Steamboat Springs — The St. Cloud Resort & Spa development proposed for the current sites of Clocktower Square, Xanadu Condominiums and the Ski Time Square parking structure received mixed reviews in its first appearance before the Steamboat Springs Planning Commission on Thursday.
The 4-acre, 781,339-square-foot project is being developed by Steamboat Springs developer Jamie Temple and Colgate Holmes, founding partner and former president of the Ritz-Carlton Hotel Co., and a former president of Hyatt International Corp. Temple developed Storm Mountain Ranch in Steamboat with his brother Jeff as well as Water Dance in Frisco and Uptown Broadway in Boulder. Holmes’ background includes operation and development of resorts and hotels form Beverly Hills, Calif., to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
The St. Cloud project proposes significant height variances from what is allowed under city codes for the site. With underground parking, which the project is slated to include, the city allows a height of 63 feet on the site. As proposed in its pre-application, the St. Cloud is as tall as 126 feet.
“Not only are all (four) of the buildings in excess of the height requirements,” city planner Jonathan Spence said, “but also almost all components of all the buildings are in excess of the height requirements.”
Temple and his consultants justified the requested variances by noting that city area plans call for increased density than currently exists at the base area, but most planning commissioners disagreed with that explanation.
“I do agree that the plan says higher densities than current use,” Commissioner Rich Levy said. “But almost anything would be higher density than current use. … I don’t really see the need for anything quite as tall as this.”
One concern with height is the resulting shadowing on steep Burgess Creek Road. Burgess Creek Road resident Bill Jameson encouraged the Planning Commission not to ignore that problem.
“It’s hazardous now,” Jameson said. “It’s will be more hazardous when it’s shadowed. … When you shadow that, you’re going to make it a skating rink.”
The St. Cloud project includes 201 residential units and approximately 49,000 square feet of commercial development in addition to circulation and amenity space, as well as three stories of underground parking to both accommodate the development and also make up for the loss of the Ski Time Square parking structure.
The development team noted many public benefits, including a commitment to obtain Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design certification. LEED is a rating system developed by the U.S. Green Building Council as a voluntary program to define and measure “green,” or environmentally friendly, buildings. Also proposed are a ski history wall and park, public restrooms, public parking, restaurants, bars and meeting rooms.
When weighing the public benefits against the project’s proposed variances, commissioners were very supportive of some items — especially LEED certification — but were unwilling to count such items as the parking and meeting rooms because Temple said there would be a fee to use them.
3.28.2008
More spaces proposed for Meadows parking lot
Steamboat Springs — Steamboat Ski and Resort Corp. has re-entered the city approval process with a plan to increase the capacity of the Meadows parking lot during the summer by about 350 spaces. The parking lot additions would bring the total number of parking spaces to just more than 1,300.
Ski Corp. is in the midst of revisiting its master plan for the Steamboat Ski Area and making changes to its base facilities to remain current with other developments at Mount Werner. Documents filed with the city this month suggest those planning efforts could lead to a change of use on the Meadows parking lot site in the future.
“We won’t know what we’re doing there until the plans are complete,” Vice President of Skier Services Jim Schneider said.
Ski Corp. worked with city planners throughout summer 2007 on a plan to expand the Meadows parking lot, but it withdrew from the process in September when several issues could not be resolved. Subsequently, the remote parking lot saw heavy use by the public during the current ski season. There were fewer than six days this winter when a lack of spaces meant skiers were asked to park at the Doak Walker Care Center, where they were met by shuttle vans to take them to the Gondola Transit Center.
The status of the primary automobile parking lot for the ski area is in a period of flux as new development encroaches on a variety of parking alternatives.
Ski Corp. President Chris Diamond confirmed to the Steamboat Today last week that his company is in talks with Resort Ventures West to increase the capacity of a new people-mover gondola that could help ferry day skiers to Gondola Plaza.
Resort Ventures West is developing Wildhorse Meadows immediately to the east and south of the Meadows parking lot. The company already was planning a similar public gondola from the heart of its residential village into One Steamboat Place, which is under construction just steps from the Steamboat Ski Area gondola.
Diamond said discussions could lead to boosting the uphill capacity of the Wildhorse Meadows gondola from about 500 people an hour to 3,000.
Schneider described how the people-mover gondola might interface with the parking lot in a March 7 letter to the city.
“The current use of the lot, whereby passengers are picked up and delivered directly from and to their vehicles, would remain until such point as this gondola is installed,” he wrote. “We will then install appropriate pedestrian routes through the lot to this gondola.”
Schneider said this week that a range of options for increasing the convenience of pedestrian access to the gondola are being considered.
Schneider said it’s difficult to be precise in describing the number of winter parking spaces in the lot because it also must store snow. The actual number of parking spaces varies with the season and the weather, he said.
Even at peak snow storage in a heavy winter, parking availability remained greater than 950 spaces this season, he said.
The ski area’s overall parking was affected this season by the construction of One Steamboat Place in its former Gondola parking lot and by the temporary erection of a music performance tent for much of January in the smaller Knoll parking lot.
Ski Corp. sought temporary relief from city sidewalk and landscaping requirements while it sought permission to expand the Meadows lot last summer. Representatives characterized the expansion as an interim solution.
Ski Corp. is seeking to build temporary asphalt paths instead of more expensive 8-foot concrete sidewalks. They would remain in place for two years until permanent plans for the 8-acre site are clearer.
Schneider’s correspondence with city planners offers hints Ski Corp. someday could develop something beyond just surface parking on the site.
“At such time as this site has a change of use, necessitating changes to the access and no longer requiring a berm and mature landscaping, we would construct an eight-foot concrete walkway and appropriate other landscaping along Pine Grove Road,” he wrote. “To do that now and then tear out significant sections does not seem reasonable.”
Ski Corp. is in the midst of revisiting its master plan for the Steamboat Ski Area and making changes to its base facilities to remain current with other developments at Mount Werner. Documents filed with the city this month suggest those planning efforts could lead to a change of use on the Meadows parking lot site in the future.
“We won’t know what we’re doing there until the plans are complete,” Vice President of Skier Services Jim Schneider said.
Ski Corp. worked with city planners throughout summer 2007 on a plan to expand the Meadows parking lot, but it withdrew from the process in September when several issues could not be resolved. Subsequently, the remote parking lot saw heavy use by the public during the current ski season. There were fewer than six days this winter when a lack of spaces meant skiers were asked to park at the Doak Walker Care Center, where they were met by shuttle vans to take them to the Gondola Transit Center.
The status of the primary automobile parking lot for the ski area is in a period of flux as new development encroaches on a variety of parking alternatives.
Ski Corp. President Chris Diamond confirmed to the Steamboat Today last week that his company is in talks with Resort Ventures West to increase the capacity of a new people-mover gondola that could help ferry day skiers to Gondola Plaza.
Resort Ventures West is developing Wildhorse Meadows immediately to the east and south of the Meadows parking lot. The company already was planning a similar public gondola from the heart of its residential village into One Steamboat Place, which is under construction just steps from the Steamboat Ski Area gondola.
Diamond said discussions could lead to boosting the uphill capacity of the Wildhorse Meadows gondola from about 500 people an hour to 3,000.
Schneider described how the people-mover gondola might interface with the parking lot in a March 7 letter to the city.
“The current use of the lot, whereby passengers are picked up and delivered directly from and to their vehicles, would remain until such point as this gondola is installed,” he wrote. “We will then install appropriate pedestrian routes through the lot to this gondola.”
Schneider said this week that a range of options for increasing the convenience of pedestrian access to the gondola are being considered.
Schneider said it’s difficult to be precise in describing the number of winter parking spaces in the lot because it also must store snow. The actual number of parking spaces varies with the season and the weather, he said.
Even at peak snow storage in a heavy winter, parking availability remained greater than 950 spaces this season, he said.
The ski area’s overall parking was affected this season by the construction of One Steamboat Place in its former Gondola parking lot and by the temporary erection of a music performance tent for much of January in the smaller Knoll parking lot.
Ski Corp. sought temporary relief from city sidewalk and landscaping requirements while it sought permission to expand the Meadows lot last summer. Representatives characterized the expansion as an interim solution.
Ski Corp. is seeking to build temporary asphalt paths instead of more expensive 8-foot concrete sidewalks. They would remain in place for two years until permanent plans for the 8-acre site are clearer.
Schneider’s correspondence with city planners offers hints Ski Corp. someday could develop something beyond just surface parking on the site.
“At such time as this site has a change of use, necessitating changes to the access and no longer requiring a berm and mature landscaping, we would construct an eight-foot concrete walkway and appropriate other landscaping along Pine Grove Road,” he wrote. “To do that now and then tear out significant sections does not seem reasonable.”
Steamboat 700 developer seeks to limit real estate speculation
Steamboat Springs — Steamboat 700 is no place for speculation, Project Manager Danny Mulcahy said Tuesday.
