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
Lumberyard Budget Projections Released
The city of Aspen provided much-anticipated cost estimates and proforma information for the Lumberyard affordable housing project after approving the land entitlements for the project, the Aspen Daily News reported. The most expensive topped out at $753,537,140 (last phase completed 2050), and the least expensive was $361,241,734 (last phase completed 2038). Assuming the project was occupied in 2023 for modeling purposes, if all 277 units were rented the annual net operating income would be $498,000 after debt payments.
For the middle scenario, that means the city’s total subsidy on the project, or the amount it would spend and not recoup in rent payments, over the next 50 years would be about $221 million. In this scenario, the city would need to draw about $229.4 million from its existing housing fund as well as $32.5 million in loans and $46.2 million in contributions from the federal government, the state or other sources.
Council Votes to Lower Speed Limit
The Aspen City Council voted 3-2 to impose a 15 mile-per-hour speed limit throughout the city, the Aspen Daily News reported. The new law is set to take effect in October, and the speed limit on all streets within city limits will be 15 mph unless otherwise posted. The existing limit is 20 mph. Main Street, Cemetery Lane and several other streets will remain at their current speed limits, which are already exempt from the limit.
Mi Chola Will Close in Two Years
Citing increasing rent, popular restaurant and bar Mi Chola will close Oct. 1, 2025, when its lease expires, the Aspen Times reported. It’s been open since 2016. The building’s landlord, Lowell Meyer, renegotiated the lease stating that on top of the existing rent, he would be requiring 100% more as well as 10% of the net income. Mi Chola’s owners said that even without the 10% increase of the net income, the 100% more would never be feasible for the style of restaurant that Mi Chola is and has been since they first opened their doors in 2016. It’s just one more affordable restaurant in a slate of many that have closed their doors in recent years as prices rise.
Aspen’s Bosq Receives Michelin Star
The Michelin Guide debuted in Colorado last month and Aspen’s Bosq was the only restaurant outside of the Front Range to earn a star, the Aspen Times reported. The intimate, tasting menu eatery is run by Aspen native and James Beard Award-nominated chef Barclay Dodge and his wife, Molly. While Bosq was the only restaurant among Colorado’s iconic resort towns of Aspen, Beaver Creek, Vail, and Snowmass Village to receive a star, other restaurants in the region earned “recommended” status from the guide.
Making the cut in and around Aspen are Element 47 at The Little Nell, Mawa’s Kitchen in the Airport Business Center, and Prospect at Hotel Jerome. In the Vail area, Sweet Basil and Osaki’s in Vail Village earned a spot in the guide, as did Wyld at the Ritz-Carlton in Bachelor Gulch, and Mirabelle and Splendido At The Chateau in Beaver Creek.
Snowmass Village
Council Approves Raises for Future Electeds
Snowmass Town Council approved an annual 3% raise for elected officials, the Aspen Daily News reported. The ordinance amends the town’s code for future councils, foregoing the awkward situation of sitting members giving themselves raises. Current council members earn $1,200 a month, which equates to $14,400 annually. Monthly compensation for town council members elected in the 2024 contest will be increased to $1,320 a month, or $15,840 a year.
The mayor currently draws $1,700 monthly, which amounts to $20,400 annually. The victor in the November 2024 mayoral election will command a monthly salary of $1,870, or $22,440 a year, under the new ordinance.
Basalt
English in Action Looks to Permanent Home
A nonprofit organization that started nearly 30 years ago by scraping by in spare space at the Basalt Library is ready to secure its future with a new building in El Jebel, the Aspen Daily News reported. English in Action wants to build a 6,000-square-foot, one-story Center for Communication at the site where it has been shoehorned into 1,800 square feet for the last 18 years. The new headquarters would include offices, meeting rooms and a kitchen for its many gatherings. The existing building at the intersection of Gillespie Drive and El Jebel Road would be removed to make way for the new headquarters. English in Action has a long-term lease from Crawford Properties for the 1-acre site.
Farmhouse Receives Historic Designation
The 119-year-old Glassier Homestead House has received designation for the National Register of Historic Places opening the door for grant funding, the Aspen Daily News reported. The commissioners agreed to sign an application for a $250,000 grant that would be used to rehabilitate the Victorian brick house. The cost of the work is estimated at $430,000. Pitkin County will contribute up to $180,000 although its matching grant amount might be reduced if Eagle County chips in funds. The property was homesteaded by Fredrick H. Glassier in the late 1880s. It was in the Glassier family until Pitkin and Eagle counties acquired the 137-acre farm and ranch in January 2014 for $5.9 million. Great Outdoors Colorado provided $1 million.
Carbondale
A Colorado Rocky Mountain School graduate returned to the valley to open Mountain Heart brewery in the former Roaring Fork Beer Company location on Dolores Way, the Sopris Sun reported. Mountain Heart owner Josh Lange has enlisted Patrick Sullivan as his brewer, and he will specialize in IPAs, sours, lagers, pilsners and stouts to develop the line of rotating craft beers that will be served.
“I want to be part of the community and do something I feel we’re missing a little, especially with Batch and Silo having closed,” says Lange. He hopes Mountain Heart will retain a coffee-shop, family-friendly vibe, where all people feel comfortable. There will be juices for sale and other soft beverages like fresh-squeezed lemonade, teas and kombucha on tap.
Glenwood Springs
CMC Opens New Residences on Campus
As Colorado Mountain College students across the state moved into their accommodations for the new academic year in September, the Spring Valley campus, one of the original institutions founded in 1967, cut the ribbon on 36 brand-new apartments, the Glenwood Springs Post Independent reported. Of the 36 apartments, there are 24 studio units and 12 two-bedroom units. A CMC analysis noted a student preference for studios and two-bedroom units, which influenced the decision to exclude one-bedroom apartments from the construction.
In total, students are moving into 144 new units across campuses in Breckenridge, Edwards, Steamboat Springs and the Spring Valley campus near Glenwood Springs. The project’s cumulative cost reached $45 million. For Spring Valley campus, that translated to about $11.25 million, as per CMC’s financial breakdown.
Pitkin County
Commissioners Consider Reducing House Size Cap
Pitkin County commissioners said they will aim to lower a house-size cap to 9,250 square feet by the end of 2023 as they work on broader growth management and energy efficiency rules, the Aspen Daily News reported. However, they indicated that a moratorium on new home applications would not be imposed.
Also, applications that are in the review pipeline and houses approved but unbuilt would be exempt from the 9,250-square-foot interim cap. There currently is a 15,000-square-foot limit in most parts of unincorporated Pitkin County with pockets of more restrictive caps. The interim house-size cap is the first step in what is expected to be an 18- to 24-month process in which the county updates part of its growth-management rules and regulations.
Commissioners Pledge Money for Shelter
Response is working to open the upper valley’s only domestic abuse shelter, but it’s already running into problems with rising construction costs, the Aspen Times reported. The overall project budget has risen to about $9.2 million, leaving Response with a funding gap of about $1.2 million. To make up for the deficit, Response is turning to additional funders and Pitkin County Commissioners have now pledged a total of $500,000. They are urging others to do the same. Totals so far are: City of Aspen: $150,000; Town of Snowmass Village: $30,000; and requests from Eagle County for $50,000; Garfield County for $30,000 and the Town of Basalt for $20,000.