Real Estate in Steamboat

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Standing on the championship-distance tee box of Number Four at Haymaker Golf Course, the hole is a distant 457 yards away. If you’re a golfer of my caliber, though, your ball takes a longer and more circuitous route to the green. Slice your shot off the tee and you’re headed toward a wetland between the fairways of holes three and four. It’s there, in among the thick stands of cattails, that golfers come face to face with Haymaker’s environmental legacy. Whether searching for an errant golf ball or not, look closely and you just might see a nesting pair of sandhill cranes. In Colorado, sandhill cranes are strictly a migratory bird. Except for the northwest part of the state and the Yampa River Valley where they can be found breeding in summer. Haymaker, it turns out, happens to have its own nesting pair. When Haymaker Golf Course opened for play on Aug. 8, 1997, it filled an important niche in the Steamboat golf community, providing a public, 18-hole golf course. But it wasn’t simply about building a new course. Haymaker’s owners wanted to protect the environment of the Yampa Valley too. It was a philosophy embraced by golf course architect Keith Foster. “His concept was to make you feel like you were on your own private hole on each and every hole,” explains Haymaker superintendent Bill Whelihan. Foster accomplished that by preservingbuffer zones of native grasses in between greens. In fact, some 50 acres of native grassland were left undisturbed during construction, and in total, 54 percent of the 233-acre property is maintained as unmanaged, natural open space. To take Haymaker’s environmental commitment further, it enlisted the help of Audubon International, a New York-based environmental nonprofit organization independent of the National Audubon
Society. Haymaker officials enrolled in the group’s Audubon Signature Program, a rigorous certification that aids golf courses in incorporating environmental guidelines into their design, construction and management. On Nov. 8, 2000, Haymaker
became the first golf course in the state to earn the prestigious certification. It remains one of only two courses in Colorado to be certified, and one of just 72 worldwide. In other words, by Audubon international’s standard, Haymaker is one of the greenest golf courses in the world. “What they’ve done environmentally is really impressive,” says Nancy Richardson, director of the Audubon Signature Program. There’s plenty of Rocky Mountain wildlife to be found too, including elk, deer, beaver, fox and coyotes. “There’s a bald eagle down the road,” adds Whelihan, “and a great blue heron rookery across the street.” One species that especially caught Audubon International’s eye is the
Wilson’s phalarope, a small shorebird whose populations have been declining over the last 20 years. On one of Nancy’s first site visits to Haymaker, she spotted a
male and female feeding at the golf course’s lakes and wetlands, a sure sign
that things were going right. “We’re proud to be environmentally sensitive,” says Bill. “Early on, people didn’t really know about what we were doing environmentally. Maybe they’d come in and ask. But now, they’re really interested. They talk about what they see on the course. They’re aware of the environment and their surroundings.” In the beginning, Haymaker’s goal was to provide a high-quality golfing experience while preserving the environmental heritage. Ten years later, mission accomplished.

www.steamboatmagazine.com

STEAMBOAT SPRINGS, Colo. — As projects in Colorado’s high country and major metropolitan areas are being cancelled due to lack of sales, there is one shining star in the mix from Steamboat Springs: Edgemont. The area’s  newest slopeside community sold $45 million in one day last week with an average sales price of more than $2 million, not only exceeding developer’s expectations, but also the pre-construction requirements for the project.

“Despite the difficult economic climate,” said Garrett Simon, vice president of development for the Atira Group, “Edgemont’s results show that there’s always demand for great real estate.”

The opening day sales volume meets pre-construction requirements making it possible to start construction on the landmark site in June. “These results show that it really doesn’t matter what is happening with the economy when it comes to ‘beachfront’ or should I say, ‘slopeside’ real estate. An excellent location will always resonate with buyers who are the end-user,” said Simon.

This is a great day for the Atira Group, developers of Edgemont, a great day for Steamboat and finally, some good news on our nation’s real estate front,” said Simon.

