Good
News!! I have joined the Keller Williams Mountain Properties
Team!
We 'll be taking the Altitude News even
higher - check back in a couple of days for some surprises!
Real Estate is HOT! HOT! HOT!
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Welcome
to my monthly newsletter, usually published by the first business
day of each month, featuring Breckenridge, Colorado News and
Events plus other Rocky Mountain News. Here you will find
information about our Summit County schools, government, skiing
and summer activities. There is information on ski homes,
golf homes, lake front properties and mountain homes from resort
to remote. You will also find out about real estate news trends
and tips. Mostly you will find good news about this fantastic
community and you will learn that it's not just the scenery
that makes it a great lifestyle, it's the people. |
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Switzerland
won Second Place it was titled "Somersault". For
more pictures of past (and soon 2006) of the competition click
here.
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The
United Kingdom won the hearts and votes of the Artists with
this entry titled "Faraway"
Don't miss 2007 - it gets better every year!
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Everyone
loves a parade, breckenridge schedules at least 3 or 4 a year
for the enjoyment of locals and visitors alike. check the
schedule of events fro more info.
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Ullr Fest
brings out the bravo in locals who love to explain how warm
and sunny it
is here in Breckenridge. If you need proof - check out this
ullr parade entry!
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Breckenridge
won First Place for the first time in the 16
year history of the International Snow Sculpture
Championship - way to go Breck!! They also received
People's and Kid's Choice awards. |
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Breckenridge,
GENUINE ROCKY MOUNTAIN NEWS |
| How
much snow have we gotten? Is it just hype? Well the
stats are in and 2005-06 is the fourth snowiest early
season, pre-New Year, on record. The winter of 1893,
that’s the one you see pictures of the tunnels
on Main St., is still the record holder with 149 inches
in December alone. This year our cumulative from October
through the end of the year was 111 inches, or nearly
10 feet! The long-range prediction is that the pattern
will continue for the next couple of months. Updated
#’s: with the heaviest snow months to come Breckenridge,
which averages 262 inches a year, has already seen 300
inches since the start of the season.
Breckenridge has just approved its first parking structure
to be built this summer. The structure will be on the
site of the Exchange lot on the corner of Ridge and
Lincoln, across the street from Fatty’s. The structure
will hold a total of 95 spots. Its location next to
The Backstage Theatre and the Whyte House is intended
to focus increasing attention on the “Arts District”.
Instead of building a large outlying parking structure,
Breckenridge has decided to utilize smaller locations
close to downtown.
Breckenridge is in the midst of updating its open space
plan. The citizens of Breckenridge authorized a tax
years ago that now brings in about $1 million per year
for open space purchases. Two jewels of the program
have been the Cucumber Gulch wetlands below Peak 8 and
the recently acquired 1800-acre B & B Mines property.
The new focus is going to be more toward managing what
has been acquired. Other considerations include whether
the Open Space Commission should be purchasing playgrounds
and ball fields.
More good info can be found at:
http://www.BestoftheRockies.com. |
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to the top |
WHY
I LIVE HERE…
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The town of Breckenridge
recently gave away $1.9 million in grants to non-profits.
Although the bulk of the money went to the Resort Chamber,
many gifts were more personal. $21,000 was put toward
two scholarships for Summit High athletes, $2000 for
scholarships to the BOEC, $15,000 to the Bristlecone
Health Services for scholarships, $12,000 to Carriage
House Early Learning Center, and the list goes on. Pretty
cool.
The Colorado Division of Wildlife reports lynx are
thriving in the state, thanks to a re-introduction program,
continued releases, with a total of 204 lynx released
since 1999 and, importantly, to the survival of kittens
bred by lynx that were released, with 101 kittens born
in Colorado. Forty-three lynx have been located in the
White River National Forest.
The new medical office building in Frisco will be the
county’s premier space for local medical practices,
as well as some of the area’s vital health services
agencies. The building is on track for a late summer
opening. The nearly $20 million project is jointly funded
through public-private arrangement, the public portion
through a county tax subsidy approved by voters a few
years ago.
The Summit Huts Association filed an application with
the U.S. Forest Service to use Janet’s Hut for
summer use from July through September. The 20-person
cabin, between Copper Mountain and Vail Pass, is about
200 yards off the Colorado Trail, and is currently open
from Thanksgiving through the first week of May. |
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to the top |
SCHOOL
NEWS… |
| Summit
Cove Elementary received the state’s highest rating
for the second year in a row. They are the only local
school to receive an “Excellent Rating” this
year. The ratings are based on the results of the standard
tests of academic proficiency given statewide. The principal
attributes the success to constant assessment of where
the students are at academically. They also mentioned
utilizing paraprofessionals and volunteers to get the
kids more individual attention.
Keystone is teaching tiny locals how to ski. Dillon
Valley elementary preschoolers are getting two free
ski lessons and equipment as an intro to the sport.
Most of these kids are in the Head Start program and
probably would not get to experience skiing otherwise.
Keystone is also using the opportunity to give some
new instructors experience.
Also in a leadership role, Vail Resorts is giving the
Alpino Program a helping hand. Alpino is a program designed
to bring inner city, minority kids to the mountains
to experience snowboarding and skiing. Alpino’s
goal is to bring 10,000 kids to skiing in two years.
Vail has volunteered to bring half of those to their
four Colorado resorts. Vail Resorts has also hired a
full time diversity coordinator to help organize the
Alpino trips among other duties. One of the side benefits
is the hope that as word gets out more minorities will
be attracted to the job opportunities here and our communities
will grow more diverse too.