Mulcahy delivered this message at a talk hosted by Colorado Group Realty. His presentation drew about 50 people. Colorado Group Realty Chief Operating Officer Bart Kounovsky said the crowd that packed the meeting room at Tread of Pioneers Museum was about 50 percent real estate agents, and many of Mulcahy’s comments were directed at such an audience.
“People’s ability to speculate on this property will be limited,” Mulcahy said. “For the Realtors in here, that’s a shame, but it helps the attainability.”
Mulcahy outlined some mechanisms he would use to limit speculation and keep his proposed community one for the working-class, full-time resident. The most important one, he said, will be to bring large amounts of real estate to the market at the same time. He predicted there could be 200 sales a year in Steamboat 700 in its first years on the market.
“The way speculation is limited is by the pure volume I have on the market,” Mulcahy said. “It’s going to be real hard for speculators to compete with me.”
Mulcahy offered some insight into how his product might be brought to the market and when. He said he won’t be the only developer and that there also would be lot sales for people to build their own homes. He predicted it would take about 20 years to build out the entire property.
“There will be several developers,” Mulcahy said. “There will be lots of lot sales.”
Mulcahy was asked when such sales might start, but he could not be specific.
“I can’t even have that conversation until I get annexed,” Mulcahy said. “With your guys’ help, I’ll be annexed this year. If I get annexed this year, my first sale is 2010. … I won’t take reservations at least until I get annexed.”
Mulcahy said a school, a community center and a quick-care clinic could be included in his project, but not a recreation center. He also spoke about what he hopes Steamboat 700 will look like from a design standpoint.
“I like the eclectic nature of downtown, and that’s what I want to create out here,” he said. “I like the pink house, next to the stone house, next to the wood house.”
Mulcahy admitted that his goal of getting annexed by the city of Steamboat Springs in the next nine months is an aggressive one, but he also noted that the city has identified his 700-acre property as a target for growth in area plans and should be able to move quickly. He also said the longer it takes the city to annex Steamboat 700, the higher prices will be on the approximately 2,000 homes he proposes. Nonetheless, Mulcahy said he would not abandon the project no matter how long it takes.
“I’m not going anywhere,” he said. “It will happen.”
Mulcahy delivered this message at a talk hosted by Colorado Group Realty. His presentation drew about 50 people. Colorado Group Realty Chief Operating Officer Bart Kounovsky said the crowd that packed the meeting room at Tread of Pioneers Museum was about 50 percent real estate agents, and many of Mulcahy’s comments were directed at such an audience.
“People’s ability to speculate on this property will be limited,” Mulcahy said. “For the Realtors in here, that’s a shame, but it helps the attainability.”
Mulcahy outlined some mechanisms he would use to limit speculation and keep his proposed community one for the working-class, full-time resident. The most important one, he said, will be to bring large amounts of real estate to the market at the same time. He predicted there could be 200 sales a year in Steamboat 700 in its first years on the market.
“The way speculation is limited is by the pure volume I have on the market,” Mulcahy said. “It’s going to be real hard for speculators to compete with me.”
Mulcahy offered some insight into how his product might be brought to the market and when. He said he won’t be the only developer and that there also would be lot sales for people to build their own homes. He predicted it would take about 20 years to build out the entire property.
“There will be several developers,” Mulcahy said. “There will be lots of lot sales.”
Mulcahy was asked when such sales might start, but he could not be specific.
“I can’t even have that conversation until I get annexed,” Mulcahy said. “With your guys’ help, I’ll be annexed this year. If I get annexed this year, my first sale is 2010. … I won’t take reservations at least until I get annexed.”
Mulcahy said a school, a community center and a quick-care clinic could be included in his project, but not a recreation center. He also spoke about what he hopes Steamboat 700 will look like from a design standpoint.
“I like the eclectic nature of downtown, and that’s what I want to create out here,” he said. “I like the pink house, next to the stone house, next to the wood house.”
Mulcahy admitted that his goal of getting annexed by the city of Steamboat Springs in the next nine months is an aggressive one, but he also noted that the city has identified his 700-acre property as a target for growth in area plans and should be able to move quickly. He also said the longer it takes the city to annex Steamboat 700, the higher prices will be on the approximately 2,000 homes he proposes. Nonetheless, Mulcahy said he would not abandon the project no matter how long it takes.
“I’m not going anywhere,” he said. “It will happen.”
3.24.2008
Mortgage Limits Raised to $675,000
Economic Stimulus Package makes waves in Routt County
In addition to all the good news created by Mother Nature and Old Man Winter, the Federal Government is now getting their chance to make headlines in Steamboat Springs.
As part of the new Economic Stimulus Package, the size of loans that the Federal Housing Authority (FHA) can secure was raised by the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) in select markets nationwide.
Routt County, Colorado has been designated as one of these emerging national markets, due in part to Steamboat's rapidly increasing housing costs.
The result means that conforming loans insured by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac can now be as high as $675,000 for property in Steamboat Springs. This is an increase of more than 60% in loan amounts, when compared to the previous conforming loan limit of $417,000.
Steamboat property owners who have been either (1) paying premium interest rates for jumbo loan amounts, or (2) paying off a first loan for $417,000 plus a second ARM for the additional property costs can now take advantage of significantly lower financing arrangements on a single conforming loan.
In addition to all the good news created by Mother Nature and Old Man Winter, the Federal Government is now getting their chance to make headlines in Steamboat Springs.
As part of the new Economic Stimulus Package, the size of loans that the Federal Housing Authority (FHA) can secure was raised by the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) in select markets nationwide.
Routt County, Colorado has been designated as one of these emerging national markets, due in part to Steamboat's rapidly increasing housing costs.
The result means that conforming loans insured by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac can now be as high as $675,000 for property in Steamboat Springs. This is an increase of more than 60% in loan amounts, when compared to the previous conforming loan limit of $417,000.
Steamboat property owners who have been either (1) paying premium interest rates for jumbo loan amounts, or (2) paying off a first loan for $417,000 plus a second ARM for the additional property costs can now take advantage of significantly lower financing arrangements on a single conforming loan.
The rules of the game - Understanding mountain real estate during a national downturn
Steamboat Springs — A business professor at the University of Denver who happens to own resort property in Silverthorne said this week the real estate markets in Colorado’s mountain towns are relatively immune to the current national economic downturn.
“In our resort communities, you don’t have to count on the people who live there and their jobs,” Professor Glenn Mueller said. “You count on people who are wealthy enough to own second homes.”
He teaches courses in real estate feasibility and management and real estate capital markets at DU’s Franklin L. Burns School of Real Estate and Construction Management.
Mueller was quick to acknowledge the secondary market comprising resident buyers but said, even in that sector, strong incomes for business owners and people in fields related to construction mean they have strong buying power.
Paul Clavadetscher, president of Millennium Bank in Steamboat Springs, disagreed with Mueller in one regard.
“I do think the national economy does have an impact on Steamboat,” Clavadetscher said. “With all of the negative news in the marketplace, the buyers are being more cautious.”
Still, he acknowledged that his bank is ahead of 2007 in terms of its mortgage lending business.
Realtors in Steamboat Springs acknowledge that a real estate slowdown began here last fall, and inventory — the number of properties on the market — has increased since then. But they aren’t so sure it isn’t a good thing.
“Things began slowing down in September 2007, but that’s off of 2006 and 2007,” Realtor Ulrich Salzgeber of Buyer’s Resource Real Estate told a small group of vacationers at a seminar Thursday night.
“We’ve seen a slowdown in purchases, and we have larger inventory, but we really haven’t seen a decline in prices,” Clavadetscher said. “I don’t see that we’re in a serious decline at all. I do think (prices) are settling in.”
Clavadetscher, who will observe his 15th year in banking here in June, said sellers’ expectations in Steamboat may be a little unrealistic given the rapid price escalation experienced last year.
While current bank appraisals do not indicate a downturn in prices, he said appraisals based on comparable sales recorded four to five months ago could be skewed.
The dollar volume of real estate sold in Routt County in 2006 topped $1 billion for the first time and then increased by 41 percent to $1.587 billion in 2007. At the same time, the number of transactions dropped from 3,477 in 2006 to 2,555 last year.
January 2008 dollar volume was off 2007 levels by 20 percent. But at that level, Routt County still projects to a $1 billion market in 2008, Clavadetscher said.
“That would be the third-highest year in the history of Steamboat Springs,” he said.
Doug Labor, Salzgeber’s colleague at Buyer’s Resource Real Estate, uses historical data to gauge where the market may go. He graphs supply (listings) and demand (transactions) for a decade then draws a straight line that chops off the highs and lows to produce a trend line. That approach takes out anomalies like the post Sept. 11, 2001, downturn and the surge attributable to the purchase of the ski area by Intrawest last year.
