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Uncategorized | dkitchell June 19, 2011 | 
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Aspen —
AACP set for adoption in July
The Aspen and Pitkin County Planning and Zoning commissions have scheduled final review hearings on the Aspen Area Community Plan for July 7, 12, 14 and 21.
City Council recently rejected a proposal from Aspen Chamber Resort Association to update the economic study that was used to help shape the policies in the plan, partly on the grounds that it would cause additional delays with a plan that has been in the works for more than two years.
The Chamber requested the update, and offered to cover half the costs, arguing that the plan relied too heavily on an economic study conducted during the heat of the real estate bubble in 2008 and before the recession. The AACP study examined the community’s economic drivers over a 50-year period, from 1958 through 2008.
Final adoption by the two P&Zs is expected on July 26, with a follow-up vote by Aspen City Council later in the summer. The county commissioners will not hold hearings or a vote on the final plan.
Given developer presses to recoup planning fees
Claiming it was misled on multiple occasions,” the developer who proposed three single-family homes around the Given Institute property is asking Aspen City Council to return nearly $8,700 in planning fees.
SC Acquisitions withdrew its development application in February, after working for three months toward approval to preserve the now-demolished Given Institute and surround it with three speculative luxury homes.
“Based on very specific directions and input from Mayor Ireland and other city representatives, SC Acquisitions revised its application multiple times and accommodated every single one of the city’s requests, all at significant expense. These efforts turned out to be wasteful and futile,” says a letter from an attorney working for the firm.
The community development department is recommending that City Council deny the fee refund, saying it “objects to the notion that staff is responsible for the success of an application.”
Council OKs additional 2011 spending
Aspen City Council approved $2.47 million in spending requests from city departments above and beyond the 2011 budget passed last fall. The land-use and business related items included:
Bentley’s closing date set
Bentley’s at the Wheeler’s 27-year run ends June 7 when the bar and restaurant closes its doors for good. Owner Andrew Petrillo plans to close earlier than he originally thought, partly based on the city’s desire to begin renovation for the next proprietor as soon as possible.
The new “Wheeler Bar & Grill” will be a mid-priced bar and restaurant. It is expected to open by Dec. 15.
Aspen avoids council runoff elections
Voters in the city of Aspen backed the three candidates for City Council by wide enough margins to avoid a runoff election for the first time in recent memory.
Mayor Mick Ireland drew the support of 900 voters, while his opponents Ruth Kruger and Andrew Kole together garnered 875 votes. Kruger was favored by 725 voters and Kole by 150. Under Aspen’s Home Rule Charter, a mayoral candidate needs to win 50 percent plus one vote in order to win a multi-candidate race and avoid a runoff.
Steve Skadron drew more than 900 votes and Adam Frisch came in with more than 850, beating the 45 percent threshold needed to avoid runoffs in council races.
A public-private land swap on the ballot was approved by voters by an overwhelming margin, with 90 percent in favor.
Dozens of building permits set to expire
The city of Aspen is notifying contractors that all inactive building permits will expire on June 30. The Community Development Department granted extensions to 67 permits in 2009 and again in 2010 in deference to challenging economic times. More than 60 of those permits are still inactive.
City staffers reached a general agreement with representatives of the development community that June 30 is a realistic target to organize and initiate construction projects. If a project is unable to move forward, the permit will become void.
Pre-sales list gauging demand at Burlingame
Approximately five dozen people have so far added their names to a list reserving a unit in the final phases of the city’s Burlingame Ranch affordable housing project.
The list is being used to gauge demand for the planned 167-unit addition to the development. A housing department spokesman said the department would like to see 100 to 150 names on the reservation list before the city pursues a bond election to pay for the additional units.
The housing department also is pursuing partnerships with large employers in the community to see if they would be willing to contribute funds to secure homes for their employees.
Pitkin County —
Communities prep for flooding
Public works and safety authorities from Pitkin County, Aspen, Snowmass Village and Basalt are collaborating on a “mud and flood” team.
The mud and flood team monitors river levels daily, has trained swift-water rescuers and are working to communicate often and effectively with local residents.
The flood team already is providing sand and bags to residents in the most flood-prone areas. Bags and sand are available at the Old Town Park in and the Storey Property near the Basalt Store, and in Redstone.
Basalt Town Council separately authorized funds in advance for emergency flood control. Town manager Bill Kane plans to put heavy equipment on “stand-by” during projected peak runoffs so they are available to remove debris from around bridges.
Locals are encouraged to sign up for text message and e-mail emergency messaging on the county’s Pitkin Alert system at www.pitkinalert.org and to call the local flood hotline at 429-1800 for the latest information on runoff conditions.
