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Colorado - Tue. 05/20/25 |
A Free Business Publication from Alpine Bank
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COLORADO: PILOT PROGRAM WILL ISSUE LOW-INTEREST BONDS FOR HOUSING DEVELOPERS
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In a ceremony last Thursday in Summit County, Gov. Jared Polis signed Senate Bill 6 into law, which directs the Colorado’s Treasurer’s Office to issue up to $50 million in state low-interest bonds to developers of affordable housing. The bonds would have below market interest rates to help developers create new housing sold at or below 140 percent of the area median income. The low-interest program is designed specifically to build for-sale homes, and it is intended to provide for construction and mortgage assistance for some 200 homes. The funding for the program does not come from the state’s general fund but from reserves in the state treasury. Currently, according to data from the Colorado Association of Realtors, the median statewide price for a single-family home is $599,000 and $407,000 for a townhouse or condominium, but the median price in mountain and resort areas is in the multi-millions.
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CU AND DU LAW SCHOOLS SEE DOUBLE-DIGIT INCREASE IN APPLICATIONS
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Both the University of Colorado Law School in Boulder and the Sturm College of Law at the University of Denver are experiencing a large increase in applications this year, which is consistent with what is occurring at law schools across the country. The CU Law School has received 3,482 applications so far this year, a 20.5 percent increase over last year’s application cycle. The DU Sturm College has received 2,231 applications, up 18 percent over last year. Nationally, the numbers of law school applicants and applications have hit a record high over the past decade, according to the nonprofit Law School Admission Council, which reported individual applicants up more than 19.5 percent over last year and applications up nearly 23 percent.
Despite the increase this year, both law schools in the state have had higher peaks in applications, with CU Law School receiving 3,762 in 2021 and DU totaling about 2,500 in 2020. Admissions officials and law experts are not certain of the exact reasons for the increase this year, but they predict a mix of factors have motivated more students to consider a future in law, including economic uncertainty and high-profile legal issues climbing up through the courts.
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NEW LAW ALLOWS COMMERCIAL VENDORS TO INSTALL TIRE CHAINS
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Gov. Jared Polis Thursday signed Senate Bill 69 into law which creates a system for vendors to install and remove tire chains and other traction devices. The new law also requires car rental companies in the state to notify customers of state traction laws between Sept. 1 and May 31. The new law becomes effective in August. The Colorado Dept. of Transportation will oversee the program and can charge a fee for installation permits. The installation permits will designate specific areas for vendors and the permits will be valid only in those areas.
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FASTEST-GROWING CITY IN COLORADO? U.S. CENSUS SAYS ERIE
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The U.S. Census Bureau released its latest population estimates last Thursday, and in the listing of the fastest-growing cities with populations of more than 20,000, from July 1, 2023, to June 30, 2024, there were only two from Colorado in the Top 100, and one of those was Parker, which was No. 100. Ranking No. 15 on the fastest-growing list was Erie. Erie’s population was listed at 38,594, up 9.2 percent from 35,333 in the prior year. Although Erie was founded in 1874 as a coal-mining town, before Colorado was a state, it was not long ago there were still unpaved streets and in the 1990s, there were fewer than 1,500 residents. Many Erie residents who were around then remember people riding their horses into town on the dirt roads.
What made Erie a popular place to settle was its easy access to Boulder, as it is on the Boulder County line and its proximity to Interstate 25. While Erie was the fastest-growing Colorado community of 20,000 or more population, it was not tops among all cities and towns in the state. Among communities of all sizes, Elizabeth recorded the fastest growth in Colorado, at 12.2 percent, with 2,773 residents, up from 2,471.
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- Boulder Daily Camera, 05.14.25
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TWO U.S. CABLE GIANTS TO MERGE: CHARTER COMMUNICATIONS BUYS COX
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Charter Communications has agreed to acquire Cox Communications for $21.9 billion in a deal announced Friday. The agreement values Cox at $34.5 billion on an enterprise basis, which is comprised of the $21.9 billion paid for equity and $12.6 billion of net debt and other obligations. That is in line with Charter’s recent enterprise value based on 2025 estimated adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization multiple. The two giant broadband companies made the deal to defend their core broadband business against intensifying pressure from cellphone carriers charging into their home turf. The merger with Cox comes months after Charter announced it would acquire Liberty Broadband in an all-stock deal that simplifies cable pioneer John Malone’s portfolio. In February, Charter and Liberty Broadband stockholders approved the proposed deal.
