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Colorado - Tue. 10/13/26 |
A Free Business Publication from Alpine Bank
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HUMAN-RIGHTS LAWYER & JUDGE NAVI PILLAY AWARDED NOBEL PEACE PRIZE
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On Friday, the Norwegian Nobel Committee awarded the Nobel Peace Prize to Navi Pillay, a South African lawyer and judge. After being heavily involved in the antiapartheid movement, defending Nelson Mandela and his allies in the African National Congress, Pillay served as a judge on South Africa’s High Court, the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda and the International Criminal Court, she later served as the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights. Pillay also recently chaired the United Nations Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory and currently sits ad hoc on the International Court of Justice in Myanmar’s genocide trial. Announcing the winner Friday, Norwegian Nobel Committee chair Jørgen Watne Frydnes described her as “a person who with exceptional courage and integrity has led the way towards a more comprehensive global legal order.”
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AMERICANS WIN NOBEL PRIZE FOR WORK ON ECONOMIC STABILITY
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Two U.S. economists, Robert E. Hall and Michael Woodford, have been awarded the Nobel Prize for Economic Sciences for their work on the role of household and business expectations in providing the foundations for economic stability. Hall is a professor of economics at Stanford University, while Woodford holds the same position at Columbia University. The 12 million Swedish kronor prize, roughly $1.3 million, will be shared equally. Policies first proposed by John Maynard Keynes in the 1930s to stabilize the economy when it is either running too cold or too hot were effective until the 1970s, when they proved unable to respond to a series of energy shocks. The Nobel organization said the work of Hall and Woodford helped to provide a framework for understanding why those policies failed and emphasized the importance for governments and central banks of communicating clearly with households and businesses about their plans and their reasons for intervening.
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LOCKHEED MARTIN SPACE EXPANDING, ADDING 1,250 NEW JOBS
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Lockheed Martin Space, the huge aerospace and defense company, and the seventh-largest employer in the metro Denver area, revealed Thursday at the Metro Denver Economic Development Corp.’s site selectors’ conference that it will expand operations at its existing facilities in Douglas and Jefferson counties. Lockheed Martin Space will be creating 1,250 new jobs after receiving $26.5 million in tax incentives from the Colorado Economic Development Commission in April. According to company officials, the jobs will be spread across different programs: national security space, civil space, and business. Last year, Lockheed Martin had 8,300 employees in the Denver area and more than 14,000 statewide.
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BARTH HOTEL IN DOWNTOWN DENVER TO BE CONVERTED TO SENIOR APARTMENTS
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Eaton Senior Communities purchased the historic Barth Hotel at 1514 17th Street in downtown Denver, which was built in 1882, for $2.5 million and plans a $22 million renovation to transform it from a 62-room boarding house into 50 affordable studio apartments. The renovation will maintain the historic elements of the lobby and install a kitchen, a laundry room and a lounge on the first floor. The apartments will be rented to seniors earning 31 percent to 50 percent of the area median income. Eaton has already added new plants to the planters in front of the property, and discovered terrazzo floors under the carpets, and they will add historic information into the windows for passersby. In January, the Denver Downtown Development Authority voted to loan the project's developers up to $6 million with a 2 percent interest rate to be paid back, depending on the project’s cash flow, within 40 years.
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ASPEN ONE BEGINS WORK ON WORLD'S FIRST BATTERY-BACKED CHAIRLIFT
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Aspen One announced their plans to make history with the introduction of the world’s first battery-backed chairlift on Snowmass Mountain. The first phase of the installation happened on Wednesday. “There are over 4,000 ski lifts in the world,” said Chris Miller, senior vice president of sustainability at Aspen One. “We are doing something for the first time here at Snowmass.” Following a successful season with the new Elk Camp high-speed six-pack lift at Snowmass, Aspen One is now looking to replace the 1,250-kilowatt diesel generator with a 900-kilowatt battery backup, avoiding approximately 144 tons of carbon dioxide emissions each year going forward.