Construction activity picks up for the first time in three summers
For the last two years, the recession has put a severe damper on construction activity in the upper valley, but a mix of public and private projects promises to make the summer of 2011 buzz with activity. They include:
Plans changing for Buttermilk redevelopment
The Aspen Skiing Co.’s plans for extensive redevelopment of the Buttermilk base area are off the table for the foreseeable future. The company told the county that its priority is to improve the children’s center at the base and on-mountain upgrades. Tiehack is due for new lifts this summer.
Meanwhile, the homeowners association at the Inn at Aspen has been collecting signatures for an annexation application into the city of Aspen. Owners of the condominium hotel plan eventually to submit a redevelopment application.
County embarks on hydro electric study
Pitkin County agreed to spend $50,000 on a report outlining ways to run a hydro electric plant while protecting the environmental health of Castle and Maroon creeks.
The federal small-project license the city is now pursuing for the plant requires an extensive federal environmental review, but the focus of the federally-mandated studies are not expected to focus on the same issues as the county study.
The mediator of a March 22 meeting of various parties connected to the proposed Castle Creek hydroelectric project will discuss a report on the outcomes on June 16 at 5:30 p.m. at Paepcke Auditorium. Citizens will have an opportunity to ask questions and express views on the project and its potential impacts.
Congressman meets with Thompson Divide
Congressman Scott Tipton and representatives of the Thompson Divide Coalition, a local advocacy group aiming to eliminate gas drilling leases in order to conserve land and water resources on public lands northwest of Carbondale, agreed to keep talking about potential legislative solutions.
The Thompson Divide area includes more than 220,000 acres of public land between Carbondale and McClure Pass. There are upwards of 70 idle gas drilling leases there, including land bordering ranches in Pitkin County near Carbondale.
The coalition includes community leaders, conservationists and cattlemen from the area.
Ashcroft proposal raises planning needs
A proposal to build short-term rental cabins near Ashcroft is raising red flags with the Pitkin County Commissioners, who are concerned they lack the necessary planning tools for the remote Castle Creek Valley area.
Ashcroft Ski Touring owner John Wilcox is proposing to build seven small, environmentally-friendly cabins on Montezuma Hill near the Pine Creek Cookhouse. The Ashcroft area is not been overseen by a citizen caucus, leaving the commissioners and county planners without the system they rely on elsewhere for significant neighborhood developments.
Commissioner George Newman suggested the county put together a master plan for Ashcroft, although the commissioners will have to consider Wilcox’s proposal without one.
Pitkin County extends building permits, again
The county commissioners are poised to extend county building permits by 30 days, through the end of August, in order to accommodate home builders whose approved projects have not broken ground due to the economic downturn.
Commissioner George Newman said the county needs to eventually stop accommodating builders and pushing the expiration date further out. “At some point we’re starting to be taken advantage of,” he said.
Sardy Field redevelopment plans would double size of terminal
Airport officials released nine conceptual designs for an overhauled county airport that all call for building an 80,000-square-foot terminal, a multi-level underground parking garage and bus hubs in various configurations.
The plans would all nearly double the size of the current airport terminal. Five of the proposals would result in a brand new terminal, while the other four remodel and expand on the current structure.
None of the plans call for grand architecture or anything that would call attention to the facility. Airport Director Jim Elwood said one of the most prevalent desires of expressed in the public outreach process was that the, in airport master plan meetings, was that it works well but not be an ostentatious travel center.
Planners will be studying environmental impacts and financial feasibility in the coming months. The cost of any new work on the airport is to be paid for through federal and local enterprise funds, which come from airport user fees.
Nobody happy in disputed approval
The Pitkin County commissioners denied an appeal from a Maroon Creek Valley landowner hoping to build a 15,000-square-foot home on a landslide-prone hillside.
David Boehm, through Celestial Land Co., appealed a ruling by hearing officer Jim True that limits his ability to build beyond what’s already allowed on the 35-acre rural site near the T Lazy 7 ranch. The county previously approved at 8,250 square feet, which is a right the owners still hold.
Five neighboring homeowners also appealed True’s findings, contesting that the smaller, previously approved home is appropriate. They claim the approved site is hazardously situated in an active alluvial fan where mountain debris is apt to slide, and development, no matter the size, would make catastrophic landslides more likely to head toward their homes.
The commissioners remanded the neighbors’ appeal back to True, in the hopes of finding a less hazardous site on the lot, and upheld his denial of the 15,000-square-foot home.
Snowmass —
Silvertree under contract
Snowmass Village’s Silvertree Hotel, the town’s conference center and the Wildwood Lodge are under contract to a developer who plans on leasing the Silvertree to a major international hotelier.
If the deal goes through, it will end the 26-year ownership of the hotel by the Burwell family. And it would set the Silvertree on a path toward possibly becoming a Hyatt, Marriot or Starwood Hotels & Resorts operation.
