Vail Health’s medical center in Dillon set to open in November

 Vail Health is staying on track and within budget as it nears the completion of its new 85,000-square-foot medical center in Dillon. Once completed, the facility will staff about 80 people and expand much-needed services for Summit County, including urgent and primary care services, ambulatory orthopedic and pain management surgeries, oncology transfusions, physical therapy and more.

When developing the $70 million project, Craig Cohn, chief real estate development officer and senior vice president for Vail Health, explained that many of the services located within the center are ones that the organization identified as the community’s biggest needs.

“As far as what’s in the building, they are a lot of expansions from services that either we’ve already been providing in Summit County, but maybe not to this level, or services that, frankly, we haven’t had the square footage or the facilities to support us adding … that maybe we were providing in Eagle County that we wanted to provide in Summit,” Cohn said.

https://www.summitdaily.com/news/local/vail-healths-medical-center-in-dillon-set-to-open-in-november/

Summit County officials call short-term rental conversion ideas a ‘starting point’

 

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When the Summit Alliance of Vacation Rental Managers put together its Welcome Workforce program, President Toby Babich said the document was meant to be a catalyst for getting the countywide conversation started about how short-term rental owners could be incentivized to convert their units into long-term housing for locals.

The document detailing suggestions — including monthly subsidies, property tax exemptions and complimentary nights of lodging — was shared with Summit County staff earlier this month, and during a Summit Board of County Commissioners work session meeting Tuesday, Aug. 24, elected officials and staff from the housing department had the chance to discuss their insights.

Summit County Housing Director Jason Dietz said the document should be thought of as a starting point and said it’s important for the county’s eventual program to have buy-in from key stakeholder groups like the Alliance of Vacation Rental Managers.

“As we’re developing and getting ready to unroll this program, I think that this is one piece of the much larger program that is targeting short-term rentals and having a good working relationship with (the alliance),” Dietz said. “I think that ideally, a public-private partnership will provide a lot of buy-in on the project from short-term rental owners to help with that conversion process.”

Dietz noted a few areas where the county and the alliance are approaching the housing shortage differently. For example, Dietz said the alliance’s Workforce Welcome program focuses more on property management companies that own units rather than individuals.

#colorado #coloradorealtor #coloradohomes #cummer #winter #breckenridge #coloradorealestate #coloradoinvestmentrealestate

Mortgage Rates Barely Budge, Averaging 2.87%

 

Mortgage rates continue to hover at all-time lows, marking the ninth consecutive week that rates have averaged below 3%.

“The tug-of-war between the economic recovery and rising COVID-19 cases has left mortgage rates moving sideways over the last few weeks,” said Sam Khater, Freddie Mac’s chief economist. “Overall, rates continue to be low, with a window of opportunity for those who did not refinance under 3%. From a homebuyer perspective, purchase application demand is improving, but the major obstacle to higher home sales remains very low inventory for consumers to purchase.”

Additional housing inventories may be on the horizon, however. The National Association of REALTORS® reported this week that more listings arrived on the market in July, a trend that could continue into the fall months. Housing inventories increased 7.3% in July compared to June.

#colorado #coloradorealtor #coloradohomes #breckenridge #coloradorealestate #coloradoinvestmentrealestate

Breckenridge to set cap on short-term rental licenses

 

Editor’s note: This story has been updated to clarify that there are 1,469 short-term rental properties that are exempt from town administrative fees and would not be included in the proposed short-term rental license cap, meaning there are 2,476 nonexempt properties that would be subject to the cap of 2,200.

Breckenridge Town Council held a community discussion about capping short-term rentals at its work session on Tuesday, Aug. 24. After hearing from dozens of local residents, the council directed town staff to draft legislation capping short-term rental licenses at 2,200.

The discussion garnered a virtual audience of almost 150 people, and the council chambers were filled with folks ready to comment. Most attendees were in support of capping short-term rentals with few asking for alternate solutions. There was also a group of people standing outside Breckenridge Town Hall prior to the discussion with various signs asking the town to cap licenses.