After an early morning float over Steamboat in a hot air balloon, prospective buyers gathered with their brokers and the Edgemont team for the afternoon Selection Event at the Real Estate Preview Center. Those who were not able to attend in person joined live online from their home or office.

“We are thrilled to be among the first owners at Edgemont. This will be ski-in/ski-out at its very best on the mountain, and there isn’t a better mountain community in the West than Steamboat Springs,” said Jack Quinn, former White House Counsel in the Clinton-Gore Administration and founder of Quinn Gillespie & Associates. He and his wife, Susanna Quinn, a writer, contracted on Edgemont’s opening day.

Much like the Quinns, the majority of buyers purchased their residence at Edgemont as a second home with plans of spending time throughout the year in Steamboat Springs with friends and family. Direct ski slopes access combined with an intimate community setting and well-designed residence plans were at the top of the list for Edgemont’s first homeowners.

Situated on the edge of the Steamboat Ski Resort, perched just above the base area, with the Gondola on one side and the Christie Peak Express on the other, Edgemont’s access to the mountain is unmatched by any other new property available in Steamboat. With spectacular views from every home, owners at Edgemont will enjoy spacious open floor plans ideal for entertaining, as well as a host of community amenities that bring neighbors together outside the home. Amenities include outdoor heated pool, hot tubs and fire pit, ski lockers, family game and media rooms, a fitness facility and underground parking.

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A sampling of green building, sustainable and conservation practices employed at Marabou includes:

- Preservation of a sharptail grouse lek

- Community buildings sided with wood recycled from miles of aging snow fences in Wyoming

- Grazing cattle kept away from the river corridor to allow the recruitment of young cottonwood trees

- Use of solar panels and wind energy certificates to generate electricity for community buildings

- Construction of a settling pond so silt from man-made streams doesn’t return to the Elk River

- Introducing limestone boulders to the river, streams and trout ponds to increase alkalinity, which supports the health of aquatic invertebrates

- Seasonal trail closure to protect elk calving areas

- Orienting buildings to make the most of passive solar opportunities

- Use of internal gravel pits to provide all of the road base for roads, reducing the number of truck trips needed to build the subdivision

- Insisting contractor utilize small pieces trimmed from lumber – kept estimated 14,000 pounds of construction waste out of landfill

- Attention to interior air quality in community buildings – no carpets that give off toxic gases

- Design guidelines requiring all homes to use exterior lighting that conforms to dark skies standard

http://www.yoursteamboathome.com/archived_article.php?newsID=22

Steamboat Springs – The log rail fence stretching along the hay and wheat fields on County Road 42 is brand new, but it already has been modified. It was too tall to allow elk to cross it during their seasonal migrations.

“We’re taking off the top rail along the county road,” Jeff Temple said this week. “That gets it down to 42 inches, where the elk can get over it. We’re not perfect, but we’re learning more every day. We want the wildlife habitat to be better next year than it is this year.”

Temple is a principal – along with Mark Hall and Jeff Jepson – in Due West Land and Elk River Partners, the development entities creating a sprawling “ranch preservation subdivision” called Marabou just west of Steamboat Springs.

Marabou will offer 55 multimillion-dollar, single-family home lots clustered on 1,800 acres west of Steamboat Springs.

When complete, Marabou will comprise 1,325 acres of open space along the lower Elk River.

Temple and his partners are determined to set new standards in the Yampa Valley for green building. So it wasn’t surprising they reserved a booth this week to tell their story at Economic Summit 2007, where the theme was “The Economics of Sustainability.”

Several clusters of community buildings that will be enjoyed by the owners are nearing completion within sight of the river this spring. Temple said his company has spent $940,000 in improvements over and above the building code to construct the community barn, recreation buildings, children’s adventure center, outing center and several guest cabins to green standards.

Joe Jones, project manager for general contractor TCD, said Marabou’s developers urged him from the beginning to score as many green points as he possibly could in the construction of the community buildings.