Crowns, Skico donate to Snowmastadon fund
The Crown family, owners of the Aspen Skiing Co., along with its Family Fund at Aspen Community Foundation, contributed $100,000 to the Snowmastodon Fund. The fund, established by the Denver Museum of Nature and Science, the town of Snowmass Village, and the Snowmass Water and Sanitation District, covers the immediate cost of activities related to the fossil excavation at the Ziegler Reservoir near Snowmass Village.
Skico to investing in three mountains
The Aspen Skiing Co. is investing more than $27 million into its mountains this summer on a variety of projects that include new restaurants, a ski lift and mountain biking trails on Snowmass, Buttermilk and Aspen Highlands.
The new Elk Camp restaurant is a two-year, $13 million project that is expected to be ready for the 2012-13 ski season. It will replace Cafe Suzanne. It will be located at the top of the Elk Camp gondola. It’s designed to function as both a 250-seat restaurant and a special event hall for private groups, as the Sundeck does at the top of Aspen Mountain.
Buttermilk’s Tiehack area with a new high-speed quad detachable chairlift. The $7 million lift, will replace both the Upper Tiehack and Eagle Hill — aka lower Tiehack — chairs, and cut ride time from18 to seven minutes. Homeowners in the Maroon Creek subdivision, will pay a portion of the maintenance and operation for the new lift over then next 10 years.
The Merry-Go-Round restaurant on Aspen Highlands is being remodeled. The interior remodel is dubbed “duct tape chic,” meaning it will be functional and comfortable — not too sleek or snobby. The remodel will use the existing footprint and the building will look the same from the outside. With the interior reconfiguration, there is a seating loss of 25.
Udall bill would loosen summer rules at ski areas
A bill sponsored by U.S. Sen. Mark Udall to change federal law restricting summer activity on national forest land leased by ski area operators is working its way through the Congressional hearing process.
Udall has pitched the measure as a boost to the summer tourism industry in ski towns like Aspen, Vail, Crested Butte and Steamboat Springs. It would officially give the Forest Service the option to allow a wide variety of activities, including mountain biking and on mountain concerts.
Aspen Skiing Co. officials support the measure, but say it won’t affect what they do on their mountains after the snow melts. Instead, it will codify what is already occurring here and at other resorts.
Basalt, Carbondale and beyond —
Willits sold to Kansas firm
A Kansas investment company took control of the Willits Town Center project in Basalt, paying $9 million for a major section of the project and acquiring an outstanding bank loan on a more lucrative part.
Willits Town Center LLC, a subsidiary of Mariner Wealth Advisors of Leawood, Kansas, bought the undeveloped section of Willits Town Center that Bank of America foreclosed on last year.
Foreclosure is still pending on three other lots nominally controlled by Joseph Freed & Associates, including the partially developed site envisioned for a Whole Foods Market. Bank of America assigned the deed of trust for the Whole Foods site and the other two blocks to Mariner’s subsidiary. In addition to foreclosure, Mariner will need to deal with $8 millions in liens against the properties.
Mariner is an independent investment advisory firm that, with its affiliate, manages about $8 billion in assets. Real estate is among its investments, but the firm doesn’t undertake development itself.
Garfield County faces federal case over sober house
Garfield County commissioners denied a zoning amendment in the Elk Springs subdivision south of Glenwood Springs that would allow a “sober house” for recovering alcoholics and drug addicts.
But their decision isn’t the end of the matter, nor will it lead to the immediate shutdown of the four-year-old group home. Rather, the matter will likely end up in a federal lawsuit that challenges the county’s denial of “reasonable accommodation,” as defined under federal fair housing and disability laws.
Atorney Steven Polin said the sober house has a right to exist under the Fair Housing Act, and that the county needs to comply with federal law. In denying the request, the county said there are ample opportunities for group homes to exist elsewhere in the county where they are not in violation of PUD zoning and homeowners covenants.
Residents of sober houses live in a group setting, offering support for each other and participating in organized therapy sessions while they try to get their lives back on track.
Garfield commissioners reject appeal of massive Missouri Heights barn, apartment
The owners of a 68,000-square-foot enclosed horse boarding and riding facility along County Road 100 that has been under construction for about a year received the OK for a 900 square-foot apartment, despite objections from neighbors.
The owners, the Wight family and the Red Barn LLC, received approval through administrative review by Planning Director Fred Jarman. The County Commissioners last month declined to overturn his decision.
Neighbors argued it would cause unacceptable traffic increases and water impacts on the neighborhood. Jarman said he approved the barn because a horse barn is a use by right in the zoning for that area, nor did it require a land use change permit.