Summit School District held a “No Name Calling”
week last month. Verbal abuse is considered a part of
bullying and is no longer tolerated at any of the schools
in the county. Vicious emails and websites also fit
into the category. Research has shown that name-calling
can be very damaging to kids, even in high school. If
you watch sitcoms on TV it is also becoming a large
part of our culture. In fact a 2002 survey reported
that 79% of Americans think lack of respect is a serious
problem in this country. School insults are not to be
taken lightly as they have been shown to affect health,
attendance and grades of school age kids. A 2005 study
by UCLA showed half of all kids reported being the victims
of verbal abuse and indicated it was just as harmful
as physical bullying. The “No Name Calling”
week included lots of education about the impact of
their abuse and how to be verbally positive with their
peers.
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SNOW
NEWS KEEPS COMING AND COMING…
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| Coming
up on the Olympics let’s take a look at the competitors
for America. Last month in Garmisch, Germany a newcomer
arrived on the World Cup skiing scene: Scott Mccartney
took third in the Super-G for his first ever podium
appearance. He is the seventh American to stand there
this season. Another newcomer, Steve Nyman, just missed
his first podium with a fourth in the downhill at Garmisch.
Our ski teams are starting to show remarkable depth
that may have reached an all time high. In the World
Cup overall standings it looks like the Austrians have
returned to dominance as Benjamin Raich is pulling away
and Bode Miller is fading as he shuns his newfound celebrity
status. Daron Rahlves is having a strong season though
and is currently 4th in the overall standings. His great
season in the speed events indicates he will certainly
win a medal or two in Torino.
The
ladies are lead by experienced Lindsey Kildow and Julia
Mancuso who, at the end of the month in Italy, finished
third and second respectively in the Super-G while Mancuso
took a second and fifth in the downhill. Lindsey Kildow
and Sarah Schleper of Vail and Caroline Lalive of Steamboat
are Coloradoans on the Alpine Ski Team, while eight
Coloradoans made the US Olympic freestyle team. Way
to go Colorado, cheer them on!
In
snowboarding, Shaun White is becoming the Michael Jordan
of the sport with his fourth consecutive X-Games gold
medal in the Slopestyle. This is an encore to his double
win in Breckenridge in December. On the ladies side
Janna Meyen pulled off an identical four-peat. Both
will represent the US in Turino.
Officials
from Arapahoe Basin and the U.S. Forest Service will
hold discussions and site visits lately concerning A-Basin’s
plans for Montezuma Bowl and other backcountry access
issues. A-Basin and the Forest Service are considering
building a chairlift to expand terrain into Montezuma
Bowl adding 325 acres to the ski area.
Think
snow, always!
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*TRAVEL
TIPS…FROM HUMBLE BEGINNINGS* |
| Sorry,
didn’t have time. Travel Tips will return next
month.
Contact
Me if
you need further tips on where to stay, eat or play.
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INVESTMENT
OPPORTUNITIES… |
| Colorado
stocks continue to hit new records. The Bloomberg Rocky
Mountain news Index, a price-weighted list of companies
based in the state, climbed to another all time high of
over 350 to end January.
Business Traveler Magazine readers recently ranked Denver
International Airport as the #1 airport in America. These
are professional travelers spending an average of 49 nights
per year in hotels.
Denver currently has 6,614 hotel rooms, with the recent
addition of the 1,100-room Hyatt Convention. In the planning,
1,826 rooms in 8 new hotels.
Forecast for Colorado in 2006 from the Leeds School of
Business at the University of Colorado, for selected sectors:
Natural resources and mining: 1,700 additional workers
Construction: Total valuation will rise 8.8%
Leisure and hospitality: 5,600 jobs added
Agriculture: Livestock sales of $3.9 billion, 3rd-highest
ever
The National Western Stock Show set an attendance record
in its 100th year, drawing more than 700,000 people for
the first time. There were 726,972 visitors to the stock
show, which ran from Jan. 7 through Sunday, up 13% from
the previous record in 2003.
Things
just keep getting better; Contact
Me Today! |
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MARKET
CONDITIONS & OTHER ROCKY MOUNTAIN NEWS |
| Well it’s
official, 2005 set an all time record in Summit County
for real estate transactions. The dollar volume came in
at $1.475 Billion, 31% higher than last year’s $1.12
Billion.
Nationally, 2005 set a record for the fifth straight
year for sales of existing homes. The sales of over 7
million units was 4.2% higher than 2004. In the Denver
area, commercial real estate hit a record high of $3.1
billion in sales, topping 2004 by a whopping 55%!
A record 3.1 million skiers hit the slopes before the
end of ’05, obviously enamored by our near record
early season snow. We are now on pace to break all the
records for skier visits as January continued strong.
The Summit County areas are about 10% ahead of last year,
which was a record for Breckenridge at 1.47 million skiers.
With the fast sellout, and now construction of, The Mountain
Thunder Lodge Townhome project this past spring and summer
Vail Resorts Development Company already decided to push
ahead with the Skyway Skiway ski run from Peak 8 back
to the skier parking lots. It opened this year, two years
ahead of schedule! Now the Peaks 7 and 8 development has
been moved to the front burner. This will be a world-class
project that will vault Breckenridge into the elite of
resorts. It will sell fast and prices will go up quickly.
Contact me now to be at the forefront as information is
released.
What’s all this got to do with Summit County real
estate? Call me and we can discuss it.
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©The Altitude News
2003 All Rights Reserved |
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