Every summer, fuel for lifts is pumped out of diesel tanks at the top of Snowmass, with trucks routinely making trips up and down the mountainside for fuel replacement, according to Miller. “It’s bad from an environmental perspective, and you just don’t want to be moving that stuff up and down the mountains,” he added. The new battery backup will be quieter and cleaner than the current generator as well as being charged with nearly 100 percent clean energy from Holy Cross Energy. The project team expects to reach full completion early next month.
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SHUTTLES BETWEEN ASPEN & EAGLE AIRPORTS COULD START THIS WINTER
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While Aspen has never been the easiest place to get to, the upcoming Aspen/Pitkin County Airport closure, from April to November 2027, is about to make it even harder. The recently formed Community Continuity Planning Group, made up of representatives from Pitkin and Eagle counties as well as community stakeholders — divided between two subcommittees: a transportation committee, spearheaded by the Roaring Fork Transportation Authority and Aspen One, and a marketing committee, led by the Aspen Chamber Resorts Association, are working on securing transportation between the upper valley and the Eagle County Regional Airport, which is expected to see a surge in traffic during the closure. Both American Airlines and United Airlines, two of Aspen Airport’s three major flight partners, announced expanded flight schedules to Eagle back in August.
The Eagle Airport will serve 112 weekly flights next summer, a nearly 130 percent increase from the 46 weekly flights this summer. Delta, Aspen Airport’s third major partner, has yet to indicate additional services in and out of Eagle. The group is hoping to keep the shuttle price affordable — around $50 —in an attempt to discourage a surge of rental cars coming in and out of the valley. The subsidy is currently projected at $600,000, with half coming from the Elected Official Transportation Committee and the other half coming from other partners. Shuttle service to Eagle County Regional Airport could start as early as this ski season.
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VAIL HOME WITH PRIVATE OBSERVATORY HITS THE MARKET FOR $21.5M
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A Vail home with its own private observatory is on the market for $21.5 million. The commercial-grade observatory, similar to those found on some university campuses, is a defining feature of the three-story, six-bedroom, nine-bathroom home, according to listing agent Shawn Byrne of Ron Byrne & Associates. The home’s design was built around the property’s views and, in part, the cylindrical observatory, which sits above an elevator tower. Architect Ned Gwathmey designed the home, and it was built by Colorado-based Shaeffer Hyde Construction. Built in 2010, the 9,000-square-foot home at 1979 Sunburst Dr. sits on 0.6 acres along the Vail Golf Course, with views of the Gore Range. The home includes an elevator, fireplace, patio, balcony, vaulted ceilings, a landscaped tiered garden, fire pit and pond. Astronomy is also reflected in the home’s interior design, Byrne said, with the theme appearing in subtle details and artwork throughout the home.
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NOTTINGHAM RANCH EASEMENT CLOSES, CONSERVING 4.4% OF PRIVATE LAND IN EAGLE COUNTY
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The Colorado Cattlemen’s Agricultural Land Trust late Friday closed on a landmark conservation easement protecting 18,484 acres of the Nottingham Ranch straddling Eagle and Routt counties near Burns from development. Eagle County contributed up to $10 million from its Open Space Fund following a formal recommendation from the Eagle County Open Space Advisory Committee in February. It’s the largest single-acreage conservation in Eagle County Open Space program history, doubling the program’s total conservation impact since its inception.
The 9,500 acres of the Nottingham Ranch that’s now in a lasting conservation easement comes with 175 cubic feet per second of senior water rights dating back to the late 1800s and represents 4.4 percent of the overall 215,680 acres of private land in Eagle County. The Cattlemen’s Trust did not disclose the full purchase price of the easement, although Eagle County in February valued it between $27 million and $30 million and estimated a cost-per-conserved-acre of approximately $1,054.80. The exact acreage of the ranch in Eagle County is 9,480.49.
