecture associated with architect Frank Lloyd Wright.
The structure served as the Pitkin County Library from its opening until 1992, when an entity associated with the Basalt-based landscape architecture firm Design Workshop purchased it. Since 1992, the building has served as an office for Design Workshop and later as commercial space for a variety of tenants including the copy and photo editing business Aspen Reprographic. The commission recommended that the city grant the property owners (an entity associated with Design Workshop) some of the benefits they requested in exchange for allowing the historic designation on their property.
Pickleball Courts on Track for Spring
The new pickleball courts at the Aspen Recreation Center are on track for completion this year, the Aspen Daily News reported. The seven new pickleball courts and new tennis court, collectively known as the Iselin Courts, should open to the public in the spring.
The courts will come with some minor concessions: After the project went out to bid, the costs exceeded the budget, leaving it with some trimming around the edges to do. So, it lost a bathroom facility with full plumbing and is going back to a porta-potty like the space previously leveraged. Also on the chopping block was a hillside seating area. Smaller changes included a move from pavers in between courts to concrete. The revised plan kept a shade structure with a seating area to accommodate the social aspect of the game. The total cost was $2.67 million.
City Has Plans for 200 Additional Affordable Housing Units
The Aspen City Council officially updated its affordable housing plan to add 183 affordable housing units by 2028, the Aspen Daily News reported. The plan also aims to maximize the use of existing units. The city aims to accomplish its goal almost entirely through the construction of new housing. The city will secure the rest through “development-neutral” tools, by which it converts existing free-market housing to affordable units. Most of Aspen’s full-time occupied housing (70%) is legally restricted as accessible or affordable for the local workforce, according to a 2023 study.
RH Investments Earning Money While Sitting There
The top executive of RH, the home furnishings company partnering with developer Mark Hunt on several Aspen projects, cited the COVID-19 pandemic, challenging city building regulations and changing interest rates as reasons for falling behind on construction activity during an earning call, the Aspen Daily News reported.
The handful of properties were announced in January 2021 by developer Mark Hunt and RH, to build a luxury boutique hotel, show gallery, along with retail, dining and residential properties creating what they called an “Aspen Ecosystem.” The hotel, RH Guesthouse at the Historic Crystal Palace, would open sometime in 2022. Despite the challenges in Aspen, the company does not feel an urgency to finish the projects because its Aspen real estate assets are holding more than their own in value. The publicly held company has made $140 million in capital contributions to the Aspen Ecosystem's real estate and development RH’s initial contribution was $105 million.
Too Many Cottonwoods in Town
Aspen officials are making moves on what they call a cottonwood problem. The city of Aspen manages 3,115 narrowleaf cottonwood trees — roughly 27% of Aspen’s “urban forest,” the Aspen Daily News reported. According to the “10-20-30 rule” commonly followed by urban foresters, a single tree species shouldn’t make up more than 10% of an urban area’s tree population. Officials argue that Aspen’s cottonwood population makes up too big a slice of its tree population.
Since 2017, narrowleaf cottonwoods have decreased from 34% to 27% of Aspen’s urban forest. The only other urban tree that rivals cottonwoods is the city’s namesake, the quaking aspen (24%). As the percentage of cottonwoods has dropped (along with drops in aspens and blue spruce), the amount of trees classified as “other” has grown from 6% to 19.5% of the urban forest. The city has worked to replace cottonwoods with a new selection of species when they die or get removed. Often, these new species are hybrids of red and silver maples called “Freeman maples.”
Snowmass Village
Snowmass Looks to Slate of Connectivity
A “menu of improvements” recently presented by town staff includes improving wayfinding by potentially adding new signage or ground art, the Snowmass Sun reported. The effort, aiming to connect Snowmass Center to Base Village, could also include new sidewalks and enhanced crosswalks to maintain continuous and safe connections between the two major hubs. Suggestions include a pedestrian bridge, a gondola, and an outdoor escalator. The public will have a chance to weigh in on the proposals. The council said that a pedestrian bridge was the most practical and feasible option.
