By Tom Ross 

Steamboat Springs — The developers of Wildhorse Meadows have formalized plans to link their multi-phase residential project with the base of Steamboat Ski Area via a new gondola.

Resort Ventures West President David Hill announced last week that Wildhorse Meadows has entered into an agreement with Leitner-Poma to engineer the public gondola that will ferry passengers from the new Trailhead Lodge to an upper terminal near the ski area’s gondola building.

“The gondola will come in two phases,” Hill said. “You’ve got to design it and then final price it.”

Resort Ventures West Vice President Brent Pearson said his company has provided Leitner-Poma with a $3 million letter of credit that assures owners in the development that the gondola will be completed.

Leitner-Poma also is building the ski area’s new Christy Peak Express chairlift. The company has a manufacturing plant in Grand Junction.

Construction on the Wildhorse gondola will begin next summer, but it will not be ready to carry passengers until the beginning of the 2009-10 ski season. Completion of the gondola must be timed with the construction of another project under separate ownership because its upper terminal will be located in a public plaza that will be part of the One Steamboat Place resort-style development.

“Initially, we’ll do the bottom terminal and the towers in Wildhorse Meadows and perhaps the towers on the knoll,” across Mount Werner Circle, Hill said. “The upper terminal can’t be built until the parking structure for One Steamboat Place is built. The city has to sign off on the plaza area for the gondola to be ready.”

Construction that takes place next summer will help to ensure completion of the gondola in time for the winter of 2009-10, Hill said.

“If all we have to do (the second summer) is that upper terminal, that’s great,” he said.

When the complex process is complete, it will dramatically change the appearance of the lower ski base, with groups of enclosed gondola cars rising out of a new resort village and spanning a public street on their way to the lifts that take skiers to the slopes.

“It’s a public lift,” Hill said. “But it will not handle the (passengers generated by) the whole Meadows Parking Lot. It’s not designed for that.”

Hill said ski area surveys reflect that the skiing public enjoys the convenience of having its shuttles meet them at their car in the parking lot. Members of the general public on foot in the Wildhorse plaza, or pedestrians wishing to travel to the lower ski base, are welcome to ride the gondola.

The new Wildhorse gondola will be distinctly different from the ski area’s gondola, which features cabins that detach from the haul cable as they come through the terminals.

Wildhorse’s “fixed-grip pulse gondola” will have four groups of three cabins, each cabin accommodating six people. Each group of three cabins will leave the terminals in a pulse and then slow down upon arriving at the next terminal. The two groups of cabins at the midway point when others reach the terminal also will slow down because they are fixed to the haul cable.

The gondola will travel at 1,000 feet per minute and produce trip times of about 4 minutes, 30 seconds, Hill said. A detachable gondola might make the same trip in 2 minutes, 30 seconds, he added.

The Steamboat Ski area is on target for the completion of over $16 million in mountain improvements by the November 21st opening. Base area work is moving at a fevered pitch as Ski Corp is more than halfway completed with a total re-grade of the Headwall area that feeds into the base area. Along with the re-grading project, the old Southface and Headwall chair lifts are being dismantled and the Preview lift is being realigned and increased in capacity from a double to a triple chair. In addition the five beginner area magic carpets will be upgraded, realigned and lengthened.

Construction on the new Christie Peak Express high speed chair is also progressing well. Foundations have been poured and tower installation will start this month, with helicopters being used as needed. The new lift will have an unload only station just above the top of Southface, before continuing on to the top of the Christie Peak. The new lift will cut ride time from 15 to 4.8 minutes. Additional improvements are being completed at the Thunderhead Cafeteria and Meadow Parking Facility, along with general improvements to the snowmaking system.

These exciting improvements will enhance your skiing experience at Steamboat. If you have questions about any of these projects at the ski area, please contact your Colorado Group Realty broker.

Mark your calendars for the Steamboat Springs Real Estate Roundup & Expo, November 8th at the Steamboat Grand. The event will bring together seasoned experts and provide the public with current information regarding the Yampa Valley’s dynamic real estate market.

 By Tom Ross

Steamboat Springs — The blue concrete pipe stacked around the base of the Steamboat Ski Area this week has to do with the push to make snow not only later this month, but also 50 years into the future.

Ski area spokesman Mike Lane said construction crews working on the re-grading of the Headwall trail are busy installing new snowmaking pipelines made by the North American division of an Austrian company, Tiroler Rohren.

Steamboat first installed the state-of-the-art blue piping last year on the Vogue ski run.

“It’s worked really well for us,” Lane said. “It’s supposed to last 50 years — twice as long as other products.”