“Using this theory suggests that in 2008, the Steamboat Springs real estate market will see about 1,500 transactions. Total dollar volume will be $800 million with an average sales price of $533,000,” Labor said.
Realtors are watching closely to see if things pick up this spring. A steady stream of national news about the increasing number of home foreclosures tied to the sub-prime lending crisis and the waves being created throughout the economy add to the suspense.
Mueller said because buyers of expensive vacation homes in the mountains earn incomes that rank among the top 10 percent nationally, waning consumer confidence is not an issue.
“The top 10 percent typically have money to do a lot of different things,” Mueller said.
They are individuals (not households) who earn $80,000 or more annually, and news of waning consumer confidence don’t necessarily apply to them.
“For people buying a $1 million property in Steamboat, it really doesn’t matter.”
Clavadetscher said there is good news this month for homebuyers in Steamboat — as a result of a federal economic stimulus package, the threshold for a jumbo loan here has been raised from $417,000 to $625,000. The change means loans that comply with Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae standards could be made at more favorable interest rates than before.
Labor believes the 1,425 listings currently found on the Multiple Listing Service — a number comparable to that of 2005 — represent a positive for buyers. It gives them more choices within different product categories and price points, he said.
“In our resort communities, you don’t have to count on the people who live there and their jobs,” Professor Glenn Mueller said. “You count on people who are wealthy enough to own second homes.”
He teaches courses in real estate feasibility and management and real estate capital markets at DU’s Franklin L. Burns School of Real Estate and Construction Management.
Mueller was quick to acknowledge the secondary market comprising resident buyers but said, even in that sector, strong incomes for business owners and people in fields related to construction mean they have strong buying power.
Paul Clavadetscher, president of Millennium Bank in Steamboat Springs, disagreed with Mueller in one regard.
“I do think the national economy does have an impact on Steamboat,” Clavadetscher said. “With all of the negative news in the marketplace, the buyers are being more cautious.”
Still, he acknowledged that his bank is ahead of 2007 in terms of its mortgage lending business.
Realtors in Steamboat Springs acknowledge that a real estate slowdown began here last fall, and inventory — the number of properties on the market — has increased since then. But they aren’t so sure it isn’t a good thing.
“Things began slowing down in September 2007, but that’s off of 2006 and 2007,” Realtor Ulrich Salzgeber of Buyer’s Resource Real Estate told a small group of vacationers at a seminar Thursday night.
“We’ve seen a slowdown in purchases, and we have larger inventory, but we really haven’t seen a decline in prices,” Clavadetscher said. “I don’t see that we’re in a serious decline at all. I do think (prices) are settling in.”
Clavadetscher, who will observe his 15th year in banking here in June, said sellers’ expectations in Steamboat may be a little unrealistic given the rapid price escalation experienced last year.
While current bank appraisals do not indicate a downturn in prices, he said appraisals based on comparable sales recorded four to five months ago could be skewed.
The dollar volume of real estate sold in Routt County in 2006 topped $1 billion for the first time and then increased by 41 percent to $1.587 billion in 2007. At the same time, the number of transactions dropped from 3,477 in 2006 to 2,555 last year.
January 2008 dollar volume was off 2007 levels by 20 percent. But at that level, Routt County still projects to a $1 billion market in 2008, Clavadetscher said.
“That would be the third-highest year in the history of Steamboat Springs,” he said.
Doug Labor, Salzgeber’s colleague at Buyer’s Resource Real Estate, uses historical data to gauge where the market may go. He graphs supply (listings) and demand (transactions) for a decade then draws a straight line that chops off the highs and lows to produce a trend line. That approach takes out anomalies like the post Sept. 11, 2001, downturn and the surge attributable to the purchase of the ski area by Intrawest last year.
“Using this theory suggests that in 2008, the Steamboat Springs real estate market will see about 1,500 transactions. Total dollar volume will be $800 million with an average sales price of $533,000,” Labor said.
Realtors are watching closely to see if things pick up this spring. A steady stream of national news about the increasing number of home foreclosures tied to the sub-prime lending crisis and the waves being created throughout the economy add to the suspense.
Mueller said because buyers of expensive vacation homes in the mountains earn incomes that rank among the top 10 percent nationally, waning consumer confidence is not an issue.
“The top 10 percent typically have money to do a lot of different things,” Mueller said.
They are individuals (not households) who earn $80,000 or more annually, and news of waning consumer confidence don’t necessarily apply to them.
“For people buying a $1 million property in Steamboat, it really doesn’t matter.”
Clavadetscher said there is good news this month for homebuyers in Steamboat — as a result of a federal economic stimulus package, the threshold for a jumbo loan here has been raised from $417,000 to $625,000. The change means loans that comply with Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae standards could be made at more favorable interest rates than before.
Labor believes the 1,425 listings currently found on the Multiple Listing Service — a number comparable to that of 2005 — represent a positive for buyers. It gives them more choices within different product categories and price points, he said.
Steamboat hits 450-inch mark
Steamboat Springs — The climatologists had it all wrong back in November 2007. Steamboat was supposed to experience a mild January and February with no better than an even chance of average snow.
Instead, skiers and snowboarders here gorged themselves on a record 450 inches of powder.
Steamboat Ski Area officials announced Friday morning that the old season snowfall record of 447.75 inches set in the winter of 1996-97 had been toppled. The 4 inches of snow that fell late Thursday afternoon pushed this winter’s total to a new record.
Two weeks of ski season remain for the mountain to push that record out further.
The ski area has recorded monthly snowfall totals only since the winter of 1979-80, and only in recent years has October and early November snowfall been included in the season totals.
Nevertheless, the record book will reflect 450 inches — or whatever the total is April 6 — as the new benchmark for the ski area.
“With each additional flake over the next two weeks, a new snowfall record will be set,” Chris Diamond, president and chief operating officer for the Steamboat Ski & Resort Corp., said in a news release.
For many local and visiting skiers and riders, the period from mid-December to mid-February will long be remembered for its abundance of snow.
Former Olympic bronze medalist and Steamboat Springs resident Nelson Carmichael said the first week in February sticks out in his mind.
“There were definitely some days in February when we had 10 inches followed by 12 inches followed by 8 inches — and it was cold,” Carmichael recalled.
In fact, it snowed 14 inches at the summit Feb. 1 and 15 inches at mid-mountain Feb. 5.
“I went up Pony Express in the morning instead of heading to the Closets or Shadows,” Carmichael said. “I snowboarded a couple of days, and I skied a couple of days.”
Many people still overlook Pioneer Ridge, Carmichael said. He and his crew were able to make a series of runs down untracked trails in relative solitude.
“I had great powder runs right under the lift,” he said. “We moved one run over, then one run over and another run over. It was a blast to make a few runs with my friends.”
A record snow year seemed unlikely at Thanksgiving.
The ski area announced Nov. 15 that insufficient natural snow and mild temperatures that didn’t permit snowmaking forced it to postpone opening day from Nov. 21 to Nov. 30.
Meteorologists were saying that the warm ocean current known as La Niña was making a mild winter a likelihood.
“The odds strongly favor above-normal temperatures this winter close to the Wyoming border,” National Weather Service meteorologist Jim Pringle said Nov. 20.
Local weather observer Art Judson reported a high temperature of 65 degrees Nov. 20. Strangely, that was the day the weather pendulum began to swing back to its typical arc.
The ski area recorded 10 inches of snow at mid-mountain Nov. 21, and although eager skiers and snowboarders could not have known, Steamboat had launched its assault on the record books.
November finished with a modest 23 inches at mid-mountain, but December 2007 saw measurable snowfall on 26 of 31 days, including streaks of 11 days from Dec. 6 to 16 and 13 days from Dec. 19 to 31.
Although no single daily snow event surpassed 11 inches in December, it ranked as the third-snowiest December on record, ski area spokesman Mike Lane said.
January typically is the snowiest month in Steamboat, and January 2008 produced the biggest powder day of the season thus far. Twenty-five inches of absolute fluff was measured at the summit of Storm Peak on Jan. 10.
The snow didn’t stop falling, and longtime Steamboat skier Andy Hogrefe remembers Jan. 11 as the day John Kole, owner of One Stop Ski Shop, offered to close the store for a powder day.
While the boss went skiing, Hogrefe stayed behind to greet customers.
“I wanted to go up on the mountain, but I knew I had a chance to ski with my son on Saturday,” he said.
The weekend didn’t disappoint — another 22 inches of snow fell.
That second week in January marked a remarkable period in which Steamboat recorded 7 feet of fresh snow in 7 days from Jan. 8 to 14.
January’s powder also brought tragedy to the ski area.
Jared Daniel, 22, of Auburn, Mass., and Mark Joseph Stout, 45, of Ottsville, Pa., both died of apparent suffocation in separate incidents in Park. Both men died after they fell into tree wells filled with light snow. The two fatal incidents happened within 10 days of one another.
