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Colorado - Wed. 11/20/24 |
A Free Business Publication from Alpine Bank
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DENVER MAKES TRAVEL MAG'S LIST OF BEST PLACES TO GO
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Condé Nast Traveler magazine named Denver to its list of Best Places to Go in North America and the Caribbean in 2025, joining Alaska, Cuba, Boise, Idaho and Greenland. The article covers amenities for the first-timer and/or out-of-towner, such as the urban hotels and bars that set the tone for vacationers and conventioneers. It also lists high-profile restaurants that have become national media darlings and global symbols for the Denver food scene, including James Beard and Michelin-checked names such as the new Xiquita from chef Erasmo Casiano, Alama Fonda Fina, Sắp Sửa, and Odell’s Bagel.
On the drinks side, Laws Whiskey House “just debuted its long-awaited Whiskey Church, a state-of-the-art tasting room with big, vaulted windows, pews, and spectacular views of the Rockies,” wrote Condé Nast’s Katie Kelly Bell. “New urban hotels, big and small, are joining in on the fun. Book a stay at the long-awaited Studio Gang–designed Populus, the first carbon-positive hotel in the U.S. and an arresting addition to the city’s skyline, or at the recently opened Urban Cowboy in a historic Queen Anne–style Gilded Era mansion.”
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EMPIRE BUILDER ARTHUR FROMMER, 95, DIES
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Arthur Frommer, who virtually invented the low-budget travel industry with his seminal guidebook, “Europe on 5 Dollars a Day: A Guide to Inexpensive Travel,” which introduced millions to an experience once considered the exclusive domain of the wealthy, died on Monday at his home on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. He was 95. His earnest prose, alternately lyrical and artless but always compulsively informative, conveyed a near-missionary zeal for travel and elevated “Frommer’s” from the how-to genre to the kind of book that could change a person’s worldview. To Mr. Frommer, travel wasn’t just about sightseeing in foreign places; it was about seeing those places on their own terms, removing the membrane that separated them from us. It was about enlightenment. Frommer, a lifelong advocate of budget travel, once said, “The moment you put yourself in a first-class hotel, you become walled off from life, in a world devoted to creature comforts.”
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DREAM UNLIMITED CORP. SELLS A-BASIN TO ALTERRA
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Alterra Mountain Co. officially owns Arapahoe Basin Ski Area. Alterra purchased A-Basin from Dream Unlimited Corp., a Canadian real estate company based in Toronto, which had owned the ski area since 1997. Dream Unlimited Corp. valued the sale at approximately $105 million. With the purchase of A-Basin, the Denver-based Alterra Mountain Co. now owns a heli-skiing operation, the popular Ikon Pass and 19 year-round resorts, including Steamboat Ski Resort and Winter Park Resort. There will reportedly be no changes to A-Basin’s local season passes or Ikon Pass access for the 2024-25 winter season. A-Basin’s Chief Operating Officer Alan Henceroth has been with the ski area for 36 years and will continue to lead the resort, overseeing daily operations with his longtime team. Founded in 1946, A-Basin was the first ski area built in Summit County and is one of the longest running commercial ski operations in Colorado.
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BANK ACCOUNT OWNERSHIP IN COLORADO HITS RECORD HIGH
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New figures from the Federal Insurance Deposit Corp. show that the number of unbanked households, people who don't have a checking or savings account with a bank or credit union, accounted for just 1.1 percent of all Colorado households in 2023. That figure is down substantially for Colorado, which logged a 6 percent unbanked rate in 2021. It marks the lowest local rate of unbanked households in Colorado since the FDIC began conducting its biennial household survey in 2009. Nationally, the FDIC in 2021 logged a record low of unbanked households at 4.5 percent, which was driven by an onslaught of new customers opening bank accounts with pandemic-era stimulus money. In 2023, the national unbanked rate ticked down slightly to 4.2 percent.
While more Coloradans have a bank account to their name, many may not use that account regularly. In 2023, 13.2 percent of Colorado households with a bank account still used alternative financial sources, such as payday loans or international money transfers through nonbank institutions, to meet their financial needs over the last year. That metric, referred to by the FDIC as underbanked, is up from 9 percent in 2021.
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DENVER OKS ACCESSORY DWELLING UNITS IN ALL RESIDENTIAL ZONES
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Accessory dwelling units are now allowed in all residential areas of Denver after the City Council unanimously approved changes to the city zoning code. The move aims to streamline and spur city efforts to expand housing availability and choice. The council vote, which also allows ADUs in Former Chapter 59 zone districts, means about one-third of Denver is open to carriage houses and other secondary living spaces. Senior City Planner Justin Montgomery said, “Our amendment is proposing to make that easier for homeowners,” noting property owners still need to get a building permit and meet current design standards. While ADUs will be more easily allowed across the city, it’s still costly for people to build them. ADUs can cost property owners upward of $280,000. The changes also help Denver come into compliance with state law that was adopted last May. House Bill 1152 requires cities to allow ADUs in areas where single-unit homes are located.
