Location: Steamboat Springs, Colorado
11/01/2007
Atlanta resident Robert Durham finds comfort in the Steamboat Pilot’s police blotter. "A sheep in the road, dogs barking, a neighbor that isn’t using a bear-proof trash container—these incidents can’t compare to what I read in Atlanta’s papers," says Durham. For years the 50-year-old financial executive has been searching the West for a place to build a vacation home for his family. "We traveled through Oregon, Northern California, Wyoming, Montana and South Dakota. We were thorough," he says.But then Durham, an avid fly-fisherman, heard about a development in Steamboat that was making a stretch of the Elk River more habitable for rainbow, brown and cutthroat trout. This place also tempted Durham’s athletic side. "I have always wanted to learn how to cross-country ski," he says. When he discovered his guide would be Olympian Todd Lodwick, Durham was sold. He purchased one of the 62 six-acre lots (priced from $2.9 million to $5 million) at Marabou, a 1,700-acre ranch development in Steamboat. The location promised the serenity Durham was looking for, along with the convenience of being able to hop on a nonstop flight from Atlanta to access the destination.
Durham, who is in the process of building his vacation home, can take advantage of the ranch’s master guide program, which pairs owners with Lodwick as well as other experts in snowboarding, alpine skiing, mountain biking, fly-fishing and ranching. Residents can opt to immerse themselves in the ranch lifestyle and help mend fences and harvest hay, and when they’ve had enough, they can hit the spa or gym, then dine in a private wine cellar. "The property is beautiful, the people are more down-to-earth than other places in Colorado," says Durham. "And it’s a good investment."
Steamboat, which has long been recognized for its abundant "Champagne powder," cowboy culture and strong sense of community, is now being admired for its real estate. "To a certain extent, time had passed Steamboat by," says Andy Daly, co-developer of Alpine Mountain Ranch & Club, a 1,216-acre development of 63 homesites (priced from $1.4 million), close to the ski mountain. The resort’s former owners, the American Skiing Company, didn’t have the resources to be competitive with other major ski resorts, says Daly. "But Steamboat was able to sustain itself because it is unique."
Daly, former president of Vail Resorts, the country’s largest ski destination operator, says that resorts with mining roots have not been able to sustain their history as well as Steamboat, which has an agricultural background. Rabbit Ears Pass, where Route 40 crosses the Continental Divide, is a Steamboat icon—the town and county have worked diligently to preserve it, he says. Alpine Ranch is following suit by setting three-quarters of its acreage aside for an agricultural and wildlife preserve.
While Steamboat’s natural playground appeals to a wide range of outdoor enthusiasts, its main attraction is its ski mountain—a series of six peaks (Mount Werner, Pioneer Ridge and Sunshine, Storm, Thunderhead and Christie peaks) that tally up to nearly 3,000 acres of skiable terrain. Last March, Vancouver-based resort giant Intrawest purchased the resort for $265 million and vowed to bring the neglected mountain and its aging base area up to date. On the mountain, $16 million is already going toward improvements.
The news of Intrawest’s acquisition spurred a swarm of new development around the mountain’s base. Hotel operator Starwood scooped up the Sheraton Steamboat Resort Hotel and golf club for $57 million. Timbers Resorts grabbed a prime piece of slopeside land. "I follow my gut more than my brain," says David Burden, president and founder of Timber Resorts, which purchased the land eight months before the Intrawest takeover. "Steamboat had good bones and an authentic feel." Burden’s venture, One Steamboat Place, will harbor 38 ski-in/ski-out residences ranging in size from 2,500 to 4,700 square feet (priced from $2.7 million to $4.5 million) as well as a fractional component, consisting of 47, four-bedroom residences, priced from $625,000 to $735,000 for a one-eighth interest.
Burden also hopes to enliven the base area’s après-ski scene with a new restaurant and gourmet food shop, called Truffle Pig. Owners at One Steamboat Place will also have access to a Zen-inspired spa, private chef and catering services, fitness facilities and membership to the nearby Catamount Ranch, a private club offering a Tom Weiskopf–designed golf course and a 530-acre lake.Set on a 47-acre site, slightly removed from the base-area bustle, Wildhorse Meadows will deliver a variety of residential elements that will be linked to the mountain via a new gondola. "Our connection to the mountain helps us maintain a higher real estate value, yet we keep a residential feel because we are not in the congestion of the ski area," says David Hill, president of Resort Ventures West, the developer.
Wildhorse Meadows will hold 41 homesites (priced from $475,000 to $600,000), the Trailhead Lodge, a collection of condominiums ranging in size from 460 to 2,200 square feet, townhomes, mountain lofts and a to-be-named luxury hotel with fractional- and full-ownership residences. The development will also feature a post office, cafe and the Steamboat General Store—"Essential services that someone would need so they don’t have to get in their car," says Hill.
That walk-to lifestyle is what has attracted buyers downtown. "We call it dine-in/dine-out," says Jim Cook of Greencourt Partners, the developers of three mixed-use projects downtown. Alpen Glow offers eight loft condominiums ranging in size from 900 to 1,855 square feet and six 1,800-square-foot units with garages. Howelsen Place will feature 42 units (ranging in size from 624 to 2,035 square feet) set among retail space. Just steps from the Yampa River, Riverwalk will mix 88 residences with a boutique hotel and retail space.
"People want to stroll the streets and go to the arts district, something the
town has planned along with an art museum and performing arts center," says
Cook. "We were a viable town before we were a ski resort, so the downtown will
always be the gateway to our community."
FACTS & STATS
Ski town USA: Steamboat’s legacy began in 1913, when Carl
Howelsen—known as the Flying Norseman—brought ski jumping to town. He built a
100-foot jump that became a ski hill, which today serves as the oldest
continually running ski area in Colorado. In 1961, the Steamboat Ski Resort was
born and given the name Mt. Werner, in honor of local Olympic skier Buddy
Werner.
Getting There: Located 22 miles from downtown, the Yampa Valley Regional Airport just completed an $18 million redo to accommodate larger planes. Nonstop flights from 10 major U.S. hubs are available on Continental, United, American, Delta and Northwest. The airport also provides a fixed base operation, the Spectrum Jet Center for private aircraft. The Steamboat Springs Airport—Bob Adams Field, located three miles west of downtown, has a 4,452-foot runway to accommodate smaller planes.
Settling There: Across the road from Wildhorse Meadows, the Porches, launched by Colorado homebuilder Bruce Shugart in 2003, delivers a collection of 66 tidy two-story residences (ranging in size from 3,000 to 5,000 square feet) tucked into a 16-acre site that has a neighborhood feel. The residences are offered as whole ownership (priced from $1.9 million to $2.8 million) or as a six-week private residence club membership (priced from $320,000 to $400,000).
Steamboat’s first luxury ranch development was Storm Mountain Ranch, founded by Marabou owner Jeff Temple in 1998. The 1,063-acre property holds just 14 homesteads, ranging in size from 35 to 70 acres. Temple put 793 acres of the land into conservation easements and kept its status as a working ranch. Original homesites sold for an average of $2.8 million. A recent resale of a 5,000-square-foot home went for the $7.2 million asking price.
For friendly, small-town service, Old Town Realty has dozens of area listings, from ranches to condominiums (970.879.8696, www.oldtownrealty.com).