Breckenridge was certainly the place to be the end of January. The resort town recently drew quite a crowd as it celebrated its 20th year hosting the annual Budweiser International Snow Sculpture Championships.

Snow and ice sculptors from across the world had been working since 11:00 a.m. Tuesday, January 26th straight through until 10:00 a.m. Saturday, January 30th - five non-stop days creating their own unique masterpieces. All of which are crafted completely by hand. That's right - no electric saws or other power tools, only hand tools are used to chisel away and turn a 20 ton, 12 foot block of snow into a magical work of art.

Twelve teams participated this year, representing countries from Mexico to China to Lithuania to Canada to Colorado's own Team Loveland and of course, Team Breckenridge. Also representing the United States was Team Alaska, Team Minnesota and Team Wisconsin. This year's event was another great success as crowds gathered Sunday afternoon and awaited in suspense to hear the top three winners.

This year's Gold Medal was proudly awarded to Lithuania for its unique, inspiring piece titled, "Milite Est Vita," depicting the symbol of "Victory." Team Lithuania also received the Kids' Choice Award for this same stunning image.

The winner of this year's Silver Medal was Team Canada for "Memories From My Youth."

Team Mexico took home the Bronze Medal for its display, "The Altar of Quetzolcouti."   

Another award given out each year, which also serves as a fundraiser for the annual event, is the People's Choice Award. Once again for a second year in a row, Team Alaska took home this award, this time for its whimsical piece, "The Last Iceberg."

Other pieces worth mentioning include the following:

"Dance of the Fohn Wind Spirits" by Team USA/Wisconsin

"String Theroy" by our very own Team USA/Breckenridge

"Winter Blues" by Team USA/Loveland.

 A BIG Thank you once again to the Town of Breckenridge and the people of Summit County for putting on another fantastic event. It's certainly all the volunteers within the community and the sponsorships from the local businesses that make this event such a great success. Pictures to follow.

Blog By Christy D. Darling

Close to the new gondola in Keystone is The Springs at River Run.  These units are equipped with underground parking, ski and bike storage and great rental rates.  I chose to highlight one particular unit as it has one of the largest balconies in all of Keystone, southern exposure and a larger than average footprint.  One of the joys of the Springs is the common ammeneities.  The outdoor hot tub and pool area is blissful and has BBQ grills and perpetual fire pits to keep you fed and warm.  The exercise room is adequate and the theater room is plush.  They currently have a children's center that is in the process of being re-vamped to have a two story chalet playhouse complete with a TV screen for Disney movies.  This unit is a 2 bedroom on the ground floor and comes fully furnished and with three baths.  It sleeps ten and has good rental numbers.

You’ve got to wonder. The economy hit the skids hard in 2008. Markets in most parts of the country are down significantly. And Summit County is no exception. Our total volume of real estate transactions was down 42% in 2009 vs 2008. And it would have been much worse had not a couple of large projects that mostly went under contract in 2008 completed construction and closed in 2009. Hard numbers to swallow. Yet, savvy investors, with both the money and the foresight, have always come out of market depressions stronger and more financially capable of meeting the future. 

Typically, they know that, if you can catch the market at or close to its bottom, and acquire property at those low values, the market then offers a lengthy upward trend. Most statistics, and pundits, are now arguing for the uptrend. December, for example, was the one month of the year where sales exceeded those in 2008. Most of our active Realtors are reporting increased activity, from leads earned on the websites, to visitors actually looking at property with a serious intent to purchase. And they are writing more contracts. In December, we also had our largest single residential sale in history – over $8 million, or about $2.5 million over the previous high sale. So, indications are certainly looking up. 

Commercial sales typically follow residential. Developers and investors have hunkered down, and that is reflected in reduced building permits, and very few new developments coming on line. Nevertheless, those who are building report that they are getting construction bids, and securing construction contracts, that reflect a 30-to-40% reduction in cost from the same time a year ago. Material costs have also come down comparatively. Finally, our community development departments are not overburdened, allowing them the ability to more quickly review plans. And they have exhibited a willingness to consider and approve more easily. 

So, if you can catch the lower end of the market, get designs approved quickly, and secure much lower construction costs, it makes perfect sense to invest in the market now. And your project should be finished about the time that the market is ready for it.  

Oh, I should also mention that development properties, because of the lagging market, have also come down in price. Take, for instance, a prime property on Main Street in Frisco. These two lots, purchased together, have been reduced from $4 million to $2.750 million. The Summit Daily News currently occupies the building on these 1.3 acres. And while, of course, the two lots are available with the building, I’d anticipate that the only use a developer might have for the building is to lease it out during the interim needed to get approval of development plans from the Town of Frisco. The News will eventually re-locate, but a prospective purchaser might talk to the publisher about doing a lease-back during that period.

The acreage would support a number of commercial models, but it is known that the Town of Frisco is encouraging more beds for the community, and a small hotel would be an ideal use. Of course, since the property is within two blocks of the center of Town, and most fairs, festivals and street-level activities (which tend to attract 10,000 or more visitors), start at the intersection of this property with Main Street, retail development that attracts pedestrian traffic could also be considered. That could be combined with upper level residential condos or apartments for a mixed-use development. The Town was an early adopter of green building standards, and we can recommend architects versed in green, sustainable design, as well as local builders known for quality and on-time delivery.