“What we’re most proud of,” Jones said, “is that from the foundations up through the finished roof, we’ve used a lot of recycled and manmade material. There’s 8 linear miles of interior trim in the buildings and 90 percent of it is reclaimed or rescued wood.”

The buildings have passed every test for their insulating properties, he said.

“We built these buildings almost too tight,” he said. “They almost failed the air transfer test.”

Marabou’s efforts recently won it a spot on the Environmental Protection Agency’s list of Green Power Partners.

Marabou is spending more money to improve wildlife habitat, rebuild agricultural fences and improve the grazing for the grass-fed cattle that will be reared on the ranch.

Unlike homeowners who might expect to gradually recoup the expense of energy-saving features over time, Temple said as builders of a subdivision, he and his partners don’t have that opportunity.

“Here’s the dilemma for a developer,” Temple said. “We won’t enjoy the payback over time. Still, I look at it as a good business decision. We expect the home sites to sell more quickly and for a higher price.”

The people who will build luxurious second or third homes at Marabou, except for a handful, will be limited to houses that are no larger than 10,000 square feet. A few others will be larger, mostly because they will be built on secluded lots that are out of view. Others will win an exception because they agreed to install costly geothermal heating systems that further offset their carbon footprints, Temple said.

Almost by definition, homes that reach 10,000 square feet represent conspicuous consumption.

How does Temple reconcile the size of the homes his buyers may build with his determination to achieve a green subdivision?

“It’s about, how do you do the best job you can?” he said. “How do you mitigate it? It’s all about the future.”

Steamboat contractor Mike Roberts, who sat on a panel with Temple at Environment 2007, said the size of buildings clearly is an issue in green building.

“The first consideration is size, regardless of what else you do,” said Roberts, who is the owner of Habitat Design and Construction.

“You can use all of the salvaged lumber and recycled glass tile there is, but that’s not necessarily a green house,” Roberts said. “The success has to be based strictly on its carbon footprint. The bigger the house is, the more greenhouse emissions that are typically associated with it.”

Temple said Marabou is taking an extra step to give homeowners an incentive to build green. If they score sufficient green building points, he said, his company will write them a check for $10,000 when their home is complete and green building practices have been verified.

The design guidelines for Marabou require all homes to score at least 50 “sustainability points.” However, homes in the 10,000-square-foot range will need to collect another 50 points to score the $10,000 premium.

They can earn points through a variety of means, including installing low-flow showerheads and water-efficient clothes and dish washers, using pine beetle-impacted salvage wood harvested in Colorado, installing insulated concrete forms on foundations and utilizing pre-cut wall studs to reduce waste.

Roberts said Marabou’s land practices are commendable and acknowledges there was a time in his building career when he built large homes.

“I wrestle with that,” he said. “I’ve been in this business for 30 years and I feel like I’ve been hypocritical like so many of us have been.”

However, he believes there may come a day when the market shifts and smaller, green-built homes will appraise higher and be more desirable than 10,000-square-foot homes.

Temple said he hopes Marabou’s sustainability will be judged on all of the programs at place on the ranch, from the restoration of a breeding trout population, to the creation of “bio islands” in the midst of hayfield for songbirds, the establishment of a grass-fed beef program and the construction of buildings that are highly energy efficient.

He promises to openly share the strategies employed at Marabou with other resort developers who want to follow in its path.

“My hope is that we get on the radar screen of the development community,” Temple said. “When we convince them this has paid off and that it’s the right thing to do, we’ll have been successful.”

Marabou river keeper Pat Stefanek explains to a visiting group from Economic Summit 2007 on Thursday how the project’s developers have spent almost two years on efforts to improve trout habitat.   http://www.yoursteamboathome.com/archived_article.php?newsID=22  

Steamboat Springs, CO (January 16, 2007) – Less than 6 months after Steamboat Springs City Council approved the development plan for Steamboat Springs’ first master planned residential resort community, Steamboat-based developer, Resort Ventures West now has a final development plat approved, 33 homesite owners and construction underway at Wildhorse Meadows.  The 47-acre site is centrally located between the mountain and downtown and will be connected to the base of Steamboat Ski Area via the proposed Wildhorse Gondola.

