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Big Mountain Views! Backs up to open space!
46 Pine Ridge #5, Basalt — $555,000
4 Beds — 3 Baths — 2 Car Garage — 2,112 Square Feet
Real Estate In The News
Aspen
Downtown Building Sells for $28 Million
Nearly half a block’s worth of downtown commercial space that has mostly sat vacant since being completed two years ago sold for $28 million to a Florida real estate company, the Aspen Daily News reported.
The transaction between Aspen Core Ventures, connected to Andy and Nikos Hecht, and CTO18 LLC, connected to the Consolidated Tomoka Land Co., of Daytona, Fla., includes the commercial units in the Aspen Core building at the corner of Hyman Avenue and Hunter Street, as well as the next-door Benton building.
Aspen Core Ventures developed the corner building on what used to be a parking lot and renovated the Benton building, following a 2012 agreement with the city of Aspen. In that deal, the developers agreed to drop an initial proposal to demolish the Benton building and the next door Little Annie’s restaurant space that was also under the control of Aspen Core Ventures. In exchange for the historic preservation of those two relics of Aspen’s 1970s heyday, the Hechts secured approvals to build a 7,000-square-foot apartment in the corner building and received a waiver for millions in affordable housing requirements. The penthouse sold in 2015 for $25 million.
New Tenant Approved for Wheeler Opera House Space
Aspen City Council officially approved what could be a 15-year lease with a new operator for the restaurant space in the Wheeler Opera House, the Aspen Daily News reported. Under the approved terms, the Aspen Public House restaurant and bar will pay an estimated $15,733 per month for the 2,618-square-foot space, which pencils out to around $72 per square foot. The lease calls for a base rent of $125,664 annually, plus 8 percent of gross sales over a breakpoint of $1.57 million.
Restaurant operator Bill Johnson estimates his first-year annual gross sales will hit $2.36 million. The lease has a five-year term with two five-year renewals at the tenant’s option, with the base rent ticking up each year via a cost-of-living increase. Johnson is the owner of the Capitol Creek Brewery in Willits and a former partner in the Highlands Alehouse.
Real Estate Still Going Strong
Properties selling for $2,000 a square foot are no longer a novelty; they the norm according to real estate transactions in 2017, the Aspen Daily News reported. The robust year, which has continued into 2018, was capped off by a $30 million Aspen-area property sale. In 2016, the highest priced sale was $24 million.
Last year in Aspen the average home sale price was $8.1 million and there were 88 sales of $5 million or more. That’s compared to 63 sales of $5 million or more in 2016. In 2017, there were 17 sales of $10-15 million homes and 11 of $15 million or more in Aspen. That trend has continued into early 2018, with several high priced luxury properties either under contract.
Sales-to-list price of residential properties is another barometer of market strength. From 2015-17, Aspen sellers commanded 93 percent or above of their asking price, which is up from about 87 percent in 2009. However, in terms of the sales velocity, the pre-recession period of 2005 and 2006, when properties were being resold at a frantic pace, remain the top years for number of sales. That’s also when buyers were paying top dollar for properties, on average about 95 to 96 percent of the asking price.
City Extends Summer Bus Hours
In its dogged pursuit to get people out of their cars and reduce traffic in town, Aspen City Council agreed to extend summer bus service an extra month, the Aspen Times reported. The extensions continue the city’s fixed bus routes into September with the same summer hours — 6 a.m. to 2 a.m. The last time the plan was updated was 2009.
Snowmass
Snowmass Mountain Club to Debut Next Winter
Aspen Skiing Co. recently announced its new Snowmass Mountain Club that will open mid-November in conjunction with the Base Village plaza, Limelight Hotel and Buildings 4 and 6, the Snowmass Sun reported. About a year later, pending review by the town of Snowmass and planning commission, a Snowmass Mountain Club restaurant will operate inside the building that currently houses Sam’s Smokehouse.
While the Snowmass Mountain Club, based inside the Limelight at the plaza level, will be a private membership, the on-mountain restaurant will be open to the public. Club members, however, will receive priority for making reservations at the restaurant.