Cable internet service, once a reliable source of rapid growth that added millions of subscribers a year, is now a grind for the industry’s two heavyweights, Charter and Comcast. Selling a broadband connection remains their main way to reap profits from the internet economy, from streaming to gaming, but that growth engine is sputtering. Cellphone carriers like Verizon and T-Mobile have heightened the threat with home broadband service beamed over the air. The pressures of this new landscape have come into focus in recent months: Charter lost 60,000 internet customers in the March quarter, while rival Comcast reported an acceleration in broadband customer losses. The merger will combine Charter’s 31.4 million customers with Cox’s 6.3 million customers.
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- Wall Street Journal, 05.16.25
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MORE AVAILABLE SEATS, CHEAPER FARES: WINTER PARK SKI TRAIN DOUBLES RIDERSHIP
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The Winter Park Express, the winter passenger train that operates from Denver to Winter Park, had a 153 percent increase in passengers this season compared to the season earlier, with a total of 43,919 passengers, according to a news release issued Friday. The train operates from mid-December through the end of March. There were two additional cars on this season’s trains, increasing the number of seats available from 268 to 402, and train cars were running 89 percent to 91 percent full. Also, this season, fares were cut in half from the previous season, being subsidized by revenue from a 2024 state law that placed a $3-per-day fee on rental cars. The fares for 2024-25 season were $38 to $78 for a round-trip ticket, compared to $58 to $118 a season earlier. Also, service was expanded to five days a week, running from Thursday to Monday.
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- GS Post Independent, 05.16.25
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A-BASIN RELEASES DRAFT MASTER PLAN WITH NEW GONDOLAS, LIFT AND PARKING
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Alan Henceroth, president and CEO of Arapahoe Basin, Friday released the 103-page draft master plan for the ski area. The draft plan is the fourth submitted to the U.S. Forest Service for A-basin and this plan includes two new gondolas, a new lift, additional parking, expanded snowmaking and avalanche technology. Henceroth first announced this draft master plan at the annual COO Summit in 2023, but it was put on hold as A-Basin was in the process of being sold to Alterra Mountain Co. The proposed additional parking is in two new areas: The Moose Hollow Parking area, with about 200 spaces, would have ski-in, ski-out access with a bridge crossing the highway. The Upper Last Chance parking lot would also be expanded, by some 195 additional spaces. That would increase the total parking spaces to more than 2,000.
The draft plan also envisions a gondola between the existing pedestrian tunnel that crosses under U.S. Hwy. 6 and the entrance to the Last Chance and Upper Last Chance lots. The “Park n Ride” gondola would eliminate the need for the existing shuttle between those upper lots and the base area, the master plan states.
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ASPEN CITY COUNCIL, EOTC TO PROVIDE FUNDING FOR RFTA FARE-FREE FALL
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Last week, both the Aspen City Council and the Elected Officials Transportation Committee agreed to contribute $275,000 each to the proposed fare-free pilot program which the Roaring Fork Transportation Authority plans to launch this fall. The EOTC is composed of elected officials from Aspen, Snowmass Village and Pitkin County. The funding will help offset RFTA’s $550,000 in revenue it is expected to lose while implementing the pilot program in the fall, planned to test the feasibility of a larger reduced-fare or fare-free ridership program. All RFTA system routes will be free for all riders, including the VelociRFTA BRT, Valley/Local and Hogback routes, from Oct. 1 through Nov. 30.
The pilot program will allow RFTA to collect data on how ridership increases when fares are eliminated, and how increased ridership will impact RFTA’s operations. It will also give RFTA an idea of the feasibility of implementing a fare-free program permanently, whether in off-seasons or during high seasons. RFTA will collect data to inform how many more bus drivers, buses, routes, park and rides and more would be needed to accommodate for increased ridership.
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- Aspen Daily News, 05.16.25
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IT’S IRON HORSE CLASSIC TIME: U.S. 550 WILL BE CLOSED SATURDAY MORNING
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If you are planning a trip to drive between Silverton and Durango on Saturday, May 24, the Colorado Dept. of Transportation advises you that U.S. Hwy. 550 will be closed for six hours, from 7:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. to accommodate the annual Iron Horse Classic bicycle race. Motorists traveling north to Silverton early Saturday are urged to allow ample travel time to make it past Purgatory before the closure begins, leaving Durango no later than 6:45 a.m. The closure point at Purgatory is 25 miles north of Durango and is an approximate 35- to 45-minute drive from Durango. During the race, motorists headed south between Hermosa and Durango will be detoured from Hwy. 550 onto County Road 203 at Hermosa Creek to Animas View Drive. Northbound traffic from Durango to Purgatory will proceed along Hwy. 550 following traffic control personnel, signage and cones set in place.