Council was also in consensus that once an owner sells their home, the short-term rental license would not transfer to the new owner.

Town staff will draft an ordinance for first reading at the next council meeting on Sept. 14 and a second reading on Sept. 28. Should the legislation pass second reading, it will take effect 35 days after the council vote — Nov. 2. Folks will still be able to apply for short-term rental licenses prior to the legislation taking effect, and town staff said they expect a rush of applications to come in.

How the Dillon and Frisco marinas became recreational staples in Summit County

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 Today, the Dillon and Frisco marinas are owned and operated by their respective towns, but their histories include colorful elements, such as ski resort ownership and citizen efforts that helped to establish the amenities.

The Dillon Marina came first — shortly after the Dillon Reservoir was completed in 1963. It was privately owned until the town of Dillon bought it in 1990, according to Dillon’s Finance Director Carri McDonnell, who has worked for the town since 1993. After purchasing the asset, the town handed over operations to Keystone Resort, which had a short stint running the marina from 1990 to 1995. McDonnell said that the town concessioned operations at the time because there wasn’t adequate town staff to handle the extra load.

In 1995, the town started running the marina in-house.

Marina Guest Services Manager Jenn Shimp explained the reason for the location of the Frisco Bay Marina at its current address of 267 Marina Road.

​​“The Marina was initially located here because the old highway that goes into the lake offered an easy way to let craft launch into the water that was easier than just off of a shoreline,” Shimp said in an email. “It took very little to blade a gravel parking lot and bring down a trailer for an office. That was the entirety of the marina at the very start.”

According to a timeline provided by Shimp, the town contracted with concessionaire Osprey Adventures to operate the marina until 2004. Between 1988 and 2001, the marina saw a series of upgrades, including the installation of a 100 foot dock, a boat launch, a marina service building, new docks and slips, a fuel dock and more.

In 2002, the town issued bonds for improvements to the marina and town hall. About $1.5 million was used for improvements to the marina, including reformatting the parking area, a new boat ramp, a dock for paddle sports and the relocation of the bike path, according to Shimp’s timeline.

The town began operating the marina in 2005. Since then, the Island Grill restaurant was built, the playground and lighthouse were installed, dock island was created as a result of drought, and the Big Dig project took place, which laid the groundwork for future improvements.

Pinch points on the I-70 mountain corridor prompt questions about long-term solutions

 

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 It’s been nearly 30 years since Interstate 70 through Glenwood Canyon was completed. The world has changed a lot since then, and some locals think it’s time our transportation system changes, too.

The latest canyon closure which began July 29, closed the highway between Dotsero and Glenwood Springs for more than two weeks. During that closure, commercial vehicles drove countless thousands of miles out of their way, snarling traffic on state and federal highways never meant to handle interstate levels of traffic.

Any number of private vehicles and a number of commercial vehicles got lost or stranded seeking detours.

Eagle County Manager Jeff Shroll grew up in Glenwood Springs and Grand Junction. He clearly remembers the massive construction project that created I-70 in Glenwood Canyon.

The interstate is a “lifeline” for interstate commerce, Shroll said. The difficulty, particularly compared to Interstate 80 through Wyoming or Interstate 40 through New Mexico, is that Colorado has “the worst weather and the worst (mountain) passes,” Shroll said.

The Glenwood Canyon stretch of I-70 will be 30 years old in 2022.

“We got a great 30 years out of it,” Shroll said.

But today is a different story. Shroll noted he’s been told by U.S. Forest Service officials that what’s fallen to the canyon floor from the Grizzly Creek fire burn scar is “a fraction” of what might eventually fall.

“That really does change some things,” Shroll said.