The Snowmass Mountain Club will offer three levels of memberships — platinum, gold and silver — with deposits priced at $100,000, $75,000 and $55,000. For the platinum membership, which includes two premier ski passes and parking beneath the Limelight, the yearly due is $7,800. The Snowmass Mountain Club will include a lounge and bar area, fitness center and hot tubs.
Snowmass Residents Split on Pot Shops
A simple majority of the Snowmass community feels that pot shops should be prohibited in the village, according to the results of the town’s recent marijuana survey, but the margin, is minor, the Snowmass Sun reported. Of the questionnaire’s 500-plus respondents, 53.6 percent were against the town allowing marijuana establishments in Snowmass.
The survey also revealed that 55 percent of full-time Snowmass residents feel that marijuana establishments should be allowed, while 71 percent of part-time residents believe they should be prohibited. Further, a younger (under 50) population strongly feel that pot shops should be allowed in Snowmass, while the 50-plus crowd firmly opposed them.
Basalt
Basalt Retail Sales Surge
Basalt’s retail sales climbed 6.2 percent in 2017 over the prior year and the town’s sales tax collections soared past $5 million for the first time, the Aspen Times reported. The sale tax generated $5.121 million in revenue in 2017 compared with $4.821 million the prior year. The town collects a 3 percent sales tax, with two-thirds going to the general fund and one-third going to parks, open space and trails.
The sales tax collections translate into sales of about $170 million for Basalt business in 2017 compared with about $160 million the year before. General retail stores and restaurants with bars saw the most robust growth in 2017. Both sectors saw their sales tax soar 20 percent above 2016 levels.
New Cell Tower Coming to Basalt
Cell phone service in the midvalley near Basalt is notoriously bad, and Verizon Wireless has applied to the town of Basalt for a permit to construct a tower designed to fix it, the Aspen Times reported. But the company doesn’t have a timeline yet for the project.
Verizon submitted an application Feb. 16 and the request is being processed by the town building and planning staffs. Verizon must supply further information on a site plan and provide a construction management plan. People in the midvalley suffer from dropped calls and an inability to make calls or send texts and emails. The poor service affects the ability to conduct business or make emergency service calls.
Carbondale
BLM Formalizes Prince Creek Trails
Some popular mountain biking and running trails along Prince Creek Road south of Carbondale were legalized while others will be rerouted and a handful will be closed in a decision made Monday made by the Bureau of Land Management, the Glenwood Springs Post Independent reported.
The conclusions were reached after studying the 112-acre Haines parcel. About 4 miles of existing single-track was authorized while more than 4 miles of new single-track trail was approved. About 2 miles of trails will be closed because portions trespass on private property.
Glenwood Springs
Apartment Project Approved
A 79-unit apartment project planned for a 6-acre site on the hillside north of the Walmart store in south Glenwood Springs won City Council’s nod of approval, against the objections of neighbors, the Aspen Times reported.
Council said that the apartment project is a big step toward addressing Glenwood’s workforce housing needs. The project objective is to bring the mostly two-bedroom apartments in at between $1,500 and $1,600 per month for rent. With that, they also are interested in deed-restricting the units to hold rents low under the city’s new incentive program for below-market rentals. The program allows certain fees to be waived in exchange for rent controls.
Pitkin County
Aspen and Pitkin County Mull Housing Authority Split
Aspen City Councilman Adam Frisch won support from his colleagues to pursue the possibility having the city take over governing the affordable housing program and let Pitkin County out of a decades-long partnership, the Aspen Times reported. Frisch, who sought elected office several years ago mainly to improve the affordable-housing program, said the current governance structure is outdated.
Established in the 1970s with 50-50 responsibilities between the city and county, the Aspen-Pitkin County Housing Authority now manages nearly 3,000 units in the inventory — both for sale and rentals. Money is funneled into the program through sales and rental revenue, developer fees and real estate transfer taxes in both the city and county.
Pitkin County’s dollars are less than what the city generates, yet decisions on income categories and rules for the program are equally divided. Mayor Steve Skadron and council members Ann Mullins and Bert Myrin agreed to Frisch’s request for a work session to be scheduled to discuss governance issues.
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