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Tom Ross

Stories by Tom

On the Market: Steamboat Springs land sales slow to a trickle

Just 14 land sales have been closed in Steamboat Springs and the South Valley in the past 12 months, said Doug Labor, of Buyers Resource Real Estate.

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Speaker: Buyers uninterested in low-balling

Lori Thompson says properties not selling unless priced close to target

Broker/owner Lori Thom­pson told a gathering of nearly 200 people at the Colorado Group Realty Real Estate Roundup and Expo on Thursday night that sales of single-family homes, condominiums and townhomes closed this year have been for an amount within 10 percent of list price.

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Wildhorse gondola construction steadily progessing

4 suits for condo sales pending

The gondola towers rising from Wildhorse Meadows are tangible evidence of the steady progress being made at Wildhorse despite the down economy. But closings on 30-plus condominiums at Trailhead Lodge can be expected to continue at a gradual pace for months to come.

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Yampa River Core Trail work starts

Addition to begin behind Walton Pond and head upstream

Excavating crews took advantage of the unseasonably mild weather this week to launch construction of a $374,000 extension of the Yampa River Core Trail on the city’s south side.

Council approves Iron Horse lease

Some long-term rentals are expected to remain available

Two dozen or more Steamboat households face an uncertain winter after the City Council voted unanimously Tuesday night to approve a lease agreement with Boulder hotel operator New West Inns for the city-owned Iron Horse Inn.

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Tom Ross: Who knew Winter Carnival was sexy in 1928?

Who but the dynamic duo of Harriet Freiberger and Ken Proper could come up with a sexy cover photo for a serious history book about Steamboat Springs?

Council considers final approval of medical marijuana ordinance

If Steamboat Springs City Council approves a new medical marijuana ordinance tonight, it effectively will formalize collection of the city's 4.5 percent tax on marijuana sales.

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Historic home hidden in willows

Former sheep ranch comprises 31 platted city lots

Chances are, locals have driven by the property of longtime Steamboat residents Mike Kortas and his wife, Nina Darlington, many times without appreciating what they were looking at. The entire 13 acres is available for $1.8 million or broken into its component parts.

Realtors hope trends signal market stabilization

Taken as a snapshot, real estate sales consummated Wednesday offer a glimpse of a market in transition. In a market where year-to-date dollar volume as of the end of the third quarter is down 62 percent, Wednesday's closings suggest there are buyers looking in a variety of price points and at widely ranging properties.

On the Market: Limberg honored for service as chairwoman

Jill Limberg, managing broker/owner at Colorado Group Realty, was recognized with a Distinguished Service Award during the recent state convention of the Colorado Association of Realtors at the Broadmoor Hotel in Colorado Springs.

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Speaker: Challenge is to make beginners lifelong skiers

Michael Berry came to the Steamboat Springs Chamber Resort Association's 102nd annual meeting to lay out the challenges facing the ski industry in the decade ahead. And something as seemingly innocuous as a chairlift ride could make a difference, Berry said.

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Gondola haul rope replaced for 2nd time in 2 years

Steamboat Ski Area executive Doug Allen was hoping for an end to the winds that battered the base of Mount Werner on Wednesday so crews could get back to the chore of making the Steamboat gondola ready for opening day Nov. 25. For the second time in two years, contractors are hustling to install a new 60-ton gondola haul rope at the ski area.

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Partners seek OK for 14 starter townhomes

Curt Weiss and the Weiss Family Partnership have entered the city planning process with a plan to demolish three older wooden frame buildings and replace them with 14 new townhomes. The four townhome buildings would be built on an acre of land sandwiched between two ponds and just steps from the Yampa River on the city's south side.

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Fractionals, timeshares make sense in down economy

Many in recessionary market turn to smaller purchases to tune of $11.28M through August

In a recessionary economy where cash is said to be king, purchases of fractional and timeshare vacation homes are gaining traction. However, the two should not be confused with each other.

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El Niño a winter wild card

Pacific phenomenon a prime factor in season's climate forecast

The wild card in Steamboat Springs' long-range winter climate outlook is El Niño. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration issued a winter forecast that rates the chances of average, below average and above average precipitation in the region as a toss-up.

Commissioners promise to hold gravel pit to strict conditions

On Tuesday night, County Commissioner Nancy Stahoviak told developer Ed MacArthur of Steamboat Sand and Gravel that he would be asked to live up to most of the same stringent requirements placed on an applicant four years ago before winning a permit to mine gravel along the Yampa River south of Steamboat Springs.