February completed back-to-back-to-back 100-inch snowfall months for Steamboat with 104 inches of snowfall and the second-snowiest February on record.
March has unfolded at a more measured pace in spite of 14 days of snow in the first three weeks of the month. The monthly total as of Friday was 51 inches at mid-mountain.
This ski season isn’t over, and history tells us April can make a difference.
During the old record season of 1996-97, February supplied just 36 inches of snow and March chimed in with a skimpy 24 inches. April 1997 rebounded with 55.5 inches to break the previous record.
Steamboat skiers and riders have just six days in April to enjoy this year, but if this winter has taught them anything, it is to keep the faith.
Instead, skiers and snowboarders here gorged themselves on a record 450 inches of powder.
Steamboat Ski Area officials announced Friday morning that the old season snowfall record of 447.75 inches set in the winter of 1996-97 had been toppled. The 4 inches of snow that fell late Thursday afternoon pushed this winter’s total to a new record.
Two weeks of ski season remain for the mountain to push that record out further.
The ski area has recorded monthly snowfall totals only since the winter of 1979-80, and only in recent years has October and early November snowfall been included in the season totals.
Nevertheless, the record book will reflect 450 inches — or whatever the total is April 6 — as the new benchmark for the ski area.
“With each additional flake over the next two weeks, a new snowfall record will be set,” Chris Diamond, president and chief operating officer for the Steamboat Ski & Resort Corp., said in a news release.
For many local and visiting skiers and riders, the period from mid-December to mid-February will long be remembered for its abundance of snow.
Former Olympic bronze medalist and Steamboat Springs resident Nelson Carmichael said the first week in February sticks out in his mind.
“There were definitely some days in February when we had 10 inches followed by 12 inches followed by 8 inches — and it was cold,” Carmichael recalled.
In fact, it snowed 14 inches at the summit Feb. 1 and 15 inches at mid-mountain Feb. 5.
“I went up Pony Express in the morning instead of heading to the Closets or Shadows,” Carmichael said. “I snowboarded a couple of days, and I skied a couple of days.”
Many people still overlook Pioneer Ridge, Carmichael said. He and his crew were able to make a series of runs down untracked trails in relative solitude.
“I had great powder runs right under the lift,” he said. “We moved one run over, then one run over and another run over. It was a blast to make a few runs with my friends.”
A record snow year seemed unlikely at Thanksgiving.
The ski area announced Nov. 15 that insufficient natural snow and mild temperatures that didn’t permit snowmaking forced it to postpone opening day from Nov. 21 to Nov. 30.
Meteorologists were saying that the warm ocean current known as La Niña was making a mild winter a likelihood.
“The odds strongly favor above-normal temperatures this winter close to the Wyoming border,” National Weather Service meteorologist Jim Pringle said Nov. 20.
Local weather observer Art Judson reported a high temperature of 65 degrees Nov. 20. Strangely, that was the day the weather pendulum began to swing back to its typical arc.
The ski area recorded 10 inches of snow at mid-mountain Nov. 21, and although eager skiers and snowboarders could not have known, Steamboat had launched its assault on the record books.
November finished with a modest 23 inches at mid-mountain, but December 2007 saw measurable snowfall on 26 of 31 days, including streaks of 11 days from Dec. 6 to 16 and 13 days from Dec. 19 to 31.
Although no single daily snow event surpassed 11 inches in December, it ranked as the third-snowiest December on record, ski area spokesman Mike Lane said.
January typically is the snowiest month in Steamboat, and January 2008 produced the biggest powder day of the season thus far. Twenty-five inches of absolute fluff was measured at the summit of Storm Peak on Jan. 10.
The snow didn’t stop falling, and longtime Steamboat skier Andy Hogrefe remembers Jan. 11 as the day John Kole, owner of One Stop Ski Shop, offered to close the store for a powder day.
While the boss went skiing, Hogrefe stayed behind to greet customers.
“I wanted to go up on the mountain, but I knew I had a chance to ski with my son on Saturday,” he said.
The weekend didn’t disappoint — another 22 inches of snow fell.
That second week in January marked a remarkable period in which Steamboat recorded 7 feet of fresh snow in 7 days from Jan. 8 to 14.
January’s powder also brought tragedy to the ski area.
Jared Daniel, 22, of Auburn, Mass., and Mark Joseph Stout, 45, of Ottsville, Pa., both died of apparent suffocation in separate incidents in Park. Both men died after they fell into tree wells filled with light snow. The two fatal incidents happened within 10 days of one another.
February completed back-to-back-to-back 100-inch snowfall months for Steamboat with 104 inches of snowfall and the second-snowiest February on record.
March has unfolded at a more measured pace in spite of 14 days of snow in the first three weeks of the month. The monthly total as of Friday was 51 inches at mid-mountain.
This ski season isn’t over, and history tells us April can make a difference.
During the old record season of 1996-97, February supplied just 36 inches of snow and March chimed in with a skimpy 24 inches. April 1997 rebounded with 55.5 inches to break the previous record.
Steamboat skiers and riders have just six days in April to enjoy this year, but if this winter has taught them anything, it is to keep the faith.
It's official! - Steamboat Ski Area sets single-season snowfall mark
Steamboat Springs — The Steamboat Ski Area received 4 inches of snow Thursday afternoon and evening — and in the process set a single-season snowfall record.
The mountain is reporting 450 inches of cumulative snowfall since October. That eclipses the previous mark of 447.75 inches set in the winter of 1996-97.
“The hardest 4 inches we ever got,” ski area spokesman Mike Lane joked this morning.
Ski area employees are giving away candy and hot chocolate to skiers and riders this morning, and some of the early-risers who were near the front of the gondola line received T-shirts, Lane said.
“There were quite a few people — a lot trying to get their last few turns before they head home for Easter, and of course the die-hards who are always here pressing glass,” he said.
Local musician Randy Kelly and his band Sun Dog also are performing in the gondola platform this morning.
This winter has seen other snowfall milestones for the ski area. The winter of 2007-08 is the first time Mount Werner received 100 inches of snow or more in three consecutive months — December, January and February.
Since Nov. 21, snow has fallen 91 out of 122 days — almost 75 percent, with 51 of those days recording 4 or more inches, according to the ski area.
December’s 126 inches was the resort’s third-snowiest December on record; January’s 129 inches was the resort’s second-snowiest January on record; and February’s 104 inches was the resort’s second-snowiest February on record. March has received 51 inches of snow.
The ski area has been tracking monthly snowfall totals since the 1979-80 winter. The resort first opened in the early 1960s.
Only six seasons since 1979-80 have totaled 400 inches of snow or more: 1992-93 (415.5 inches), 2005-06 (432 inches), 1995-96 (441.25 inches), 1983-84 (447.5 inches), 1996-97 (447.75 inches), and 2007-08 (450 inches and counting). However, the ski area has counted October and early November snowfall totals only in recent years.
The mountain is reporting 450 inches of cumulative snowfall since October. That eclipses the previous mark of 447.75 inches set in the winter of 1996-97.
“The hardest 4 inches we ever got,” ski area spokesman Mike Lane joked this morning.
Ski area employees are giving away candy and hot chocolate to skiers and riders this morning, and some of the early-risers who were near the front of the gondola line received T-shirts, Lane said.
“There were quite a few people — a lot trying to get their last few turns before they head home for Easter, and of course the die-hards who are always here pressing glass,” he said.
Local musician Randy Kelly and his band Sun Dog also are performing in the gondola platform this morning.
This winter has seen other snowfall milestones for the ski area. The winter of 2007-08 is the first time Mount Werner received 100 inches of snow or more in three consecutive months — December, January and February.
Since Nov. 21, snow has fallen 91 out of 122 days — almost 75 percent, with 51 of those days recording 4 or more inches, according to the ski area.
December’s 126 inches was the resort’s third-snowiest December on record; January’s 129 inches was the resort’s second-snowiest January on record; and February’s 104 inches was the resort’s second-snowiest February on record. March has received 51 inches of snow.
The ski area has been tracking monthly snowfall totals since the 1979-80 winter. The resort first opened in the early 1960s.
Only six seasons since 1979-80 have totaled 400 inches of snow or more: 1992-93 (415.5 inches), 2005-06 (432 inches), 1995-96 (441.25 inches), 1983-84 (447.5 inches), 1996-97 (447.75 inches), and 2007-08 (450 inches and counting). However, the ski area has counted October and early November snowfall totals only in recent years.
3.14.2008
Edgemont Update - New Slopeside Residences
Edgemont has announced starting prices for their first release of slopeside residences in Steamboat.
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Priority Reservations will begin soon, and the first opportunity to purchase is coming this summer.
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Please contact me for more information on getting involved. I am well-connected to the people developing this new ski-in / ski-out property, and can help you get on the inside track.