Roundabout Proposed and Postponed
Snowmass Village Town Council members debated waiting to pursue a proposed roundabout at Brush Creek Road and Owl Creek Road, citing community fatigue from multiple road projects over the past year, the Aspen Times reported. Renderings for the roundabout project — which has been discussed in the village for years but was readdressed in December — were presented during a town council meeting after members requested more in-depth renderings of the project in a previous meeting. The project is still in the design stage and the town hasn’t asked council members to make a decision on the roundabout yet.
TAC Takes Over Fitness Space
TAC Fitness, a locally-owned fitness and performance studio, opened a new location in Snowmass Base Village on July 1, the Aspen Times reported. The Basalt-based gym took over the former King Yoga space in Base Village. In partnership with The Collective and Snowmass Tourism, TAC is offering summer community fitness classes every Saturday and Sunday at 9 a.m. on the outdoor rink adjacent to the Limelight. The fitness classes range from yoga to kickboxing and more.
Town Considers Transit Center, Again
Snowmass Village Town Council decided to move forward with an approach for a Snowmass Mall Transit Center that would combine incremental improvements and a larger transit center redevelopment, the Aspen Times reported. The designs came nearly a year after a proposed transit center at the mall was shot down by the planning commission.
The top level would allow for five RFTA buses to load or stage at a time, and the bottom level would allow for eight Village Shuttles to load or stage. The project would reroute the road as it changes from Brush Creek Road to Carriage Way to allow for more room for the buses. The project is estimated to cost about $39.3 million. The entire project, including rerouting the road, would expand into parking lot six, one of the Carriage Way parking lots, which would lose about 54 parking spaces along the mall.
Basalt
Growing Years and Roaring Fork School District Merge
Growing Years School and Basalt Elementary Preschool will merge into one infant-preschool care facility to form the Basalt Early Childhood Center under the direction of the Roaring Fork School District, the Aspen Daily News reported. It marks the end of Growing Years’ long-running independent program in the midvalley, but an opportunity for its teachers to get better benefits through the public school system. As for the RFSD, it will be able to further its early childhood mission on its own property, allowing the district to serve infants and provide year-round care for the first time.
It makes the school one of the largest early childcare centers in the valley, serving around 160 students. Combining the programs will allow the classrooms in the Growing Years program to become more diverse and equipped to serve students with disabilities. RFSD has leased a portion of the Red Brick Building to the city of Basalt, who then leased it to Growing Years.
Development Shifts from Rental to Ownership Units
Sixty-five dwelling units planned for downtown Basalt will be sold as condominiums instead of rented, the Aspen Daily News reported. Basalt Town Council approved a request from the old Clark’s Market building developers Andrew Light and Tim Belinski to convert the residential units in the mixed-use building from rentals to ownership. The 140 Basalt Circle Court development, first approved in 2022, will still include 17 income-based, deed-restricted units and 23 resident-occupied, deed-restricted units.
The ground floor will be a 9,000 square foot commercial space with a grocer and option for a small restaurant. The next three floors will hold residential units. Instead of a third-party management company serving as a property manager for the building, the developers now plan to sell the 17 income-based units to local employers.
Equestrian Facility Denied
Eagle County commissioners denied a request for a 25-stall boarding stable and a 20,000-square-foot covered riding arena in Missouri Heights, the Aspen Daily News reported.
Commissioners cited issues with intensity of use and compatibility as their main reason. Annie Graber, owner of Twin Acres LLC, planned to lease the 101-acre parcel at 623 Fender Lane for an equestrian operation. A special use permit is required for a boarding and riding stable function on the land.
Commissioners Consider Rural Equestrian Operation
A yearslong debate over the de facto meaning of “rural” in Missouri Heights should soon come to a close with a decision over a land use application for an equestrian operation, the Aspen Daily News reported. The Eagle Board of County Commissioners heard the latest presentation on a special use permit for the development of a 25-stall boarding stable and a 20,000-square-foot covered riding arena in Missouri Heights, which staff recommends with a number of conditions, following two hours of presentations.
