Real Estate in Steamboat

Last year, lift operators were working the shovels bringing in fresh snow to put underneath the lifts so skiers could get onto the seats safely. This year, they’re facing 5 feet of powder they have to shovel out so the chairs can turn around.

Lift operators are preparing to reopen Four Points lift today, and Bashor and Thunderhead Express are slated for Saturday openings as the open terrain at Steamboat Ski Area expands.

Lift Operations Supervisor Ted Serafy said a crew of six people would head to South Peak today to start digging out the lift in preparation for its opening. The crews will start moving snow with snowcats, but will have to use shovels closer to the machinery.

Lift Operations Director Deb Werner said it’s good and bad to have such deep snow early in the season.

“It’s great to have that much snow at the start of the season, but it’s a great deal of work for the crew,” she said.

“Of course, last year was a lot of work because we had to bring the snow in,” Serafy added.

The snow will continue to pile up in the next few days as well, National Weather Service forecaster Chris Cuoco said.

He said he is predicting a dusting of snow in town today, with 2 to 3 inches tonight.

On the mountain, there could be 3 to 7 inches of accumulation today and tonight, and another 1 to 3 inches Saturday.

Cuoco said he expects it to be windy Friday with 15 to 25 mile per hour winds and clouds throughout Saturday and Sat­urday night.

Steamboat Ski and Resort Corp. spokeswoman Loryn Kasten said the trail openings posted on www.steamboat.com were inaccurate Thursday — it listed all but three trails open — but she did not have an updated list of trail openings as of Thursday evening.

Story written by By Zach Fridell, Steamboat Pilot reporter in the Friday, December 3, 2010 issue.

Click Here to Read Full PDF Newsletter

http://www.steamboatbrewersfestival.com/

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.

http://www.allbusiness.com/

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