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One Bedroom Condos (900 - 1100 sq. ft.)
Starting at $875,000
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Two Bedroom Condos (1500 - 1600 sq. ft.)
Starting at $1,425,000
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Three Bedroom Condos (1600 - 1900 sq. ft.)
Starting at $1,875,000
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Joe Cashen
970.846.2532
3.09.2008
STEAMBOAT SURPASSES 400-INCH CHAMPAGNE POWDER® MILESTONE
With 34 feet of snow this winter and Spring still more than two weeks away, Steamboat recorded another snow milestone this morning, recording a 400-inch Champagne Powder snow season for just the 6th time since 1979/80.
This is the fastest the resort has reached the 400-inch level and is just three inches ahead at this date of the record holding 1996/1997 season when it finished the season with 447.75 in inches.
View Video: Over 400 Inches This Season! Steamboat is currently in a storm cycle that has yielded 9 inches at mid-mountain and 5 inches at the summit overnight, resulting in a 74-inch base at mid-mountain and 94-inch base at the summit on powder conditions.
Since November 21st, snow has fallen 78 out of 103 days (75.7%) with 45 of those days recording four or more inches. This season at mid-mountain, the resort has seen 17 inches in October; 23 inches in November; 126 inches in December (3rd snowiest); 129 inches in January (2nd snowiest) and 104 inches in February (2nd snowiest); and 9 inches in March for a combined total of 408 inches (34 feet).
In addition to registering another four-wire winter, the resort hit three key milestones within just a month of each other: surpassed 300-inch mark on 2/1/08; six days later surpassed 350-inch mark on 2/7/08; and today surpassed the 400-inch mark. Furthermore, Steamboat-Ski Town, U.S.A.® received more than 100 inches of snow for three consecutive months (December, January & February) for the first time in resort history.
This is the fastest the resort has reached the 400-inch level and is just three inches ahead at this date of the record holding 1996/1997 season when it finished the season with 447.75 in inches.
View Video: Over 400 Inches This Season! Steamboat is currently in a storm cycle that has yielded 9 inches at mid-mountain and 5 inches at the summit overnight, resulting in a 74-inch base at mid-mountain and 94-inch base at the summit on powder conditions.
Since November 21st, snow has fallen 78 out of 103 days (75.7%) with 45 of those days recording four or more inches. This season at mid-mountain, the resort has seen 17 inches in October; 23 inches in November; 126 inches in December (3rd snowiest); 129 inches in January (2nd snowiest) and 104 inches in February (2nd snowiest); and 9 inches in March for a combined total of 408 inches (34 feet).
In addition to registering another four-wire winter, the resort hit three key milestones within just a month of each other: surpassed 300-inch mark on 2/1/08; six days later surpassed 350-inch mark on 2/7/08; and today surpassed the 400-inch mark. Furthermore, Steamboat-Ski Town, U.S.A.® received more than 100 inches of snow for three consecutive months (December, January & February) for the first time in resort history.
Market hits $1.5 billion in 2007
One year after the Routt County real estate market exceeded $1 billion for the first time, the market has dusted $1.5 billion. And the market pushed through that threshold while the number of transactions was declining.
The dollar volume for 2007 “is 141 percent over 2006, while the amount of units sold went from a total of 3,477 for 2006 to 2,555 for 2007,” Bruce Carta of Land Title Guarantee Company said.
Carta tracks month-by-month real estate trends and compiles them at the end of the calendar year. His figures are based on closings, so monthly figures are generated by contracts four to six weeks earlier. Consequently, contracts written in December 2007 are not immediately reflected in his year-end totals.
Thanks to a couple of large ranch sales in December, Carta said, the local real estate market finished strong and reached $1.587 billion by year’s end.
Of all the statistics one could pull out of 2007, one seems to explain how Routt County saw dollar volume make such a leap while the number of sales was dropping: the sales of multi-million-dollar homes. In 2007, 45 homes priced at $2.5 million or more were sold. They represent an aggregate value of $167.8 million.
If one includes all of the homes valued at $1 million that sold last year, the number of transactions jumps to 214, with an aggregate value of almost $416 million.
It would be wrong to assume that all of the 2007 action in Routt County was at the high end of the price spectrum. There were 107 improved residential units that sold for less than $200,000, and another 281 priced between $200,000 and $300,000. In terms of unit volume, the biggest price point resided between $300,000 and $500,000, where 426 residential units were sold last year.
There are signs that the availability of homes priced at less than half a million dollars will be tight in the future.
“For December 2007 we had 48 sales of residential improved units of $500,000 and below, compared to 66 last December,” Carta said.
“You wonder where some of these people are going to be displaced to,” Doug Labor of Buyers Resource Real Estate said.
Labor said the price of entry-level real estate in Routt County’s smaller communities also is increasing dramatically.
Most of the condominiums in Stagecoach date to the 1970s, but the median price for a condo in that unincorporated South Routt neighborhood increased by 47 percent last year to $184,000. Similarly, sales prices of Stagecoach townhomes increased by 36 percent from $199,000 to $270,000, Labor said.
In Steamboat, the price of townhomes increased by a comparable percentage, but the jump was from a median sale price of $450,250 to $629,500. The price of land in Steamboat is driving that increase, Labor said.
“The size of townhomes here has grown substantially,” he said. “Land costs have gone up so much you have to maximize” the opportunity.
Source: Steamboat Pilot
The dollar volume for 2007 “is 141 percent over 2006, while the amount of units sold went from a total of 3,477 for 2006 to 2,555 for 2007,” Bruce Carta of Land Title Guarantee Company said.
Carta tracks month-by-month real estate trends and compiles them at the end of the calendar year. His figures are based on closings, so monthly figures are generated by contracts four to six weeks earlier. Consequently, contracts written in December 2007 are not immediately reflected in his year-end totals.
Thanks to a couple of large ranch sales in December, Carta said, the local real estate market finished strong and reached $1.587 billion by year’s end.
Of all the statistics one could pull out of 2007, one seems to explain how Routt County saw dollar volume make such a leap while the number of sales was dropping: the sales of multi-million-dollar homes. In 2007, 45 homes priced at $2.5 million or more were sold. They represent an aggregate value of $167.8 million.
If one includes all of the homes valued at $1 million that sold last year, the number of transactions jumps to 214, with an aggregate value of almost $416 million.
It would be wrong to assume that all of the 2007 action in Routt County was at the high end of the price spectrum. There were 107 improved residential units that sold for less than $200,000, and another 281 priced between $200,000 and $300,000. In terms of unit volume, the biggest price point resided between $300,000 and $500,000, where 426 residential units were sold last year.
There are signs that the availability of homes priced at less than half a million dollars will be tight in the future.
“For December 2007 we had 48 sales of residential improved units of $500,000 and below, compared to 66 last December,” Carta said.
“You wonder where some of these people are going to be displaced to,” Doug Labor of Buyers Resource Real Estate said.
Labor said the price of entry-level real estate in Routt County’s smaller communities also is increasing dramatically.
Most of the condominiums in Stagecoach date to the 1970s, but the median price for a condo in that unincorporated South Routt neighborhood increased by 47 percent last year to $184,000. Similarly, sales prices of Stagecoach townhomes increased by 36 percent from $199,000 to $270,000, Labor said.
In Steamboat, the price of townhomes increased by a comparable percentage, but the jump was from a median sale price of $450,250 to $629,500. The price of land in Steamboat is driving that increase, Labor said.
“The size of townhomes here has grown substantially,” he said. “Land costs have gone up so much you have to maximize” the opportunity.
Source: Steamboat Pilot
Sundance North condos close to shopping, dining
The city’s newest mixed residential/commercial project won’t break ground until this summer — and more than 30 percent of the residential units already are under contract.
Coleman Cook and Joyce Hartless of Colorado Group Realty confirmed this week that their company’s Realtors have identified outside buyers for 10 of the 27 condominiums at Sundance North on Anglers Drive.
Cook said the strength of the residential condominiums is their proximity to dining and shopping. Residents will be able to walk to several restaurants and boutique shops across the street, and the Safeway grocery store is just on the other side of Fish Creek.
“Convenience is what we’re really selling here more than anything else,” Cook said.
Hartless and Cook are among four Colorado Group Realty broker-owners who make up the listing team for the residential condos. The others are Joy Rasmussen and Joe Cashen. Jon Sanders and Jim Cook are representing the commercial space.
Sundance North will comprise three large buildings and one small commercial building immediately opposite the existing Sundance at Fish Creek shopping center. The site is one block east of the intersection with U.S. Highway 40. The developers are Jim Cook and three partners from the Illinois/Indiana area, including Tom McCalley of Carmel, Ind.
The exterior facades of the buildings are designed so each commercial storefront resembles a separate building in an urban downtown. Varying roof styles and materials enhance the effect.