Shipping more cargo by rail may be part of the answer, Shroll added, but businesses in the Eagle River and Roaring Fork valleys still require their deliveries. Shroll pointed out that the Cottonwood Pass road, under the best-case scenario, is unlikely to be a suitable canyon detour. Even that will cost millions, he noted.

Frequent canyon closures also create a ripple effect for people, from jobs, to housing to child care, Shroll said.

“Ultimately, it’s a reminder that we’re not in charge,” Shroll said.

Breckenridge Real Estate Market Trends

 The real estate market is extremely hot all over the United States but particularly hot in Breckenridge, Colorado. If you are looking for Breckenridge homes for sale it can be extremely difficult to be a buyer as most listings are receiving multiple offers due to the demand for homes exponentially exceeding the supply. Roughly 1% of all homes for sale in Breckenridge are selling above list price. However, if homes become marked as a “hot home” on real estate sites such a Redfin they tend to sell for 4% above list price due to the increased demand for that particular home. These “hot homes” also tend to go under contract in as little as three days!

The average home sale in Breckenridge is $1.98 million, which is a 92.3% increase from 2020. This is an extraordinary leap in price. The average price per square foot is $700, which is a 33.3% increase from 2020. The average home goes under contract in as little as 12 days. These numbers truly just confirm what a sellers market it is. With interest rates remaining at record lows buyers are trying to take full advantage.

If we can help you find Breckenridge homes for sale we would be happy to walk you through the process. We understand how frustrating this market can be for a buyer and we are here to help. Sometimes we are able to help negotiate off market properties for sellers who do not want to go through the hassle of listing. In a real estate market such as this, that technique can sometimes be the best thing to set you apart. As an experienced real estate team in Breckenridge we are here to help you find the perfect home you have been searching for.

Goats help with wildfire mitigation and land management in Silverthorne

 

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Last week, a herd of about 200 goats was hauled above Angler Mountain Road in Silverthorne to graze on brush and weeds, an effort experts say helps to reduce wildfire risks in the area while contributing to the overall health of the landscape.

“We use the goats in a way that we’re getting rid of noxious weeds. We’re helping with erosion control, fire mitigation, watershed work. There’s a lot of different benefits to the goats grazing here,” said Goat Green intern Jessica Teresi, who added that the business was hired by the Oxbow Ranch to perform the work. “Not only do they clean things up, they can heal the land and pour nutrients they’re recycling back into the ground.”

Goat Green founder Lani Malmberg has been herding goats for more than 25 years. She grew up in the Sandhills region of Nebraska on a cattle ranch, which later moved its operations to Wyoming. After a midcareer shift, she returned to school in Grand Junction, where she studied environmental restoration, botany and biology. She later earned her masters in weed science from Colorado State University.

#colorado#coloradorealtor#coloradohomes#summer#breckenridge@#coloradorealestate

June sales tax reports show the county is faring better than it did in 2019, 2020

 The coronavirus pandemic’s impact on Summit County is still being felt by local businesses, as evidence of supply chain issues and severe labor shortages, but there is a silver lining: All the towns in addition to the county are reporting strong sales tax collections compared to 2019, as well as 2020.

While Breckenridge reported the biggest swing — its sales tax collections are up about 40% when comparing June 2019 and 2021 — Silverthorne seems to be making a particularly strong comeback, especially considering the town’s new developments in the last two years.

According to its June sales tax report, year-to-date sales tax collections amounted to over $7.1 million, and sales tax collections were over $5.8 million in 2019 for the same period. That’s about a 23% increase in two years.

#colorado #coloradorealtor #coloradohomes #winter #winteractivities #breckneridge #coloradorealestate

1st snow of the season dusts high peaks across Summit County

 

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Summit County residents awoke Friday to views of a fresh dusting of snow above tree line on the area’s high-Alpine peaks.

“As expected, we saw snow across the mountains on Thursday night,” Open Snow founding meteorologist Joel Gratz wrote on his blog Friday.

“Most of the snow fell at and above 10,000 feet, though there were some accumulations down to 9,500 feet in spots.”