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WALL STREET JOURNAL LOOKS AT CRESTED BUTTE REAL ESTATE MARKET
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The Wall Street Journal’s Real Estate section last week had a story about the luxury home market in Crested Butte, "Crested Butte’s Luxury Home Market Is Defying a Ski-Town Slowdown." As background, the article notes that Crested Butte is small and remote, "The historic coal-mining town, spanning less than a square mile, has no stoplights or chain restaurants." Noting it is only 20 miles from Aspen but more than 100 miles by car. The real estate market received boosts when Vail Resorts took over operation of the ski mountain in 2018 and the pandemic actually brought more people to town, driving up home prices. One real estate analyst notes that the median sale price so far this year is about $1.23 million, up about 23 percent from the same period last year and double the median from the same period in 2019.
Similarly, while many ski resort towns in the West have slowed this year, the luxury market in Crested Butte has continued to appreciate. Real-estate agent Channing Boucher of LIV Sotheby’s International Realty cites the scarcity of available land as driving prices higher, much of the land outside town is preserved, restricting growth, while the town itself, which was incorporated in 1880, has strict demolition and building restrictions due to its historic nature. Local residents are upset with the increasing prices and influx of new wealthy homeowners, and the town is considering a new tax on non-primary residences, according to the town website.
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SUPPORT OUTDOOR STEWARDSHIP: SHARE VOC’s 2027 PROJECT & TRAINING APPLICATIONS
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Volunteers for Outdoor Colorado (VOC) is now accepting project and training applications for the 2027 season—and your network may be able to help spread the word. VOC partners with a wide range of organizations across the state to engage thousands of volunteers in hands-on stewardship projects, from trail building and habitat restoration to wildfire mitigation, urban greening, community gardening, and more. Please share this opportunity with nonprofits, community groups, or land managers that could benefit from VOC’s support in engaging volunteers for on-the-ground work. VOC is also accepting applications for trainings to help increase the stewardship capacity of local volunteers or staff. These trainings cover skills such as trail design, crew leadership, ecological restoration, and more—and may be useful to individuals or groups in your broader community. Applications are accepted on a rolling basis, with submissions encouraged by Oct. 15, 2026.
- Learn more about partnering with VOC on a project at voc.org/partner-resources.
- Request a stewardship training at ositraining.org/training.
- For questions about partnering with VOC, contact Kelly Clouse at kclouse@voc.org or Sam Hutchins at sam@voc.org for training inquiries.
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THE 2027 INDUCTEES TO THE COLORADO SPORTS HALL OF FAME
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The Colorado Sports Hall of Fame has announced the six-member class of 2027. The six new HOF members will be inducted April 15, 2027, at a banquet held at the Hilton Denver City Center. The six new members:
- Carlos Gonzalez: known as “CarGo” Gonzalez was one of the most exciting players in Colorado Rockies history, playing in 1,247 games over his 10-year Rockies history
- Tom Nalen: Nalen’s 188 starts for the Denver Broncos is second only to John Elway’s 231, he was a five-time Pro Bowler and three-time All Pro
- Jenny Barringer Simpson: four-time NCAA champion while running for the University of Colorado, set NCAA records across multiple disciplines and distances, a three-time Olympian and Olympic Bronze Medal winner
- The late Dave Hill: Hill won a record four Colorado Opens and won 13 PGA events from 1961-76, Hill passed away in 2011
- Jim Saccomano: the native Denverite, who graduated from Metro State University, Saccomano was director of Public Relations for the Denver Broncos from 1988 to 2013, he was the inaugural winner of the National Football League’s Hall of Fame Award for Excellence in 2022
- Steve Bosley: graduated from the Leeds School of Business at CU, was president of the Bank of Boulder for 23 years, and in 1979, Bosley and Frank Shorter founded the Bolder Boulder. He has been inducted into the Running USA Hall of Fame, Colorado Running Hall of Fame, and the Boulder Sports Hall of Fame and was voted into the Colorado Sports HOF as an old-timer selection
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MARKET UPDATE - 10/09/2026 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 10/08/2026)
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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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