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COLORADO'S UNEMPLOYMENT RATE TICKS UP TO 4.1%
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Colorado's unemployment rate hit 4.1 percent in October, up from 4 percent the month before, matching the national average after being below the U.S. rate all year, according to the Colorado Dept. of Labor and Employment's report. The number of unemployed grew by nearly 4,000 over the month to a total of 134,000. The national unemployment rate of 4.1 percent was unchanged from September. Colorado’s labor force participation stayed steady at 67.9 percent, growing by 4,300 people to reach 3.25 million in October. It’s higher than the national average, which dipped by one-tenth of a percentage point to 62.6 percent. The state added 9,000 jobs last month, with the private sector growing by 7,800 jobs and the government sector growing by 1,200 jobs. The most job gains in October were in the professional and business services industry; leisure and hospitality; and trade, transportation and utilities. No private sector saw significant job losses last month.
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MAJOR DENVER EMPLOYER TO MOVE HQ TO 16TH STREET MALL
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Tech company Ibotta, the digital cash-back rewards company, has signed a multiyear lease for office space with an entrance on the 16th Street Mall. The move was motivated by plans for growth that will rely on having a downtown office that is accessible from all parts of the Front Range. Ibotta is slated to move into 85,000 square feet of office space in the 16 Market Square building, 1400 16th St., next September. The redesigned space should accommodate more than 500 employees who commute into downtown to work three days per week. About 830 employees work for Ibotta nationwide. First preference will be given to candidates living in the Denver area. Founded in 2012, Ibotta went public this spring and has since reported notable growth in its quarterly earnings reports. The company works with more than 2,400 consumer package goods brands such as Nestlé, LEGO and PepsiCo to offer cash-back rewards to U.S. consumers.
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UPS TO LAY OFF MORE THAN 400 WORKERS AT COLORADO FACILITY
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More than 400 UPS employees could lose their jobs early next year when the company temporarily closes half of its Commerce City facility as part of its plan to modernize its infrastructure, the company said on Monday. UPS employees assigned to the facility at 5190 Ivy Street will be laid off on Jan. 15, "unless otherwise required by the applicable collective bargaining agreement," according to a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) letter that UPS provided to the State of Colorado last week. There are 404 employees affected by the temporary closure, UPS said in the WARN letter. A UPS statement said that the company is working to place as many employees as possible in other positions. "This temporary closure won’t impact customer service, and we have plans in place to continue servicing the Denver community. We expect the enhanced facility to fully reopen in 2026," the UPS statement says.
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COLLEGIATE MTN. BIKING, ROAD BIKING NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP EVENTS COMING TO MESA COUNTY
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The collegiate road cycling national championship event will be returning to Grand Junction in 2027 and 2028, and Powderhorn Mountain Resort will host the collegiate mountain biking national championships for the first time in 2025 and 2026. Grand Junction Sports Commission Executive Director Ben Snyder announced the national events at a press conference Tuesday evening and touted the economic impact of sports tourism for the Grand Valley. “In 2024, we’re on track to produce over $60 million of local tourism dollars through sports tourism,” Snyder said.
- The Collegiate Mountain Bike National Championships will be held Oct. 9-12 in 2025 and Oct. 8-11 in 2026 at Powderhorn.
- The Collegiate Road National Championships will be held May 6-9 in 2027 and May 5-7 in 2028.
- Three wakeboarding national championship events will be held in 2025 at Highline Lake State Park and Imondi Wake Zone — Wake Park National Championships, Wakesurf Championships and Wakeboard National Championships. All three events will take place from July 30 to Aug. 3.
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ASPEN RETAILERS: MORE THAN $1 BILLION SOLD IN 2024
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Year-to-date sales of more than $1 billion through September marked the first time Aspen’s retail economy topped the 10-figure milestone, based on a monthly tax report the city issued last week and financial data from previous years. For those keeping score down to the dollar, $1,008,435,564 was the collective amount generated by the Aspen business sectors that collected sales taxes — from mom-and-pop boutiques to five-star hotels— from January through September. The record amount for year-to-date September was 7 percent higher than the $942,464,351 in taxable sales recorded through the first nine months of 2023. This year’s sales through September translated to $24.07 million in tax revenue for the city and a 7 percent bump over $22.47 million in city collections through the same period last year. September alone posted $105.93 million in overall sales for retailers bettering $97.12 million in sales in September 2023 by 9 percent.
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DURANGO SCHOOL DISTRICT UNVEILS SOLAR PANELS AT SIX SCHOOLS
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On Monday, Durango School District 9-R officials gathered at Escalante Middle School to celebrate the installation of rooftop and carport solar panels at six sites: Durango High School, Park Elementary, the Impact Career Innovation Center, Animas Valley Elementary, Escalante Middle School and Miller Middle School. The district inked a 20-year agreement with energy services company Veregy, LLC, securing a $7.2 million loan to fund the project. Chief Operations Officer Chris Coleman said the initiative is budget neutral, with savings from solar energy, enhanced insulation and districtwide LED lighting upgrades covering the costs.