The first snow came a few weeks earlier than usual, but summertime snow is not uncommon on high peaks in Summit County. In 2020, the first snow fell Sept. 8, and in 2019, the first flakes were spotted Sept. 12, according to local ski areas’ social media accounts.

Study shows that people in Summit County sleep differently than in the Front Range

 

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Dr. Christine  Ebert-Santos

Early-morning headaches, daytime fatigue and poor sleep are all common symptoms felt by both visitors and locals in Summit County, but what does this mean for overall health? The team at Ebert Family Clinic in Frisco decided to launch a sleep study, with the help of the Frisco location of the Colorado Sleep Institute, to find out.

The purpose of the nine-month project was to evaluate people’s oxygen levels when sleeping at night. Leading the charge from the clinic was family nurse practitioner Tara Taylor, who said the team’s hypothesis was that those sleeping at higher elevations get slightly less oxygen than those at lower elevations.

Taylor said the study targeted healthy individuals and they excluded those who had “anything that would interrupt sleep or alter our desire for a baseline of healthy, normal patients.” Depending on the results, Taylor said the study could — and did — show evidence of a new baseline for what could be expected oxygen levels at higher elevations.

For example, at lower elevations, healthy individuals usually have a 90% basal oxygen level, but healthy individuals in the study showed to be spending more time asleep below the range, usually at 88% or 89%.

“Most patients typically should be above 90% both awake and asleep,” Taylor explained. “So if you were in the hospital in Denver, you’d be sleeping 92%. If you were 88%, they would put you on a liter or two of oxygen. They would treat that number. So our goal is to say, ‘We’re at such high altitudes here, is this the baseline? Should we be looking for patients to be greater than 90%?’”

Summit Alliance of Vacation Rental Managers present incentives for owners with short-term rentals

 

Summit County continues to explore a number of short-, mid- and long-term solutions to mitigate the community’s affordable housing issue. One of the solutions most discussed includes incentivizing owners of short-term rentals so that they convert their properties into long-term units.

The strategy was originally suggested in a housing presentation laid out by Summit County Housing Director Jason Dietz in June. Dietz suggested that the county identify opportunity zones, or areas that are typically occupied by local residents and workers, and come up with various incentives that would convince owners of short-term rentals in the areas to convert their properties over.

For example, the monthly mortgage in a studio is estimated at $1,392 plus an extra $300 for monthly dues for a total of $1,692 per month.

A two-bedroom is similarly costly. Its monthly mortgage is estimated at $2,238 plus an extra $400 for monthly dues for a total of $2,638. Split between two people at $1,319, this could be affordable for some, but it still doesn’t take into account the extra fees Babich previously noted.

The program suggests that a monthly subsidy ranging from $250 to $1,000 — depending on the unit — should be given to owners to make these units affordable for residents while still covering the expenses of owners. The data suggest this could make a studio cost $1,442 with a $250 per month subsidy. With a $500 per month subsidy, a two-bedroom could be $2,138, or $1,069 split between two people.

https://www.summitdaily.com/news/local/summit-alliance-of-vacation-rental-managers-present-incentives-for-owners-with-short-term-rentals/

Thistles — the good, bad and ugly

 

This time of year, some bad thistles are in full bloom around Summit County. They’re ready to spew thousands of seeds to continue their spread. These thistles, musk and plumeless thistles, are invasive, noxious weeds that take over entire fields and render the land useless to native wildlife and plants.

Musk thistle is the lead of these invaders: It grows tall and can have dozens of bright, purple seed heads on each plant. The pretty seed heads can produce hundreds of seeds, so a large plant might produce as many as 20,000 seeds. This time of year, you’ll begin to find the flowers producing white fluff, and the winds will begin to carry these seeds to new locations where they will settle and grow.

