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 |
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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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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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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* |
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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… |
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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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