By Ryan Stafford October & November 2006.

October -November News

In the Fall the leaves change but in Steamboat you may see more than that this year. The first major change is the demolition of two buildings downtown the Nights Rest and Harbor Hotel have been knocked down to make way for two new developments. The Nights Rest will be replaced with the Alpenglow project and the Harbor Hotel is being replaced with Howelson Place. Both of these will bring a new look and feel to downtown. The Aim of these projects is to cater to the owners who want to be close to downtown shopping, dining and other community events. The look of these will be more modern and contemporary compared to the traditional mountain/ ski area vibe. The developers are trying to bring renewed interest in urban living for the downtown area of Steamboat Springs.  

Another big change that is being discussed is the sale of the ski area. Steamboat ski area is currently owned by American Ski Corp. who owns and operates several other resorts. Steamboat is its flagship property and contributes significantly to the earnings of American Ski Corp. Unfortunately ASC is a company running out of steam and has been selling off assets in order to make its debt service payments. Steamboat being one of its top performing assets puts it in a position to be sold and a large amount of interest has been shown in its acquisition by new ownership. A more detailed press release should be coming before the end of the year. If new ownership comes in, it should put the company in a position to help reinvest in the new base area redevelopment and update the current facilities.

Keeping with the theme of base area redevelopment, both Wildhorse Meadows and One Steamboat Place have gone into their first stages of sales. These projects are the cornerstones of the residential development at the base and will serve as the two points where the new gondola operates. Wildhorse Meadows sold 30 single family homesites in its first phase of development. The lots should have their entire infrastructure done and be ready to build on by Fall of next year. One Steamboat Place, which will located in the parking lot adjacent to the Kids Vacation center and ticket office is taking reservations for full ownership units. One Steamboat place is being developed by the Timbers Company out of Aspen and who have done a number of projects around the world. OSP will be a place with unmatched amenities and a location that is unbeatable. These two projects represent the new level of quality that is coming to Steamboat Springs and will bring new interest and revenue to the town.

Letter from Editor

Along with the first snows of the season is of course opening day of the ski area. Steamboat ski are opened November 22 and will have a majority of its trails open by December 9. We have a 3 foot base and the season is getting off to a good start. Cold temperature are allowing lots of snow making to occur and of course we are having periodical storms to help get that base up. On a personal note I do not recommend going into o the trees quite yet, I have tried then out in a few spots and there are plenty of logs and stumps just under the surface. It is not worth getting hurt and missing the entire season because of being impatient. With all of that said I hope everyone has a great holiday season and give me a call if you have any questions on the recent news from  beautiful Steamboat Springs. 

High Mountain Sotheby’s, 708 Lincoln Ave, Steamboat Springs, CO 80487 PH/970.846.5943 Email/ryan.stafford@sothebysrealty.com Ryan Stafford, Realtor/Editor