These seeds are not just a problem for next year. Some will settle into disturbed ground and grow new plants in the spring, but others will lie dormant and may sprout anytime over the next 10 years. As a result, musk thistle infestations develop a seed bank, or an area where the thistles will grow and spread for year upon year if they are not stopped. So it is important to limit the spread of these seeds. The seed heads can be pulled and bagged, and the rosettes can be pulled out of the ground to prevent growth next year.

Plumeless thistle is a cousin to musk. It has a similar purple head and a huge prickly stalk. Like musk thistle, plumeless thistles can take over a field and ruin it for our native wildlife and plants.

But there are other thistles in Summit County that should not be disturbed. Canada thistle is another invasive, noxious weed. This pest is smaller than the plumeless and musk thistles. It has little purple flowers that distribute seeds. It is important to limit their distributions, but it’s not good to pull those plants. Canada thistle is a perennial, and pulling it makes its roots grow faster. So Canada thistle needs professional treatment.

The Summit County Weed Program, U.S. Forest Service and groups like the Eagle Summit Wilderness Alliance’s WeedSpotters work year after year to limit the spread of noxious thistles by treating the existing infestations. Small to moderate infestations can be controlled by pulling off the seed heads, putting them in a sealed plastic bag and sending them to the landfill. Larger infestations are treated by professional exterminators who use chemical and/or biological agents.

You can help limit the spread of these, too. A simple way is to stay away from the weeds. If you walk through the weeds or let your dog romp in the weeds, the seeds can be spread. They might stay on your shoes or your dog’s fur, and then you’ll later deposit the seeds in new locations to grow next year.

You can also join a group like the WeedSpotters and learn to locate, record and manage weed infestations. Let us know if you’re ready to join the fight: contact: weeds@eaglesummitwilderness.org.

As Colorado Housing Costs Soar, These Builders Look To Shipping Containers As A Solution

 

TIMNATH, Colo. — New homes dot most street corners of this growing town east of Fort Collins, where the starting sale price is over half a million dollars — and rising. Prices for lumber, steel and labor have doubled in the past few years.

The cost to tap into the town’s water supply alone is $35,000.

But just down the street from one construction site lies a dirt lot full of metal shipping containers — the kind used to transport things like cars, electronics and food on cargo ships. Instead of loading the containers up, a small crew is transforming them into one-bedroom homes aimed at filling a growing need for affordable housing in Northern Colorado.

Danny Crisafulli calls them “FlexHomes.” The 320 square foot spaces are big enough to fit a bedroom, bathroom, kitchen and living room with a couch.

The metal containers can be completely converted to houses on-site, then hauled anywhere and cemented to the ground. Each home goes for about $89,000, Crisafulli says, which is far less than a traditional house or even the cost to build a single apartment unit.

Crisafulli is a local realtor who nowadays helps manage this small business and is tackling Northern Colorado’s housing crunch one shipping container at a time. That’s the model of Pivot Structures, converting used containers into prefabricated housing that can be plopped down in a backyard or vacant lot. The new venture started amid the pandemic and plans to expand in the coming year.

“We have a housing crisis,” Crisafulli said while walking through the interior of one container’s bedroom, which is big enough to fit a queen-sized bed. “Are we going to solve all of those problems? No. But we can solve some of those problems.”

Would You Ever Own a Home With Friends (or Strangers)?

 

It’s no secret that for many Americans, homeownership is the primary means of building wealth. You put down some cash, secure a loan, buy a home, build equity over time, and eventually sell that home for a profit. But when a residential real estate market is as tight as Denver’s—where the average single-family home price hit almost $630,000 earlier this year—it can be tough for some people, especially first-time buyers, to get in on the action.

“If we want more opportunities for people to pull themselves up and have some semblance of the American dream, we need to reimagine ownership,” says Sarah Wells, sales director of the Co-Own Company. The Denver-based startup—helmed by developer Jason Lewiston—plans to lead that transformation by building and managing cooperative housing developments in the city, the first of which is a project in the Hilltop neighborhood, set to break ground by this fall.