“We’re going to incorporate a lot of steel trusses and beams, which we haven’t seen a lot of,” Coleman Cook said.
The architect is Eric Smith Associates. The general contractor is Calcon Constructors, the same company building Howelsen Place in downtown Steamboat. Construction is expected to take 14 to 16 months, with delivery of completed units in fall 2009.
The two- and three-bedroom condos range in size from 990 to 1,560 square feet. Each residence includes an underground parking space. They range in price from $475,000 to $665,000.
“I hope they’ll appeal to locals looking for an affordable alternative,” Hartless said.
Cook said the developers deliberately targeted a price range where inventory is currently low in Steamboat. So far, the mix of buyers includes full-time residents, second-home buyers and investors, he said.
The condominiums have 9-foot ceilings to enhance the feeling of openness. Most of the floor plans are laid out with the kitchen, dining room and living room all in a line separated only by the kitchen bar. All of the condominiums have decks, and all of them are south-facing to take advantage of winter sun.
Interior finishes include slate, maple floors and cabinets, granite countertops, four-panel pine doors, gas fireplaces with stone accents, and stainless steel appliances.
Of the 10 units already under contract, seven are three-bedroom units. The project also includes three deed-restricted units that offer two bedrooms and two baths, plus two accessible units.
Coleman Cook said the condos that haven’t been put under contract by Colorado Group Realtors in the past two weeks were entered into the Steamboat Springs Multiple Listing Service last week, and he will introduce them to the entire real estate community Tuesday.
Terms call for $5,000 at contract signing followed by a 14-day diligence period, after which 10 percent of the purchase price less the $5,000 is due.
Source: Steamboat Pilot
Coleman Cook and Joyce Hartless of Colorado Group Realty confirmed this week that their company’s Realtors have identified outside buyers for 10 of the 27 condominiums at Sundance North on Anglers Drive.
Cook said the strength of the residential condominiums is their proximity to dining and shopping. Residents will be able to walk to several restaurants and boutique shops across the street, and the Safeway grocery store is just on the other side of Fish Creek.
“Convenience is what we’re really selling here more than anything else,” Cook said.
Hartless and Cook are among four Colorado Group Realty broker-owners who make up the listing team for the residential condos. The others are Joy Rasmussen and Joe Cashen. Jon Sanders and Jim Cook are representing the commercial space.
Sundance North will comprise three large buildings and one small commercial building immediately opposite the existing Sundance at Fish Creek shopping center. The site is one block east of the intersection with U.S. Highway 40. The developers are Jim Cook and three partners from the Illinois/Indiana area, including Tom McCalley of Carmel, Ind.
The exterior facades of the buildings are designed so each commercial storefront resembles a separate building in an urban downtown. Varying roof styles and materials enhance the effect.
“We’re going to incorporate a lot of steel trusses and beams, which we haven’t seen a lot of,” Coleman Cook said.
The architect is Eric Smith Associates. The general contractor is Calcon Constructors, the same company building Howelsen Place in downtown Steamboat. Construction is expected to take 14 to 16 months, with delivery of completed units in fall 2009.
The two- and three-bedroom condos range in size from 990 to 1,560 square feet. Each residence includes an underground parking space. They range in price from $475,000 to $665,000.
“I hope they’ll appeal to locals looking for an affordable alternative,” Hartless said.
Cook said the developers deliberately targeted a price range where inventory is currently low in Steamboat. So far, the mix of buyers includes full-time residents, second-home buyers and investors, he said.
The condominiums have 9-foot ceilings to enhance the feeling of openness. Most of the floor plans are laid out with the kitchen, dining room and living room all in a line separated only by the kitchen bar. All of the condominiums have decks, and all of them are south-facing to take advantage of winter sun.
Interior finishes include slate, maple floors and cabinets, granite countertops, four-panel pine doors, gas fireplaces with stone accents, and stainless steel appliances.
Of the 10 units already under contract, seven are three-bedroom units. The project also includes three deed-restricted units that offer two bedrooms and two baths, plus two accessible units.
Coleman Cook said the condos that haven’t been put under contract by Colorado Group Realtors in the past two weeks were entered into the Steamboat Springs Multiple Listing Service last week, and he will introduce them to the entire real estate community Tuesday.
Terms call for $5,000 at contract signing followed by a 14-day diligence period, after which 10 percent of the purchase price less the $5,000 is due.
Source: Steamboat Pilot
Builders want to acquire garage in Ski Time Square
The founding partner and former president of the Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company is partnering with Steamboat Springs developer Jamie Temple to propose a 781,339-square-foot development that would redefine the entrance to Ski Time Square.
The project is called St. Cloud Resort & Spa. It would add 201 residential units in multiple buildings. The formal name of the development company is Momentum Steamboat LLC, Temple said.
He was the developer of Storm Mountain Ranch in Steamboat with his brother Jeff as well as Water Dance in Frisco and Uptown Broadway in Boulder.
Partner Colgate Holmes’ background includes operation and development of resorts and hotels including the Grand Wailea Resort and Spa, the Beverly Hills Hotel, the Wigwam Resort and Country Club in Phoenix, and the Palace of the Golden Horses in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
A statement prepared by the St. Cloud developers says they intend to enhance the Steamboat hotel experience with services including day care, a full service spa, restaurants, ballroom and conference facilities, a ski shop and related commercial space.
The Steamboat Ski Area has written a letter of permission giving the developers the ability to enter the city of Steamboat Springs planning process with a plan that would replace the existing Ski Corp. parking garage with new buildings and underground parking.
“We’re aware that they have contemplated that parking structure in the pre-application and have acknowledged that we have no objection,” Ski Corp. Vice President of Development Doug Beall said. “We haven’t consummated a deal.”
They also have stated their intention to develop a green project and pursue Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design accreditation, something that has not been pursued with so large a project in Steamboat.
Temple said the goal of Momentum Steamboat is to own the parking garage site.
The nearly 4-acre site of the St. Cloud would occupy parcels including the existing Clocktower Square Penthouse Condominiums, Xanadu Condominiums, the site of the old octagon buildings as well as the industrial-looking concrete parking garage.
St. Cloud has been through the city’s technical analysis process, and the developers are scheduled to deliver a re-worked plan next week in time for a public hearing before Planning Commission on March 27.
The public and private sector are in the midst of investing in the redevelopment of Ski Time Square and the proposed development of the St. Cloud represents a significant opportunity to make the entrance of the longstanding commercial strip at the base of the ski area more prominent and inviting.
“Certainly (planning) staff feels that the intersection of Mount Werner Circle and Ski Time Square Drive calls for a special level of treatment,” senior city planner Jonathan Spence said.
The developers say in their prepared statement that they intend to redefine the intersection as a “portal that provides a grand entry to the new base village experience at Steamboat.”
Spence said tentative plans for the St. Cloud call for 91 units to be devoted to a “condo-tel,” another 50 units would be marketed on a fractional basis, and 60 would be marketed as whole ownership units where owners would be encouraged to rent them out on a short-term basis.
Of the gross square footage in the project, 377,820 would be devoted to residential space and 48,649 to commercial uses.
Momentum Steamboat’s submittal to city planning is in the form of a pre-application. Public hearings are scheduled before Planning Commission on March 27 and City Council on April 15. No formal votes will be taken during those hearings.
Source: Steamboat Pilot
The project is called St. Cloud Resort & Spa. It would add 201 residential units in multiple buildings. The formal name of the development company is Momentum Steamboat LLC, Temple said.
He was the developer of Storm Mountain Ranch in Steamboat with his brother Jeff as well as Water Dance in Frisco and Uptown Broadway in Boulder.
Partner Colgate Holmes’ background includes operation and development of resorts and hotels including the Grand Wailea Resort and Spa, the Beverly Hills Hotel, the Wigwam Resort and Country Club in Phoenix, and the Palace of the Golden Horses in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
A statement prepared by the St. Cloud developers says they intend to enhance the Steamboat hotel experience with services including day care, a full service spa, restaurants, ballroom and conference facilities, a ski shop and related commercial space.
The Steamboat Ski Area has written a letter of permission giving the developers the ability to enter the city of Steamboat Springs planning process with a plan that would replace the existing Ski Corp. parking garage with new buildings and underground parking.
“We’re aware that they have contemplated that parking structure in the pre-application and have acknowledged that we have no objection,” Ski Corp. Vice President of Development Doug Beall said. “We haven’t consummated a deal.”
They also have stated their intention to develop a green project and pursue Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design accreditation, something that has not been pursued with so large a project in Steamboat.
Temple said the goal of Momentum Steamboat is to own the parking garage site.
The nearly 4-acre site of the St. Cloud would occupy parcels including the existing Clocktower Square Penthouse Condominiums, Xanadu Condominiums, the site of the old octagon buildings as well as the industrial-looking concrete parking garage.
St. Cloud has been through the city’s technical analysis process, and the developers are scheduled to deliver a re-worked plan next week in time for a public hearing before Planning Commission on March 27.