Snow piling up north of Steamboat Springs

The snow depth in the highest elevations of the Routt National Forest north of Steamboat Springs grew substantially during the weekend.

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Tom Ross: The groomsmen wore coyote skin caps

Weddings of the rich and brilliant in the Sunday Times

Feeling a little full of yourself? Would it do you good to be knocked down a peg? I have the fix you seek. Never have I been so fascinated in the midst of suffering from a sudden onset of inferiority complex as when I settled in with the New York Times Wedding/Celebrations section during the weekend.

360 partner faces unrelated foreclosures

Virginia-based Hank Wilton is reorganizing his assets, local Realtor says

Developer Hank Wilton, the majority partner in the proposed 360 Village project seeking annexation into Steamboat Springs city limits, is the subject of three foreclosure filings in the Routt County Public Trustee's Office.

Pending sales hold the line above century mark

Trying to discern trends in the Routt County real estate market this autumn is like playing a popular pub game. It could be compared to throwing darts at a board without knowing for certain where the bull's-eye is, one Steamboat Realtor said.

On the Market: Johnson joins Prudential as a broker associate

Sharon Johnson has joined Prudential Steamboat Realty as a full-time broker associate in the Hayden office.

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Local women persevere in search for homes of their own

Michelle House and Rene Mattone have taken divergent paths during the past 13 months to realize their dreams of affordable housing in Steamboat Springs.

Trees put skiing on hold at Bruce's Trail

Forest Service removing dead lodgepole pines

The snow visible on Storm Peak combined with an overnight forecast that included a chance of snow showers could encourage Nordic skiers to scrape the summer wax off their skis this morning. However, anyone hoping to make the annual pilgrimage to Bruce's Trail will be disappointed.

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Tom Ross: Book reveals Steamboat Springs you never knew

Northwest Colorado is blessed with a wealth of serious books about local history. And there is a brand-new volume that will quickly earn a place in your personal library. It will help you see Steamboat Springs the way the pioneers did. Literally.

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Steamboat-based romance author gets her groove back

Veronica Blake's 'Black Horse' is out

Veronica "Ronee" Blake has resurrected a dream she thought she had lost forever. Blake's new historical romance novel, "Black Horse," has just been released by Dorchester Publishing Co. And Blake, the office manager for the Routt County Regional Planning Department, is off to Las Vegas next week for a pair of book signing events at Borders book stores.

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Tom Ross: Who said anything about a grizz?

Alaskan hunter sights a 7-foot-tall bear in Zirkel Wilderness

Whether it was an unusually large black bear that approached the camp in the Mount Zirkel Wilderness or something more fearsome, it was enough to put the fear into a hunter from Alaska. You and I would be frightened, too, if we encountered a bear as tall as Shaquille O'Neal.

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Silver Spur neighborhood sees 5 sales of $600K or more

Perhaps more than any neighborhood in Steamboat Springs, Silver Spur represents a self-contained single-family market where prospective buyers can look at six to eight homes in their price range and make realistic comparisons.

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Unit at Storm Meadows sells for more than appraised tax value

Real estate professionals don't put a great deal of stock in the county appraiser's valuation. That's because state law mandates that the figure is about two years old by the time owners get their valuation notices.

On the Market: Hayden's Prudential office gets new broker

Sharon Johnson has joined Prudential Steamboat Realty as a full-time broker associate in the Hayden office.

City plans to extend Core Trail

3,700-foot project slated for Steamboat's south side

City Open Space Supervisor Craig Robinson is looking for an aggressive contractor to build the newest extension of the Yampa River Core Trail, while hoping for the benign November construction weather Steamboat Springs saw in 2007 and 2008.

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Tom Ross: Last call for Antares

Owners walking away from 8th Street restaurant

You're not likely to see a fine dining restaurant like Antares in Steamboat ever again. How often do you find a rustic former farm implement repair shop with native stone masonry and a commercial kitchen for lease? In a ski town!

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Building trades getting through recession on remodels, additions

Highly skilled workers in Steamboat's building trades are intently focusing on remodels and additions to existing homes, as the slump in single-family building drags on toward 2010.

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11 of 54 Dry Creek lots have sold in Hayden

Developers plan Oct. 18 auction to move homesites

Ask Realtors in Steamboat Springs, and they are apt to tell you the relative few buyers in the market right now feel no sense of urgency.