For the full story click here

Identifying gigantic wildflowers

 

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 Green gentian, otherwise known as a monument plant.

Among the many joys of visiting or living in Summit County is appreciating the plethora of wildflowers that bloom in May through August, especially after adequate precipitation, as is the case this year.

Two prominent, marvelous and gigantic wildflowers in the wild are the green gentian, otherwise known as monument plant, and the corn lily, otherwise known as skunk cabbage or cow cabbage. The two can easily be confused by a novice. According to the “Rocky Mountain Wildflowers” pocket guide by David Dahms, which is available for sale at the Dillon Ranger District ranger station in Silverthorne, “Green Gentian (has) numerous intricate flowers (that) cover the tall erect stem.” The guide continues to say that the flowers have four greenish-white petals with purple specks that are backed by four pointed sepals.

The wildflowers usually grow to between 2 and 7 feet and feature leaves with long and narrow whorls. But the flower can grow to a gigantic 10 feet tall.

The flowers typically grow between July and August in foothills and subalpine terrain, usually in open meadows and forest clearings, according to Dahm’s guide.

The guide reads, “This plant lives many years without blooming as a flat rosette of leaves. In its last year, it sends up its main stem and blooms.”

 

Nancy Yearout's Real Estate News  Breckenridge  Frisco  Silverthorne  Dillon  Keystone  Copper Mountain   ​Summit County has always been home to active people pursuing an active lifestyle. And over the past decade with the ease of accessing and staying in the mountains has become more convenient, with more and more people that have embraced the mountain lifestyle. Our Mountain towns offer almost all the comforts of a big city while retaining a small-town atmosphere. The COVID-19 Impact: It's effect on our local real estate market accelerated what was already happening. And, boy, did it accelerate! It's like it transported our local world a decade into the future. In July of last year, we started seeing the effects of that acceleration in closed sales. For residential sales from July 1 - July 20, 2020, the number of sales was virtually the same as in 2019, but the average sold price had taken a considerable leap upwards -  up 18%. And it is still happening today.  For residential sales in Summit County from July 1 - July 20, 2021, the average sold price is $1,121,182 - an increase over 2020 for the same period of 21.5%. Interesting that the gain for the same period in 2019 to 2021 was 43%. The number of sales is up too by about 14%. The average number of days on the market is 18. The percentage of list to sold price for the sales from July 1 - July 20 in 2019 was 98.3%, in 2020, it was 98%, and in 2021 it is presently 102%! ​ What's the average cost of a: Condominium: 1 Bedroom - $466,866; 2 Bedroom -$674,326; 3 Bedroom -$941,068. Single Family: 3 Bedroom -$1,224,397; 4 Bedroom - $1,723,342; 5 Bedroom - $2,557,955. *Based on sales in Summit County, CO from 1/1 - 6/30. Want more? See Detailed Graphs & Statistics Below  Market Statistic Details: History of Sales & Average Sold Prices 2004 - 2020, Condominium Sales by Town, Single Family Home Sales by Town, Residential Sales by Town,  Nancy Yearout Broker Associate RE/MAX Properties of the Summit 970-485-0293 nancy@buyinbreckenridge.com www.BuyinBreckenridge.com RE/MAX Properties of the Summit - 2 Offices in Summit County, CO: Frisco & Breckenridge. Website: ColoradoMTNProperties.com ​ ​ Source: Sold Data from SAR MLS.  Stats pulled on 7/12/21. *SAR MLS Data  Annual sales 1/1 through 12/31. *Residential Sales (home, Condo, Townhome & Duplex),  Sales for Jan, Feb, Mar, April, May and June. Change is Year over Year 2021 vs 2020. **The information contained herein is based on information provided by others. Accordingly, we make no guarantee of its accuracy and suggest you make an independent inquiry of any matters you regard as important. ​Each office is independently owned and operated.