The Wildhorse Meadows master plan has been designed to marry old with new, fostering simple, un-complicated living that pays tribute to the area’s western culture. The developer’s vision is to preserve Steamboat’s history and distinct Western feel while incorporating the modern facilities of a new resort neighborhood. This special residential resort community plans to offer a mix of housing types including resort lodge suites, townhomes, mountain lofts, a branded hotel, and attainable housing, and include a range of community amenities.  With the slopes of Steamboat Springs at the community’s back door, the proposed gondola will tie the development to the base of the mountain, eliminating the hassle of shuttle schedules or parking.  An extensive walking and biking trail system will connect the neighborhoods within Wildhorse to the town of Steamboat.

“Wildhorse Meadows is meant to combine the charm of a quiet Western town with mountain community amenities,” said David Hill, President, Resort Ventures West. “Very few mountain developments successfully embrace the area’s character and architectural spirit, while also providing the modern design and amenities of today.  Wildhorse will do this.” 

Amenities of Wildhorse Meadows will include: The Ranch House with a fitness facility, pools, grotto hot tubsand a kids’ lounge; the soon-to-be-developed Wildhorse Gondola, and an interactive Culture & Education Barn for all ages.  Also within walking distance is the Steamboat Country Store, an authentic general store that will serve as a meeting place for the community with fresh brewed coffee, prepared foods and postal services.

Wildhorse Meadows is being developed by ,Resort Ventures West, a Steamboat-based developer, in strategic partnership with S&P Destination Properties, a real estate company specializing in the master planning, marketing and sales of resort and luxury real estate across the world.

http://www.allaboutsteamboat.com/news-releases/74.php

Colorado Group Realty on Tuesday hosted a talk with Steamboat 700 project manager Danny Mulcahy. Mulcahy briefly shared his philosophy on affordable housing in Steamboat.
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.”

By Brandon Gee – Steamboat Pilot
Wednesday, March 26, 2008

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Steamboat Springs – Steamboat 700 developers told city planners Wednesday that they intend to move forward with pared-down development and annexation proposals after their application to extend the urban growth boundary was denied Tuesday night.

“They said they are moving forward, full-speed ahead,” Planning Services Manager John Eastman said.

The UGB is a provision of the Steamboat Springs Area Community Plan that delineates land appropriate and not appropriate for urban development. The Routt County Board of Commissioners voted, 3-0, against Steamboat 700′s request to extend the urban growth boundary by 185 acres at a joint meeting with the Steamboat Springs City Council on Tuesday. Although council approved the application, 4-2, amendments to the community plan must receive joint approval.

Steamboat 700 Project Man­ager Danny Mulcahy did not return a message left on his cell phone, but Eastman said the developers met with city planning staff Tuesday and committed to moving forward with an application for the project’s remaining 515 acres, which already are within the UGB.

Eastman said 515 acres still is a substantial project and noted that of a potential 2,200 residences, only 190 were intended for the 185 acres that lie outside the UGB. Eastman said Steamboat 700 developers still intend to meet an Oct. 31 deadline for submitting a petition and application for annexation.

By committing to a 515-acre application, Steamboat 700 would avoid presenting City Council with a volatile proposition: considering an annexation of the full 700 acres that would ignore the urban growth boundary and the area community plan. While Councilwoman Cari Hermacinski said Monday it would be “political suicide” to disregard the area community plan, Councilman Jon Quinn said Wednesday, “Everything’s on the table right now for me.”

Such a move would be legal because annexations are governed by state statute and master plans are considered only advisory, but Eastman said such a move would violate the terms of the city’s pre-annexation agreement with Steamboat 700, which stipulates that the development will conform to the Steamboat Springs Area Community Plan and West of Steamboat Springs Area Plan.