On the Market: Edgemont progresses on pool, other projects

The Edgemont condominium project is on track for closings in January, and developers have decided to advance the timetable on construction of a "free-form," or non-rectangular, pool and hot tub facility. Allison Finn, spokeswoman for The Atira Group, said this week the pool was originally scheduled for Phase 2 of the project, but because the timing of Phase 2 is uncertain, the developers decided to make it available for use by the project's first homeowners.

Great Outdoors Colorado returns

Board to convene Wednesday at Howelsen

The board of directors of Great Outdoors Colorado would like to know how the average Joe and Jill in Northwest Colorado would like to see their share of lottery proceeds spent during the next five years.

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Tom Ross: Ugandan orphanage beckons again

22-year-old Steamboat woman headed back to Africa to help

Steamboat native Jessica Schlapkohl, 22, has heard the call of Africa since she was a little girl watching TV messages that detailed the plight of hungry children in the vast continent so far from the Yampa Valley. The images never let go of her heart.

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14K-square-foot duplex to offer 'elevated' views

Ski Trail Lane building site is steeper than Valley View ski trail

Residential elevators aren't unheard of in Steamboat Springs, but there's nothing in the city to match the twin elevator shafts built into a four-story duplex under construction this fall on Ski Trail Lane.

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Tom Ross: Pedaling Posse Parade kicks off OktoberWest

People piled into the parking lot at Howelsen Hill on Friday afternoon for the kickoff to Steamboat's OktoberWest, the first Pedaling Posse Parade cruiser bike ride.

Planning Commission supports 700

Commissioners vote, 4-2, send annexation on to Sept. 29 date with City Council

Planning Commissioner Karen Dixon hailed the Steamboat 700 proposal Thursday night as a "framework for concentrated, dense, smart growth" as she made the successful motion clearing a path for the creation of more than 2,000 new homes just outside the city's western boundary.

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Yampa River Cleanup is Friday

Residents to help rid low-flowing river of tubing detritus

The semi-annual scavenger hunt known as Yampa River Cleanup Day, from 10 a.m. 2 p.m. Friday, promises to round up the last layer of litter left behind by people recreating on and along the Yampa River during the summer.

Summer numbers down at YVRA

More empty seats, lower prices dampen airport revenues

The number of departures at Yampa Valley Regional Airport was down by a total of 2,500 passengers in June, July and August, compared with 2008.

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Tom Ross: Snow is just around the corner

There's still a long list of September sights, sounds to savor

September is hands-down my favorite month of the year in Steamboat Springs - give me cold, clear nights and cloudless days that flirt with 70 degrees all month long.

Nomination deadline for Leckenby, Larson awards is Sept. 23

The history of Routt County is embodied in its personalities - those who are living and those who have died. The annual occasion when they are added to the roster of people who have enriched life in the Yampa Valley is near.

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Developer takes light approach to Whitewater Lane home

Luxury home developer Shayne Macherowski has made a study of the natural light that sculpts the valley where Fish Creek tumbles out of a geologic fault line leading down from the Continental Divide.

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Foundation work begins on Millennium Bank

New building at Wildhorse Marketplace due to be completed in June 2010

Concrete forms are being installed in the foundation, and the new $2.5 million home of Millennium Bank is projected to open in Wildhorse Marketplace early next summer.

High school sends 3 home with swine flu

Steamboat Springs School District Superintendent Shalee Cunningham alerted parents Friday to three cases of swine flu at Steamboat Springs High School.

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CMC hopes to become international hub for geoexchange

Colorado Mountain College officials hope a new 40,000-square-foot building on the Alpine Campus in Steamboat Springs would establish the school as an international learning center for a form of renewable energy known as geoexchange.

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Surfer girl embraces the cowgirl lifestyle

Marabou Ranch's 1st house creates a shore break with a view of Sleeping Giant

Wrenn and Mary Blalock are children of the South, but Wrenn Blalock has had a longstanding cowboy fantasy, and Mary Blalock is right behind him. Now, the couple from Tybee Island, Ga., plans to spend six months of every year at their new home at Marabou Ranch, just west of Steamboat Springs.

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Solar gain is name of the game in Earthship home

Rare structure greens up Steamboat listings

Kathleen Titus reluctantly has resigned herself to giving up her Earthship in North Routt, which means Realtor Darrin Fryer has a new listing that stands out among the 3,000-plus offerings on the multiple listing service.

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Tom Ross: Plane used to train Russian pilots

Romanian-built Yak-52 sure to turn heads at Air Fest

If you head up to the Wild West Air Fest this weekend, keep a lookout for a Yak on the apron at Steamboat Springs Airport. It's not the hairy beast you're picturing in your mind's eye.

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