The next discussion on the topic is set for the commissioners’ meeting in July. Twin Acres Riding and Boarding Stable owner Annie Graber Wells is looking to develop an equestrian operation to the 101-acre parcel at 623 Fender Lane for boarding, riding and training by reservation only.
Tempranillo Files Lawsuit Against Town of Basalt
Basalt’s Midland Avenue Streetscape Project easily survived a political challenge in May, but now a small portion of the project is facing a legal test, the Aspen Daily News reported. The owners of Tempranillo restaurant filed a lawsuit against the town of Basalt over a 37-year-old easement agreement that the restaurant owners claim will be violated if the town progresses with its street improvement plan.
The town wants to remove parking in front of Tempranillo at 165 Midland Ave. and convert the space into a public gathering area, sidewalk, bike racks, a trash can and a WeCycle storing and charging station. But the restaurant property owner, GBM LLC, contends in the lawsuit that it has an easement agreement with the town that allowed private property in front of the building to be used only for public parking, a sidewalk and access to utilities. The uses proposed by the town aren’t allowed, according to GBM’s lawsuit.
Reseeding Effort Begins on Basalt Mountain
Approximately 79,000 seedlings — 46,000 Lodgepole pine and 33,000 Engelmann spruce — were planted across 270 acres of the Lake Christine burn area by a contracted crew, the Aspen Daily News reported. It’s the first major reseeding effort after the 2018 Lake Christine Fire burned 12,588 acres, destroying three homes. Approximately 8,500 of the burned acres are forest lands.
Six years of natural regeneration and minor reseeding events have led to a recovering forest, but human intervention helps speed along recovery in high burn-severity areas where new growth takes longer to thrive. The Forest Service prioritizes allowing natural regeneration to take hold in a burn scar before intervening in sensitive, slow-to-recover areas.
Carbondale
Commercial Inventory Census
The Sopris Sun found 93% of the town’s commercial inventory is currently occupied in 2024. This is the third highest occupancy rate since 2017. Some of the updates include the Dinkel Building with a new remodel and four unoccupied suites upstairs. Strange Imports moved fully online. Nearby, Azalea’s Flowers & Gifts opened in the High Q building, formerly Miser’s Mercantile. The Pour House remains closed with a sign in the window citing “circumstances beyond my control.”
Along Highway 133, the dilapidated strip mall was purchased on June 13 and its few remaining tenants removed, including the Mi Lindo Nayarit food truck. It will be replaced with a restaurant space. Further south, 10,000 square feet of commercial space connected to Hayden Place remains available. Other available spaces we noticed were on the third story of the building on Weant Boulevard that houses La Raza (580 Main Street), a few spaces in La Fontana Plaza and land for sale surrounding Carbondale Marketplace, aka the new City Market.
Redstone to McClure Trail Receives Nods of Approval
Pitkin County Commissioners approved two amendments to the Redstone to McClure Trail, which is part of the larger Carbondale-to-Crested Butte Trail, the Aspen Daily News reported. The amendment approvals bring years of debate to a close and include a comprehensive trail review and elimination of a proposed section. With that, the features of the trail remain largely the same: a 7-mile, soft-surface trail between Redstone and the McClure Pass summit, of which 2 miles of the trail between Redstone and Hayes Creek Falls would be along the Highway 133 alignment.
The trail would then follow a historic wagon road for about 1.5 miles through the Bear Creek area before rejoining the highway corridor at Placita for six-tenths of a mile. The new trail would follow the Old McClure Pass roadbed for 2.2 miles before crossing under Highway 133 at a new underpass and continuing 0.7 mile to the McClure Pass summit. The Forest Service would require the trail between Hayes Creek Falls and the base of the pass, nearly 5 miles, to be closed to all uses from Dec. 1 through April 30 “to protect elk for winter range use.”