Colorado Ski Country USA announced this week that Loveland and Arapahoe Basin ski areas already have begun snowmaking operations in the annual race to see who can open first in October. Steamboat is set to open Nov. 21 with the annual Scholarship Day to benefit the Steamboat Springs Winter Sports Club. The ski area typically begins making snow in late October when overnight temperatures consistently dip into the teens, Lane said. He added that construction on Headwall is on schedule to meet that timeframe, as part of $16 million in capital improvements at Steamboat this year.

“They’ll be working on the new pipe for another week to 10 days, and when they get that done, they’ll be ready to pressurize the system and get started,” weather permitting, Lane said.

In 2006, Steamboat began making snow Oct. 26, in the midst of a series of frigid snowstorms that swept across Northwest Colorado.

The installation of new snowmaking lines is just part of the work taking place at the base of the ski area this week.

Lane said crews are grading the site of the lower terminal for the new Christie Peak Express high-speed, six-person chairlift, before pouring concrete later this week or early next week.

Concrete for the Christie Express mid-station and upper terminal already has been poured.

A large earth scraper is pushing topsoil to the upper portion of Headwall this week while dirt is being piled around large concrete footers for the towers of the relocated Preview chairlift.

“They’re making a ton of progress this week,” Lane said. “We have really good people who have a lot of experience working together and a lot of knowledge.”

By Elizabeth Aguilera
The Denver Post

The arrival of ski-giant Intrawest in this already bustling ski town was like adding gasoline to the fire of furious development already underway.

Intrawest, the world’s second-largest ski company, purchased the Steamboat Ski & Resort Corp. in March. The move has been described by many as a validation of all the backhoes, cranes and construction workers overrunning the town.

But the development has also come with a load of headaches for local business owners who say traffic and increased prices are changing their town.

Steamboat is preparing for more than 4,000 new beds across the town and more than $600 million in development over the next five years, ski-resort officials estimate.

Add to that the $16 million Intrawest is pumping into mountain improvements that include the installation of the new Christie Peak Express, a high-speed detachable six-passenger chairlift, and headwall slope regrading. The Urban Renewal Authority is overseeing $23 million in public improvements, and developers are in various stages of construction on the mountain and throughout downtown Steamboat.

Most of the ongoing projects were moving down the pipeline pre-Intrawest, said Chris Diamond, president and chief executive of Steamboat Ski & Resort Corp.

“These visions were created several years ago,” he said. “It’s not that Intrawest got here and all of this happened; the horse was out of the barn long before.”

Two years ago the city created a master plan for new infrastructure that seemed to pave the way for new development, said Tom Leeson, Steamboat Springs’ planning director.

Early developments include the Porches, high-end condos near the base of the mountain, One Steamboat Place with about 100 units right at the base and Steamboat 700, a 700-acre parcel of county land to the west that the city is annexing as a developer plans to build 2,000 units.

The Steamboat 700 project alone will increase the town’s population by 15 percent, Leeson said. According to 2006 census data Steamboat’s population is 9,315.

Potential growth drew developers

The city has dubbed all the new development and improvements “Steamboat Unbridled” to represent the towns’ renaissance, which includes more than a dozen residential, multi-family and mixed-use developments.

Local real estate experts said the developers’ arrival was a given because of the availability of property and the potential growth because of the ski resort. Last season Steamboat had 1,071,755 skier visits.

The average home price in Steamboat is $550,000 to $600,000. Land and home sales topped $1 billion in 2006, according to Routt County records. The number has already reached $1.2 billion this year and sales are expected to continue to rise in 2008, said Pam Vanatta, broker/associate and co-owner of Prudential Steamboat Realty.

“Our prices are far below most of the ski areas in Colorado so we look like a bargain and that is what drove the developers to come here,” said Vanatta.

The proposed and ongoing developments in town were included in the presentations executives at the resort gave to prospective buyers, including Intrawest, said Andy Wirth, executive vice president of sales and marketing for Intrawest.

The convergence of real-estate development, infrastructure improvements and investments in the airport and on-mountain experiences are key to what is happening in Steamboat, he said.

“Any one of these elements doesn’t mean that much,” said Wirth. “But in this case you have all four of these really critical elements purposefully and with a great deal of effort being choreographed and hitting at the same time.”

The resort has been working with local officials to improve the airport in nearby Hayden for six years, Wirth said. This year the airport completed an $18 million upgrade and will continue upgrading next year.

The resort has also been working with the airport, which is 22 miles away, on bringing in more direct flights from large cities. This year the city has direct flights from 10 hubs including New York, Chicago and Dallas.

“Infancy to adulthood overnight”

But there have been concerns about growing pains including traffic congestion, parking and affordability.

“The biggest challenge is managing change and maintaining our community character,” Leeson said. “It’s all happening so quickly. The rate of change is hard for the community.”

Some business owners said they’re feeling overwhelmed.