Motorists will also experience brief delays and traffic impacts Saturday morning in Durango, along north Main Avenue, as several waves of cyclists are set to depart from 33rd Street and East Second Avenue. The first group of 600 professional cyclists will depart at 7:15 a.m., followed by about 2,000 cyclists at 8 a.m. In addition, CDOT advises motorists that there will be full stops and up to 20-minute delays at Mile post 59.3 on U.S. Hwy 550, at Deer Creek, which is a CDOT rockfall mitigation site location about 10 miles north of Purgatory. The CDOT work zone will have traffic signals in place 24/7 with full stops and alternating single-lane traffic in both directions. No work will happen over the holiday weekend, Friday through Monday, but the light signal will be operational.
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- Durango Herald, 05.16.25
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THE OUTSIDE FESTIVAL: BIG PLANS FOR YEAR TWO
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Leaders from Outside Inc., along with the governor and city and state leaders, held a press conference at the Denver City and County building on Thursday to announce plans for a “bigger and better” Outside Festival. The Outside Festival, in its second year, will return to Denver’s Civic Center Park, May 31-June 1. In addition to Outside Inc., Capital One and REI are primary sponsors, and already for year two, 18,000 tickets have been sold, the total attendance last year. The festival will expand to utilize the renovated Denver Public Library to host the film festival and will also use space in the Lincoln Veterans Memorial Park and Denver Art Museum.
There will be a new area to showcase small businesses and nonprofits, called Camp Colorado. There will be a new travel and tourism section and the addition of a culinary campus with restaurant tents. There will be music and in addition to the festival, there will be the Outside Summit, covering four days with a job fair, panels and a startup competition, Outside Ignite, with a $100,000 prize.
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- Denver Business Journal, 05.16.25
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TURN THE CLOCK BACK AND WALK UP THE OLD AIR CONTROL TOWER AT STAPLETON
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On Oct. 17, 1929, Denver Municipal Airport opened on Quebec Avenue in northeast Denver. Denver Mayor Benjamin F. Stapleton was instrumental in creating the airport and in 1944 it was renamed Stapleton Airfield in his honor. It was replaced by Denver International Airport in 1995. For Denverites, and others, who remember the city’s close-in airport, there is a special opportunity to relive the Stapleton Airfield of the 1950s and 60s and walk up the 164-foot-tall airport control tower. The tours are related to the development of the FlyteCo Tower, a 25,000-square-foot entertainment center that occupies the bottom of the old airport control tower, which was launched in 2022. It is an aviation-themed facility with multiple bars, three levels of games, and an enormous outdoor patio.
The idea of giving tours of the tower came from Sean Henson. Henson first climbed the tower last year, and as a lifelong airplane enthusiast and former flight attendant, Henson began offering tours on a sporadic basis. In January of this year, Henson acquired FlyteCo’s Tower Tours and offers tours five days a week. Tours are open to those 10 years of age and older and available at flytecotower.com/tower-tours and cost $12 per person. Those interested must be prepared to climb up and down 11 flights of stairs to have the 360-degree view of the mountains and plains.
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SPRINGTIME IN THE ROCKIES: IT’S TICK SEASON, SOME REMINDERS
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Spring in Colorado means people are getting outside to hike and go to the backcountry, but it is also tick season. Colorado is home to about 30 different species of ticks, with Rocky Mountain wood ticks being the most common.
Here are some ways to avoid tick bites:
- Avoid brushing grasses, stay in the middle of trails
- Avoid sitting on logs or against trees
- Treat clothing and gear with products containing 0.5 percent permethrin, or you can purchase permethrin-treated clothing and gear
- Do not place products with permethrin directly on your skin
- Use repellents containing DEET, picaridin, IR3535, oil of lemon eucalyptus (OLE), para-menthane-diol (PMD) or 2-undecanone
- You can apply these products to clothing or the skin
- Do not use products containing OLE or PMD on children under 3 years old.
- Wear light-colored clothing to make it easier to find ticks
- Tuck long-sleeved pants into socks; button long-sleeved shirts and tuck into pants; wear hats; and place long hair in braids to minimize access to skin
- It takes most ticks 12 to 24 hours to become embedded in your skin
- Check clothing for ticks before entering your house
- For more protection, tumble dry clothes in a dryer on high heat for 10 minutes to kill any ticks that may be present on the clothing
- Shower immediately when returning home, making sure to check for ticks under your arms, in and around your ears, in your belly button, behind your knees, in and around your hairline, between your legs and around your waist
- Examine and remove any ticks on pets before entering your house and use tick and flea collars, topicals or oral tablets
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- The Coloradoan, 05.15.25
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MARKET UPDATE - 05/19/2025 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 05/15/2025)
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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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