The public and private sector are in the midst of investing in the redevelopment of Ski Time Square and the proposed development of the St. Cloud represents a significant opportunity to make the entrance of the longstanding commercial strip at the base of the ski area more prominent and inviting.
“Certainly (planning) staff feels that the intersection of Mount Werner Circle and Ski Time Square Drive calls for a special level of treatment,” senior city planner Jonathan Spence said.
The developers say in their prepared statement that they intend to redefine the intersection as a “portal that provides a grand entry to the new base village experience at Steamboat.”
Spence said tentative plans for the St. Cloud call for 91 units to be devoted to a “condo-tel,” another 50 units would be marketed on a fractional basis, and 60 would be marketed as whole ownership units where owners would be encouraged to rent them out on a short-term basis.
Of the gross square footage in the project, 377,820 would be devoted to residential space and 48,649 to commercial uses.
Momentum Steamboat’s submittal to city planning is in the form of a pre-application. Public hearings are scheduled before Planning Commission on March 27 and City Council on April 15. No formal votes will be taken during those hearings.
Source: Steamboat Pilot
Edgemont reaches out
The new ski-in, ski-out condominiums at The Edgemont realized another milestone this month with the opening of a sales center in the Steamboat Grand Resort Hotel on Mount Werner Circle.
The first phase of the multi-building project — Edgemont Ridge — is being released this spring.
Sales manager Mark Murrell said interested parties are being invited to consider an exclusive priority reservation. A refundable $5,000 to $10,000 deposit would engage the diligence process for prospective buyers of the condominiums, which are expected to range in price from $800,000 to $2.5 million.
“What it does for us is separate the curious from the serious,” Murrell said.
The condominiums will range in size from one to four bedrooms, but the developers are refining the details, Murrell said. The configuration of units and even the total number (from 41 to 44) is still dynamic.
“We’re working on finalizing floor plans and expect to have them firm in mid-March,” Murrell said. “What we’re being very sensitive to is that when we do release information it’s accurate and that we get information to the local brokerage community right away. They are our partners in selling Edgemont.”
Prospective buyers who make the soft deposit would be invited to work with the sales team through mid-April, when reservation priorities would begin to be firmed up for a one-day sales event to be held in June or July.
“We want to create a fair and transparent process so everyone has a fair chance,” Murrell said.
The reservation process is time-tested and very similar to the process used for an unrelated nearby project, Trailhead Lodge at Wildhorse Meadows. Murrell’s employer, S&P Destination Properties, also handled the marketing of that project.
The Atira Group, the development company, anticipates breaking ground on Edgemont Ridge in early summer, possibly as early as May, Murrell said.
Edgemont is situated on the Stampede ski trail just south of the Christie Peak Express chairlift and north of the gondola.
“The views of the South Valley, the ski village and the Sleeping Giant are absolutely stunning,” Murrell said.
Edgemont Ridge is farthest up the ski trails among the multiple buildings in the project. The second phase of the project would comprise another large condominium building, and the third phase would include paired residences just to the south of the ski trails.
The new sales center is one door south of the Chocolate Soup pastry shop in the street-side storefronts at the Grand.
The developers have created a comfortable platform for visitors to the site where they can visualize the views from a corridor between the slopeside buildings.
“We’re very early in the process, and we want to get the word out to the local brokerage community so they can bring their clients to the site,” Murrell said.
The first phase of the multi-building project — Edgemont Ridge — is being released this spring.
Sales manager Mark Murrell said interested parties are being invited to consider an exclusive priority reservation. A refundable $5,000 to $10,000 deposit would engage the diligence process for prospective buyers of the condominiums, which are expected to range in price from $800,000 to $2.5 million.
“What it does for us is separate the curious from the serious,” Murrell said.
The condominiums will range in size from one to four bedrooms, but the developers are refining the details, Murrell said. The configuration of units and even the total number (from 41 to 44) is still dynamic.
“We’re working on finalizing floor plans and expect to have them firm in mid-March,” Murrell said. “What we’re being very sensitive to is that when we do release information it’s accurate and that we get information to the local brokerage community right away. They are our partners in selling Edgemont.”
Prospective buyers who make the soft deposit would be invited to work with the sales team through mid-April, when reservation priorities would begin to be firmed up for a one-day sales event to be held in June or July.
“We want to create a fair and transparent process so everyone has a fair chance,” Murrell said.
The reservation process is time-tested and very similar to the process used for an unrelated nearby project, Trailhead Lodge at Wildhorse Meadows. Murrell’s employer, S&P Destination Properties, also handled the marketing of that project.
The Atira Group, the development company, anticipates breaking ground on Edgemont Ridge in early summer, possibly as early as May, Murrell said.
Edgemont is situated on the Stampede ski trail just south of the Christie Peak Express chairlift and north of the gondola.
“The views of the South Valley, the ski village and the Sleeping Giant are absolutely stunning,” Murrell said.
Edgemont Ridge is farthest up the ski trails among the multiple buildings in the project. The second phase of the project would comprise another large condominium building, and the third phase would include paired residences just to the south of the ski trails.
The new sales center is one door south of the Chocolate Soup pastry shop in the street-side storefronts at the Grand.
The developers have created a comfortable platform for visitors to the site where they can visualize the views from a corridor between the slopeside buildings.
“We’re very early in the process, and we want to get the word out to the local brokerage community so they can bring their clients to the site,” Murrell said.
River projects planned for Downtown Steamboat Springs
Steamboat Springs — The Spanish word paseo is figuring prominently in three mixed-use redevelopment projects that have been proposed for the riverfront on the south side of Yampa Street.
The latest is Whitewater Run, being developed by Nebraska building contractor Rick Fauss, who is purchasing the riverfront property owned by Dick and Paulette Mills. The sale is expected to close next month. Whitewater’s site is planned for the lawn adjacent to the Yacht Club restaurant, 811 Yampa Ave. The restaurant building would remain standing.
Loosely translated, paseo, in this case, means “walk-through.”
All three of the projects — including plans for 751 Yampa proposed by Steamboat Realtor and developer Jim Cook, with Green Courte Partners; plans for 655 Yampa; and Whitewater Run — include an open-air pedestrian pathway leading from the street, through the building to the river.
“The trendy word in development right now is ‘paseo,’” Cook said. He also is representing Fauss in the Whitewater Run project.
Cook said the shallow building lots on the south side of Yampa Street preclude building public trails above the 50-foot water setback required by the city. But he’s optimistic the paseos will become extensions of the numbered city side streets across from them and pull pedestrians into public restaurant seating along the river.
The paseos at all three sites should break up their building’s mass and scale while providing view corridors to the riverbank, he added.
Whitewater Run recently entered the pre-application process with Steamboat Springs city planners. It would include eight residential units on the second and third floors above a mix of retail and restaurant space on street level, Cook said. A well-established Steamboat business already has committed to a 2,500-square-foot retail space, Cook said.
The site comprises two existing buildings, plus an open lawn attached to the landmark Yacht Club restaurant, and the metal building currently housing Backdoor Sports.
The Yacht Club building would remain standing, but the rectangular building that houses the sporting goods shop would come down. At one time, the building housed Dodd Diesel mechanics shop.
Backdoor Sports owner Peter VanDeCarr said he would prefer to remain right where he is, but he has the option to relocate into 655 Yampa.
That project is being developed by Howard Ulep and Dennis Frank of Annapolis, Md. It was designed by Steven Eggleston of SCE Studio in Steamboat, and was approved by the Steamboat Springs City Council in November 2007. It would replace a large white house on the site.
Cook’s other project, 751 Yampa, would replace three small buildings including Colorado Group Realty’s sales center, Hell’s Wall sporting goods and the building that houses Sweet Pea Produce in the summer and Sunpie’s Bistro.
Yacht Club operators Morton and Ellen Hoj have already announced their plans to open a new restaurant, The Diplomat, in The Victoria, under construction at the corner of Lincoln Avenue and 10th Street.
Cook said Fauss intends to sell the Yacht Club building with the expectation it would remain a restaurant.
Fauss is the principal in a construction firm, R.L. Fauss, headquartered in Fremont, Neb., outside Omaha. The company also has offices in Conway, S.C., and Sierra Vista, Ariz.
The company’s completed projects include public schools, convenience stores, apartment buildings and hotels.
Source: Steamboat Pilot
The latest is Whitewater Run, being developed by Nebraska building contractor Rick Fauss, who is purchasing the riverfront property owned by Dick and Paulette Mills. The sale is expected to close next month. Whitewater’s site is planned for the lawn adjacent to the Yacht Club restaurant, 811 Yampa Ave. The restaurant building would remain standing.
Loosely translated, paseo, in this case, means “walk-through.”