Glenwood Springs
Glenwood May Increase Sales Tax Slightly
Glenwood Springs’ city officials outlined why they may be seeking a small increase in sales taxes when the current street tax sunsets in 2026, the Aspen Daily News reported. Currently, Glenwood collects .5 cents per dollar in sales tax specifically for road maintenance and projects, following an approval of a 20-year street sales tax in 2006. It expires in two years, and with inflation and more work to do in general a .75-cent per dollar tax would be more helpful.
The average street rating in Glenwood was a 4 on a 1-to-10 scale in 2017. After charting out all the roads in town, the city estimates it would take $144.82 million to make the necessary street repairs over the next 20 years. The estimated revenue from a three-quarter-cent tax over 20 years is $143.55 million.
Pitkin County
PitCo Gets $10 Million for Open Space
Pitkin County Open Space and Trails secured an interest-free $10 million loan to boost its liquidity following the program’s most expensive land acquisition, the Aspen Daily News reported. Earlier this year, OST purchased the storied 650-acre Snowmass Falls Ranch for $34 million. The acquisition was widely celebrated, but left OST with little money in the bank for future land purchases.
Great Outdoors Colorado funds Colorado Parks and Wildlife projects and makes loans to local governments and land trusts with money from the Colorado Lottery. The one-year loan can be renewed twice, for a maximum of three years. The funding to repay the loan will come from the U.S. Forest Service or OST tax revenue.
Contractor Hired for Creek Cleanup
As agencies continue to study heavy metal presence in Lincoln Creek, Pitkin County will seek a primary, organizer role in hiring a contractor for a long-term sampling plan, the Aspen Daily News reported. Sampling and studying on Lincoln Creek ramped up after a 2023 report from the Environmental Protection Agency flagged high levels of copper, aluminum, iron and other minerals.
The county formed the Lincoln Creek Workgroup to organize study and sampling efforts in the area, where the Ruby mine and camp were established in the 1880s. The group decided to hire a contractor to help with the development of a long-term sampling plan, possible mitigation options, data management and facilitation. The contractor will oversee work split into two phases, phase one for review of EPA data, overview sampling plan and outline the scope of work for phase two.
AVSC Launches SkiMo Program
Aspen Valley Ski and Snowboard Club is creating a new “skimo” program, with a race program and development program, to stake Aspen’s place among the top ranks of the sport, the Aspen Daily News reported. Aspen’s stake as a skimo destination is already strong with the Power of Four and Grand Traverse races well-established and drawing some of the top talent in the country in what some call “competitive backcountry skiing.” Under the direction of the Nordic department, AVSC will create two programs: an under-20 race team and an under-16 development program.
The race team will train year-round with four-five days a week of training in the summer and five-six days in the winter. The development team will train three days a week during the winter, with some opportunities for competitions. The program fee is $5,740 and $3,150 for the race team and demo team, respectively, from July 1 when registration opens until Aug. 1, after which the price of both bump up.
SkiCo Announces Pass Prices for 2024-25 Winter
Aspen Skiing Co. has announced its season-pass lineup for the 2024-25 winter season, with passes on sale, the Aspen Daily News reported. The Premier Pass provides unlimited skiing and riding across all four mountains with no blackout dates, a complimentary Ikon Base Pass (for adult, senior and chamber passes), an uphill pass, exclusive discounts and benefits, and unlimited summer sightseeing access. The cost is $1,899 for qualifying chamber of commerce members ($2,974 for non-chamber members) through Sept. 13.
The Alpine Pass provides season-long access to all four mountains, allowing guests the flexibility to ski or ride one or two days each week with no blackout dates. Additional days can be added for 50% off the one-day in-resort ticket rate. The Alpine 1-Day Pass costs $1,199 for qualifying chamber members ($1,419 non-chamber) and the Alpine 2-Day Pass costs $1,674 for chamber members ($2,079 non-chamber). The Valley Pass returns for Roaring Fork Valley residents, offering seven days across the four mountains with no blackout dates for $499.