That agreement, approved at an Aug. 5 meeting of City Council, is not affected by Tuesday’s denial of a UGB expansion, City Attorney Tony Lettunich said.

“The concepts are still applicable, regardless of the size,” Lettunich said.

Per the agreement, Steam­boat 700 developers must complete a number of studies – on issues such as traffic, visual impacts, fiscal impacts, water capacity and environmental assessments – before they petition for annexation.

Quinn and other council members who voted in favor of Steamboat 700′s UGB expansion expressed disappointment Wednesday.

By denying the request, the community could lose out on some potential public benefits that would have been associated with the project, Quinn said.

“There’s no question, with a smaller parcel, they’re only going to be able to do portions of what they thought they could do,” Quinn said.

But Eastman noted that the city would only make demands of Steamboat 700 commensurate with the impacts of the development.

“We’re not asking for it to pay extra,” Eastman said. “If there’s less development, it’s got less it needs to pay for.”

www.steamboatpilot.com

BREAKING GROUND

              Edgemont

 Two of the buildings will be filled with condos, and the rest will be smaller structures with duplex units. All the units will have views of the mountain, and they will range from 900 to 4,300 square feet. There will be a heated outdoor pool, whirlpools and a fire pit, and within the building will be lounges, rooms for spa treatments, a fitness center, ski lockers, a game room and a media room with a flat-screen TV. But what will surely be the project’s main draw is its close proximity to the resort. On either end of the site are a gondola and an express lift, providing access to 165 trails and nearly 3,000 acres of terrain. The Yampa Valley Regional Airport is about 22 miles west in Hayden, Colo.

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Colorado’s mountain resorts haven’t escaped a downturn in the economy, but premium product at premium locations is unscathed.

The Atira Group recently presold $45 million in a single day at Edgemont, kicking off construction of the first phase of the high-end residential development on the slopes at Steamboat Ski Resort. Sales averaged $2 million.

“I think what we have in Edgemont and what you’ll continue to see in the market is a quality location and a quality project. The better projects in the best locations with good partners and capitalized well will be the success stories in this market,” said Gerry Engle, The Atira Group founding partner.

According to Engle, a longtime resort developer, residential sales in Steamboat Springs and other mountain resorts are down year over year. “I think in every market, you see year-to-year decreases in overall volume – not drastic, but certainly a decrease,” he said, estimating Steamboat Springs has declined 18 percent to 20 percent since peaking last year.

In Vail, slow sales have stalled some developments, yet premium product like the Four Seasons and Ritz-Carlton is moving ahead as the resort community’s nearly $2 billion renaissance continues. The Residences at Little Nell in Aspen experienced strong sales, and Snowmass Village also is doing well with Little Nell and Viceroy branded resorts, said Engle.

“They are all premium locations, premium brands, which I think is also a key thing,” he said. “I think you’re going to see more of that.”

With Edgemont, “I think there was pent-up demand for a ski-in, ski-out product,” said Engle, adding, “I think we really had the market because of the location and the concept.”

Edgemont’s residences, situated just above the base area between the gondola and Christie Peak Express, will have open floor plans, views and amenities including an outdoor heated pool, hot tubs, fire pit, ski lockers, family game and media rooms, a fitness facility and underground parking. There will be approximately 42 residences in the first building and approximately 130 at build-out.

Initial sales ranged from $900,000 to $4.8 million, attaining a new price point for the market at an average $1,150 per square foot. The launch drew buyers from Texas, Southern California and the Midwest, including former White House counsel Jack Quinn.

Edgemont’s first phase will be delivered within approximately 18 months. The development is designed by OZ Architecture. S&P Destination Properties is the listing broker.

The Atira Group, developer of Granby Ranch in Granby, also is working with Cafritz Interests to redevelop Ski Time Square and the Thunderhead Lodge at the Steamboat base area into a new mixed-use neighborhood. Plans

are in the entitlement process.

by Jill Jamieson-Nichols Colorado Real Estate Journal