All three of the projects — including plans for 751 Yampa proposed by Steamboat Realtor and developer Jim Cook, with Green Courte Partners; plans for 655 Yampa; and Whitewater Run — include an open-air pedestrian pathway leading from the street, through the building to the river.
“The trendy word in development right now is ‘paseo,’” Cook said. He also is representing Fauss in the Whitewater Run project.
Cook said the shallow building lots on the south side of Yampa Street preclude building public trails above the 50-foot water setback required by the city. But he’s optimistic the paseos will become extensions of the numbered city side streets across from them and pull pedestrians into public restaurant seating along the river.
The paseos at all three sites should break up their building’s mass and scale while providing view corridors to the riverbank, he added.
Whitewater Run recently entered the pre-application process with Steamboat Springs city planners. It would include eight residential units on the second and third floors above a mix of retail and restaurant space on street level, Cook said. A well-established Steamboat business already has committed to a 2,500-square-foot retail space, Cook said.
The site comprises two existing buildings, plus an open lawn attached to the landmark Yacht Club restaurant, and the metal building currently housing Backdoor Sports.
The Yacht Club building would remain standing, but the rectangular building that houses the sporting goods shop would come down. At one time, the building housed Dodd Diesel mechanics shop.
Backdoor Sports owner Peter VanDeCarr said he would prefer to remain right where he is, but he has the option to relocate into 655 Yampa.
That project is being developed by Howard Ulep and Dennis Frank of Annapolis, Md. It was designed by Steven Eggleston of SCE Studio in Steamboat, and was approved by the Steamboat Springs City Council in November 2007. It would replace a large white house on the site.
Cook’s other project, 751 Yampa, would replace three small buildings including Colorado Group Realty’s sales center, Hell’s Wall sporting goods and the building that houses Sweet Pea Produce in the summer and Sunpie’s Bistro.
Yacht Club operators Morton and Ellen Hoj have already announced their plans to open a new restaurant, The Diplomat, in The Victoria, under construction at the corner of Lincoln Avenue and 10th Street.
Cook said Fauss intends to sell the Yacht Club building with the expectation it would remain a restaurant.
Fauss is the principal in a construction firm, R.L. Fauss, headquartered in Fremont, Neb., outside Omaha. The company also has offices in Conway, S.C., and Sierra Vista, Ariz.
The company’s completed projects include public schools, convenience stores, apartment buildings and hotels.
Source: Steamboat Pilot
Ski Time Square demolition scheduled for summer
Steamboat Springs — It’s official: Demolition of Ski Time Square will happen all at once, and it will start this summer.
Businesses were notified Friday that they’ll have to be out — some next month, some a few months later. The Atira Group and Washington, D.C.-based Cafritz Interests are partnering to raze and redevelop the buildings around the base of the Steamboat Ski Area.
Although the groups had talked about demolishing the properties in phases, that is no longer under consideration, said Jane Blackstone, a development manager with Atira. She cited concerns with the sprinkler system used in Ski Time Square buildings that has required tens of thousands of dollars’ worth of repairs and, in at least one case, 24-hour surveillance from local fire employees.
“This sprinkler issue is a safety issue, and our first priority is to keep the buildings safe,” Blackstone said. “We have made what we believe is a responsible decision to take all the buildings down this summer, roughly a year before they would come down in a phased approach.”
Steamboat Trading Co. owner Erich Esswein said he had expected the phased approach to go through. He figured that he could have about $200,000 in inventory to get rid of come the end of ski season.
To address that issue, Ski Time Square retailers are planning a garage sale the first week of April, Esswein said. The Butcher Shop will be selling decades’ worth of photos, antiques and collectibles, he said.
“I think it’s a sad time in Steamboat history, just seeing Ski Time Square go,” Esswein said. “Just the cast of characters who own the businesses here and work here — it’s a big change.”
Tenants will leave at different times during the next few months, depending on the terms of their leases and whether any decide to leave early, Atira officials said. All businesses will be out by September, said Mark Mathews, vice president of development at Atira.
Mathews and Blackstone stressed that the community has pushed for the changes at Ski Time Square.
“I do think that all of this redevelopment was encouraged and embraced by the city and the community,” Blackstone said.
She said the developers are not yet to the point where they can start talking about what will go into the new mixed-use property. Current tenants might have options in the new development, Blackstone said, but there will be a time gap between demolition and completion of construction. The groups also are redeveloping Thunderhead Lodge.
The city of Steamboat Springs is sponsoring a study to determine the retail needs of the base area.
“What we’re excited about is really using an integrated approach to having a vibrant, mixed-use property, looking at how all these are going to flow together,” Mathews said.
The Atira officials said Steamboat needs to improve the area to improve its status as a tourist destination.
“We have a world-class mountain; now we want a world-class base area,” Blackstone said.
Source: Steamboat Pilot
Businesses were notified Friday that they’ll have to be out — some next month, some a few months later. The Atira Group and Washington, D.C.-based Cafritz Interests are partnering to raze and redevelop the buildings around the base of the Steamboat Ski Area.
Although the groups had talked about demolishing the properties in phases, that is no longer under consideration, said Jane Blackstone, a development manager with Atira. She cited concerns with the sprinkler system used in Ski Time Square buildings that has required tens of thousands of dollars’ worth of repairs and, in at least one case, 24-hour surveillance from local fire employees.
“This sprinkler issue is a safety issue, and our first priority is to keep the buildings safe,” Blackstone said. “We have made what we believe is a responsible decision to take all the buildings down this summer, roughly a year before they would come down in a phased approach.”
Steamboat Trading Co. owner Erich Esswein said he had expected the phased approach to go through. He figured that he could have about $200,000 in inventory to get rid of come the end of ski season.
To address that issue, Ski Time Square retailers are planning a garage sale the first week of April, Esswein said. The Butcher Shop will be selling decades’ worth of photos, antiques and collectibles, he said.
“I think it’s a sad time in Steamboat history, just seeing Ski Time Square go,” Esswein said. “Just the cast of characters who own the businesses here and work here — it’s a big change.”
Tenants will leave at different times during the next few months, depending on the terms of their leases and whether any decide to leave early, Atira officials said. All businesses will be out by September, said Mark Mathews, vice president of development at Atira.
Mathews and Blackstone stressed that the community has pushed for the changes at Ski Time Square.
“I do think that all of this redevelopment was encouraged and embraced by the city and the community,” Blackstone said.
She said the developers are not yet to the point where they can start talking about what will go into the new mixed-use property. Current tenants might have options in the new development, Blackstone said, but there will be a time gap between demolition and completion of construction. The groups also are redeveloping Thunderhead Lodge.
The city of Steamboat Springs is sponsoring a study to determine the retail needs of the base area.
“What we’re excited about is really using an integrated approach to having a vibrant, mixed-use property, looking at how all these are going to flow together,” Mathews said.
The Atira officials said Steamboat needs to improve the area to improve its status as a tourist destination.
“We have a world-class mountain; now we want a world-class base area,” Blackstone said.
Source: Steamboat Pilot
3.07.2008
New Conforming Loan Limits for Routt County
Great news from the mortgage industry:
THANK YOU HUD!
Mortgages in Routt County Colorado, including Steamboat Springs, will now qualify for a significant increase in loan limits for conforming loans.
Conforming loans are now available up to $675,000 in Steamboat.
Combine this with some of the lowest interest rates of the 21st century, and a robust Steamboat real estate market that continues to show property value increases over 15% or more annually.
It's time to Buy in Steamboat!
THANK YOU HUD!
Mortgages in Routt County Colorado, including Steamboat Springs, will now qualify for a significant increase in loan limits for conforming loans.
Conforming loans are now available up to $675,000 in Steamboat.
Combine this with some of the lowest interest rates of the 21st century, and a robust Steamboat real estate market that continues to show property value increases over 15% or more annually.
It's time to Buy in Steamboat!
3.03.2008
Steamboat has more than 400 Inches of Annual Snowfall
Saturday: Sunshine, temperatures in the high 30's, spring skiing, and lots of sunscreen.
Saturday evening: Cocktails on the deck, basking in a beautiful sunset and alpenglow.
Sunday: Winter Storm settled in overnight. Woke up to 9" of new snow, and snowfall continued all day. A total of 15" fell over a 24 hour period.
Monday: Sunshine again, but cold, with temperatures in the single digits.
Steamboat's Total Annual Snowfall = 414 Inches
Only 35 Inches away from setting a new record for Annual Snowfall in Steamboat.
Saturday evening: Cocktails on the deck, basking in a beautiful sunset and alpenglow.
Sunday: Winter Storm settled in overnight. Woke up to 9" of new snow, and snowfall continued all day. A total of 15" fell over a 24 hour period.
Monday: Sunshine again, but cold, with temperatures in the single digits.
Steamboat's Total Annual Snowfall = 414 Inches
Only 35 Inches away from setting a new record for Annual Snowfall in Steamboat.
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