“It’s like throwing a blanket over a baby that was cold and now we are being smothered,” said Jay Baverstock, owner of the Shack Café. “I just don’t like our town changing so much. Let it grow up slowly. It’s going from infancy to adulthood overnight.”

City manager Alan Lanning said the development will bring benefits to the town, but first it must ride out the pace of the new construction and infill.

“Steamboat will always be Steamboat,” Wirth said. “This is not a place that was contrived on an architect’s drawing board.”

By Joanne Kelley, Rocky Mountain News
July 31, 2007

STEAMBOAT SPRINGS - The big ski area here boasts of having “Champagne Powder” on its slopes, but the rest of the resort has been far less refined for years.That’s all starting to change this summer as Steamboat’s well-financed new owner and a host of other developers begin pouring more than half a billion dollars into revamping the mountain, the town and its outskirts.

“We don’t want the delta between our base experience and the rest of Colorado to get any greater,” said Chris Diamond, Steamboat Ski Resort president.

The biggest changes include: long-deferred investments in ski area infrastructure, an overhaul of neglected areas in the downtown business district, and an unusually large number of high-end residential projects happening all at once and all over the place.

Catching up with the likes of Vail and Aspen could take time because Steamboat is among the last of the major areas to bring some polish to its base and town.

“It’s going to make Steamboat more competitive over the next few years,” said former Vail executive Andy Daly, whose Alpine Mountain Ranch & Club is one of Steamboat’s toniest real-estate projects. “Of all the major resorts, Steamboat was the one that had seen very little investment.”

Under former parent American Skiing Co., the ski area made only basic improvements. It even sold off some of its assets. It didn’t have the money for extra upgrades or to fix the flawed design of the beginner area.

But once Canada’s Intrawest bought Steamboat in March, it committed to $16 million in a single summer, more than the former owner invested over a decade.

“There’s a bit of a vision (the new owners) are going to come driving over Rabbit Ears Pass with Wells Fargo trucks,” Diamond said. “But there’s a lot of discipline.”

An urban renewal authority has begun to address the infrastructure issues that have plagued the base area for decades.

In the meantime, Steamboat has been stuck at about 1 million skiers a season, year in and year out. It boasts as many season passholders - roughly 10,000 - as it does residents because it’s a place where “darn near everybody skis,” according to Diamond.

No one expects the area’s character to change radically, even though at times this summer the whole town seems to be one big construction zone.

Steamboat’s long-time push to preserve its ranching heritage sets it apart from other ski areas, which tend to be based near former mining towns, or the forest, or resort areas developed solely for skiing.

The ski town has benefited from an increase in the number of flights serving its vastly improved airport, which until recently featured a dirt parking lot and seasonal flights.

But residents say Steamboat has managed to retain some of the appeal of a much smaller area and town.

There’s still free parking within an easy walk of the lifts. But back-to-back condo developments have added to the sprawl along the main route into town. And finding affordable housing has become more of a challenge.

“Steamboat’s not the funky little place it used to be, but it has maintained its soul,” said John Waldman, who has lived in Steamboat for 27 years.

On a recent sunny day in the waning days of the ski season, a ski school class was filled with so-called “destination skiers” who had made the trip from all over the map - Harpers Ferry, W. Va., Monterey, Calif., and Chicago, among other far-away towns and cities.

“We’re almost purely a destination resort,” said Jon Wade, owner of Colorado Group Realty. “There’s a convergence of things happening but demand for ski condos is helping to drive the boom.”

Steamboat makeover

• The mountain: Steamboat’s new parent company pumps $16 million this summer into regrading the beginner area, moving and installing chairlifts and other much-needed changes at the base of the ski area.

• The town: Aging buildings demolished to make for a variety of mixed-use projects along Lincoln Avenue, the town’s main thoroughfare. Those include the former Westland Mobile Home Park, which will become the Riverwalk, a 230,000-square-foot project along the Yampa River between 3rd and 5th streets.

• The outskirts: On the edge of town, ranches and open land will morph into retreats with luxury homes tucked into the woods and around preserves.

After 2 1/2 years of planning, 10 public meetings, numerous setbacks and countless design changes, One Steamboat Place cleared its final hurdle Tuesday night. The Steamboat Springs City Council gave final approval to the multi-story, resort-style building, a $115 million project of nearly 465,000 square feet that will dynamically alter the base of Steamboat Ski Area. One Steamboat Place will include 80 residential units and nearly 17,000 square feet of commercial space. It will be built on a site adjacent to the ski area’s gondola building, Aprés Ski Way and Mount Werner Circle.

While utility work and sales already have begun, Tuesday’s approval clears the way for construction of the project by Haselden Resort Constructors. One Steamboat Place is scheduled for completion in fall 2009.

“We’re jubilant because we’re going to get underway, and we’re going to make everybody proud in Steamboat,” said David Burden, chief executive officer of Carbondale-based Timbers Resorts.