The solar panels are expected to deliver savings of about $8 million over the next two decades. Generating about 1.03 megawatts of power, the panels will supply enough energy to meet the needs of about 1,000 homes. The solar panels and related upgrades are anticipated to offset 58 percent. The district is also leveraging close to $2.5 million in lighting rebates and federal solar incentives to help pay for the project. The district said the solar panels and lighting savings are expected to reduce the district’s carbon emissions by 1,836 metric tons annually, which is equivalent to taking 409 gasoline-powered cars off the road each year.
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COTTONWOOD PASS ROAD BETWEEN GYPSUM & THE ROARING FORK VALLEY WILL CLOSE NOV. 26
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Cottonwood Pass in Eagle County from Gypsum to the Roaring Fork Valley will close Tuesday, Nov. 26, for the remainder of the winter season from mile marker 2.5 near Gypsum to mile marker 12.5. Be advised there is no winter maintenance on Cottonwood Pass. The road will reopen in April 2025, or when conditions allow. An announcement will be made when Cottonwood Pass is set to reopen. For more information, contact the Eagle County Road & Bridge Dept. at 970-328-3540 or road@eaglecounty.us.
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SERVE COLORADO LAUNCHES NEW FARMING APPRENTICESHIP PROGRAM
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In celebration of National Apprenticeship Week, Serve Colorado has announced the launch of a new Registered Apprenticeship Program in regenerative farm management, aimed at fostering the next generation of agricultural professionals in Colorado. This program not only addresses the pressing need for sustainable farming practices but also provides a pathway for diverse communities to engage in the agricultural sector. The program aims to place its first two apprentices by Dec. 31, with training and work scheduled to begin in March 2025. The RAP will focus on two primary tracks: regenerative agriculture and hydroponic farming.
Each apprentice will receive a minimum of 2,000 hours of on-the-job training alongside 144 hours of related instruction. Local, knowledgeable farmers will provide hands-on training for apprentices. This immersive experience will also include opportunities to attend conferences, enhancing their networks and skill sets beyond farming. For more information on the Registered Apprenticeship Program in Farming, visit MountainRootsFoodProject.org/healthy-futures. For more information about Serve Colorado and apprenticeships, visit Servecolorado.colorado.gov/americorps-and-apprenticeship.
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BOULDER: OUT-OF-STATERS OUTSPEND LOCALS BY NEARLY DOUBLE
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Since 1995, Downtown Boulder Partnership, Visit Boulder and the City of Boulder have teamed up with RRC Associates to capture visitor and resident experiences through the Downtown Intercept Survey.
- In 2024, just over half of the Colorado respondents in the survey were from Boulder vs. 43 percent in 2018. The survey results are from July to September this year; 775 visitor intercept surveys were completed.
- Nearly half of those surveyed lived outside of Colorado, and these visitors reported spending almost double the amount per visit compared to local residents. Much of the out-of-state visitor traffic continues to come from states with large populations including California, Texas and Illinois.
- 60 percent of visitors are in town for leisure (vacation or visiting friends/family). 2024 saw a jump in college visits with one in 10 reporting they were here to visit CU Boulder. Most people rely on word of mouth for pre-trip planning or have been to Boulder before.
- This year saw a rise in people coming to shop but revealed a decrease in respondents who cited dining as their primary purpose for their visit downtown.
- The number of employees surveyed on Pearl Street dropped by half from 2018. The post-COVID shift to remote and hybrid work continues to impact pedestrian traffic as it is in urban districts nationwide.
- Half the survey respondents reported eating a meal while downtown. When asked what drove the choice of restaurants, the top response was cuisine type, followed by ambiance. Price was not a major factor in choosing a restaurant.
- More than two-thirds of visitors said their experience in Boulder was better than expected and more than 60 percent said they would be extremely likely to recommend Boulder to friends for a leisure destination.
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MARKET UPDATE - 11/19/2024 Close
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(Courtesy of Alpine Bank Wealth Management*)
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Canadian dollar (per U.S. dollar)
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Mexican peso (per U.S. dollar)
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30-year fixed mortgage rate (Freddie Mac 11/14/2024)
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*Not FDIC insured. May lose value. Not guaranteed by the bank.
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Alpine Bank is an independent, employee-owned organization with headquarters in Glenwood Springs and banking offices across Colorado's Western Slope, mountains and Front Range. Alpine Bank serves customers with retail, business, wealth management*, mortgage and electronic banking services. Learn more at alpinebank.com.
*Alpine Bank Wealth Management services are not FDIC insured, may lose value and are not guaranteed by the bank.
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