Investigators at loss in Willits arson
The investigation into an arson that destroyed a home in the Willits neighborhood of Basalt in January has hit a dead-end. Eagle County District Attorney Mark Hurlbert’s office indicated that there is not enough evidence in the case to file charges against anyone. The case remains open.
The fire destroyed the house of Harold “Chip” Unglert on the evening of Jan. 12. One of Unglert’s two renters was at home at the time of the fire. He escaped without injury, although his hair was singed.
Basalt starts “Second Saturdays”
In a nod to the success of Carbondale’s First Fridays — where people bar hop, hobnob with friends and check out shops and galleries — Basalt is starting “Saturday Live in Basalt.” Special events will be held on the second Saturday of the month, June through September. The first such event will be a downtown block party from 3-9 p.m. with live music, a beer garden, sidewalk sales and restaurant booths
Other standing events in Basalt include the Summer Concert Series on Wednesday nights starting June 15. The successful Sunday Farmers’ Market returns June 19.
Historic Satank Bridge restored through a decade of work
The 110-year old Satank Bridge, believed to be the last of its kind in Colorado, was at the center of a lively christening party last month, celebrating the completion of a $900,000 facelift. The bridge spans the Roaring Fork River just north of Carbondale, downvalley from Highway 82. It remains closed to vehicles, but hikers, bicyclists and other non-motorized travelers can now cross a bridge that for years had been rotting away in place.
Marble “Hub” houses businesses and visitor center
The Marble Hub, a cooperative nonprofit economic development project by the Crystal River Civic Commission, will be located in the historic Marble City State Bank building and serve as a visistor and business information center. It will also have a coffee bar, public wireless Internet service and a consignment shop. It has been open from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., seven days a week since May 27.
Compliments of Aspen Boiard of Realtors
Uncategorized | dkitchell June 18, 2011 |
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Uncategorized | dkitchell June 12, 2011 |
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Uncategorized | dkitchell June 5, 2011 |
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Summary for the month of April
$119,488,884 – total dollar volume for the month (strongest dollar month thus far in 2011), a decrease of 29% from April 2010
Please see attached for the April Pitkin County Market Analysis, provided to you as a courtesy by Land Title Guarantee Company
Aspen Real Estate | dkitchell June 2, 2011 |
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Uncategorized | dkitchell May 22, 2011 |
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Uncategorized | dkitchell May 15, 2011 |
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Snowmass Village Foreclosure ~ Listed by McKinley Sales Real Estate
Spacious 2 bedroom remodeled inside and out. Gourmet kitchen, gas fireplace, large master bedroom, private deck. Finishes include granite, slate, stone, vaulted ceilings. Walking distance to Assay Hill for easy ski access. Complex has pool and hot tub and was remodeled in 2008.
At $ 530 per square foot this unit will not last long. The unit has fantastic views and top notch finishes throughout.
Click here to view this Snowmass Village foreclosure listing.
Unbelievable price of just $749,900 - Call or Email Drew Kitchell for more information. 970-379-7777 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting 970-379-7777 end_of_the_skype_highlighting
Tweet Ski In, Ski Out, Skiing, Snowmass Foreclosures, Snowmass Village, Uncategorized | dkitchell May 13, 2011 |
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Hey all,
Take note, the Hickory House (or the Hick’ as the locals call it) is a place that has fantastic Bbq in Aspen CO. Located on 7th and Main it is not in the commercial core but take a detour to the Hick if you have a soft spot for barbeque.
Try the Grilled Chicken Salad on the if you are in the mood for lighter fare or if looking for true Bbq try the ribs, brisket or the Hick burger you won’t regret it.
Note prices are reasonable (for Aspen) but do not expect fine dining ambiance or service. The Hick is rustic with friendly servers but it is a bbq joint at heart.
Call Drew Kitchell at McKinley Sales for all your Aspen Real Estate needs at 97o.379.7777
Tweet Aspen Dining, Aspen restaurant, Barbeque | dkitchell May 12, 2011 |
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Fantastic Bank owned Olympic Riding Arena to be listed soon by McKinley Sales Real Estate Aspen CO.
This 4 bedroom 3 bath home on 25+ acres with and Olympic size riding arena coming to market soon will likely be a great value for anyone who desires a large equestrian facility within 30 minutes of Aspen.
Additionally this spectacular property features 25.5 acres of Equine Paradise! 4 fully fenced pastures 20 extra large stalls make your dreams of riding in the morning and skiing in the afternoon a reality.
Call 970-379-7777 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting 970-379-7777 end_of_the_skype_highlightingfor more information and to set a showing.
Acreage, Aspen Forclosures, Aspen Real Estate, Basalt Real Estate, Equestrian | dkitchell May 10, 2011 |
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