Burden said he valued the lengthy public approval process, which included extensive public feedback and detailed work with city planning staff.

“I think the project is a much better project. This has been almost a partnership,” Burden said. “It took working with both sides to get it right.”

The City Council voted, 4-0, to approve the project’s final development plan. Councilmen Paul Strong and Ken Brenner were not present for the vote. Councilman Loui Antonucci recused himself from the One Steamboat Place proceedings.

City Council members Karen Post and Towny Anderson raised concerns with the building’s rooflines, shape and scale, but supported One Steamboat Place in the final reckoning. The Steamboat Springs Planning Commission voted, 4-3, last month to recommend final approval of the building to the City Council.

The building’s size was a topic of debate throughout the public process.

“Our goal is that people will experience this building not all at once,” said Robin Schiller of CCY Architects. Schiller cited the variety of building materials to be used in the project, which will include large, sweeping windows and two enclosed bridges connecting the building’s three wings.

“It’s not monolithic. It’s too big to be a simple building,” he said.

Burden noted that One Steamboat Place will be powered entirely with wind power, purchased through renewable energy credits.

“It’s the first of its kind, and it’s one of a kind,” said Jim Schneider, vice president of skier services for Steamboat Ski and Resort Corp. “We fully support this project.”

One Steamboat Place is the first of several large-scale projects that will redefine the ski base in Steamboat Springs.

“We are transforming our base area from a 1970s and 1980s base area, into a base area of 2008, 2009 and 2010,” City Council President Pro tem Steve Ivancie said. “It’s way overdue.”

Also Tuesday, the City Council again tabled action on proposed revisions to the city’s vacation home rental ordinance, which regulates homes in residential neighborhoods that are rented to short-term vacationers and sometimes used for private functions.

The council heard substantial public comment and continued its work finalizing changes to the ordinance.

City Council has wrestled with the vacation home rental ordinance for months.

“We are not going to satisfy everybody in this room,” Anderson said. “Our job is to reconcile what is clearly an inherent conflict.”

The City Council directed city staff to implement changes in the ordinance for further discussion, and possible action, July 24.

 By Mike McCollum

Steamboat Springs — The Colorado Group Realty Char-itable Foundation announced Tuesday it has awarded seven grants totaling $10,000 to nonprofit organizations throughout Routt County.

The recipients include Colorado West Mental Health, the Community Agriculture Alliance, Emerald City Opera, Historic Routt County, The Steamboat Springs Youth Orchestra, Yampatika and the Yampa Valley Stream Improvement Charitable Trust.

Yampatika Executive Direc-tor Jen Wright said the $1,000 awarded to the environmental stewardship nonprofit would benefit the organization’s involvement in local schools.

“We provide high-quality, educational programs in Routt and Moffat Counties and the grant will go toward those efforts and will go back to the community in that way,” she said. “We are tremendously grateful for the award, and it will help environmental education in this area.”

Marsha Daughenbaugh, executive director of the Com-munity Agriculture Alliance, said the grant would help increase awareness of the importance of agriculture in Northwest Colorado.

“It will go toward teaching people land stewardship — how to take care of the land — and how to make it most profitable for you while protecting the land itself,” she said.

The foundation was established last year as the charitable arm of Colorado Group Realty. Each time a broker completes a transaction, a donation is made to the foundation. Employees, managers and matching funds from client and public donations also make up the grants.

Keri Rusthoi, artistic director of the Emerald City Opera, said the grant will help produce the opera’s upcoming production of Madame Butterfly.

“We have to raise $250,000 a year to put on an opera,” she said. “This is by no means a drop in the bucket. It’s going to make a huge difference to put on our opera production this year.”

Bart Kounovsky, president of the foundation, said the grants are the first in a continuous effort to support community-based programs.

“There was a consensus here at Colorado Group Realty to find a way we can give back to the community and give back to the organizations that make this community such a special place,” he said. “We are looking at this not as a one-time thing, but an ongoing commitment to a community.”

SAM Magazine – Steamboat, Colo., July 8, 2007 – Steamboat has announced that the northern Colorado resort will aggressively market itself to New York skiers and is putting its money where its mouth is by adding additional airplane seats on direct flights from New York to the ski town. The flights, scheduled for Saturdays, will have the potential to deliver an additional 490 passengers each week.

“Accompanying the fact that New York is the single most lucrative ski market is the fact that it’s the single most expensive media market,” says Andy Wirth, vice president of sales and marketing for the Steamboat Ski & Resort Corp, “but in this case, we felt the financial reward is there.”

And it’s expected that the flights will directly tap into this lucrative market. Unlike flights from other hubs, such as Atlanta, nearly 100 percent of the passengers on the weekly flights will be from New York.