EAST WEST PARTNERS TO DEVELOP "CHERRY CREEK WEST"

East West Partners, the well-known Colorado firm that has developed Denver's Riverfront Park and redeveloped the Union Station neighborhood in Lower Downtown, is launching Cherry Creek West, which it labels a "transformative redevelopment" of a 13-acre property immediately west of the Cherry Creek Shopping Center. The land, bordered by University Boulevard, First Ave., the Cherry Creek Shopping Center, and Cherry Creek North Drive, consists of parking lots and vacant buildings. It once was the location of the Denver Dry Goods store. East West Partners is working with Denver-based Design Workshop and Gensler, a design and architecture firm, on the plan, which will include residential space and open public space with a public amphitheater.

A BIG COMPETITOR IN THE HOME BUYING MARKET…INVESTORS

Investors are buying up homes at an unprecedented pace across the country, including in the Denver metro area. In the third quarter, 18.2 percent of the homes sold in the U.S., a total of more than 90,000 homes, went to investors, according to real estate brokerage Redfin. Redfin defines an investor as a business entity used to purchase a residential property. That is up significantly from the 50,000 homes that investors bought in the third quarter of 2020. In Metro Denver, investors purchased 17 percent of the homes sold in the third quarter. In Denver, the median price investors paid for a home was $508,700.

INITIAL UNEMPLOYMENT CLAIMS CONTINUE TO DROP

Initial claims for unemployment benefits dropped slightly last week to a seasonally adjusted 268,000. Claims are at the lowest level since the pandemic hit the U.S. economy last spring. Continuing claims, which provide an approximation for the number of people receiving regular state benefits, fell to a pandemic low of 2.08 million in the week ended Nov. 6 from 2.21 million a week earlier. However, "job-hopping" continues to be a major factor. The "quits rate" – a measure of workers leaving jobs as a share of overall employment – was 3 percent in September, an all-time high. Workers are feeling emboldened to leave their jobs because they are more valuable in today’s labor market, there is less stigma about leaving a company than in the past and remote technology allows for a quicker, easier interview process.

RFTA OFFERS RIDERS NEW FARE STRUCTURE, LOWER COST TRAVEL

The pandemic took a toll on ridership on the buses of the Roaring Fork Transportation Authority, as for a large share of 2020, ridership was restricted to 50 percent of seated capacity to allow social distancing. Although ridership is increasing, it remains at only about 60 percent of what it was in the pre-pandemic year of 2019. To boost ridership, RFTA starts winter service Monday, with significantly reduced fares. Travel within a designated zone will be free, and the El Jebel and Basalt zones will be combined into one, so riding from downtown Basalt to City Market or Whole Foods will be free. A trip from Glenwood Springs to Aspen is reduced from $7 to $5 and a ride from Rifle to Aspen drops from $10 to $8. There is a reduced fare for youths, with passengers ages 6 to 18 paying only $1 to ride anywhere in the RFTA system. Check all fares and information at rfta.com.

GAO REPORT: BLM MOVE TO GJ RESULTED IN LOSS OF EXPERIENCED STAFF

A new report released by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) documented the increase in vacant positions in the Bureau of Land Management headquarters after the decision to move the headquarters from Washington, D.C. to Grand Junction. The GAO report cites the headquarter's vacancies increased from 121 in July 2019 to 326 in March 2020, a jump of about 169 percent. The BLM did reduce the number of vacancies, but "the number of vacant positions remained at 142 as of May 2021, or about 17 percent higher than when the agency announced the relocation,” according to the GAO report. The GAO report also indicates there was a loss in diversity in the headquarters staff, with a decline in the number of Black and Asian employees, while representation of Latinos actually increased.

GJ COUNCIL GIVES OK TO ZIP LINE PLAN FOR LAS COLONIAS

The Grand Junction City Council Wednesday approved a lease agreement and operating plan with Bonsai Design for a zip line from Eagle Rim Park to Las Colonias Park. The zip line will take off from a 15-foot-high launch tower at Eagle Rim park and land on a 32-foot-tall tower near Butterfly Lake in Las Colonias Park. The approved plan has identified fees of $21 for adults, with $2 of the fee going to the city and $18 for youth 17 and under, with $1 going to the city. The plan had the zip line operating from Memorial Day to Labor Day, noon-8 p.m., Sunday-Wednesday; noon-10 p.m., Thursday-Saturday, and it would be open for concerts/events.

TELLURIDE MOUNTAIN CLUB SEEKING INPUT ON TRAILS

Telluride Mountain Club (TMtC) is seeking input from hikers and others using local trails for its Telluride Regional Trail Survey which is available online through the end of the year at surveymonkey.com/r/tmtctrails. The survey has 33 questions and it takes about 10 to 15 minutes to complete. The TMtC has received about 350 responses to date, but would like to get at least 650. For more information on the TMtC and the survey, go to telluridemountainclub.org.

FILIPOWSKI RECEIVES 2021 EAGLE COMMUNITY IMPACT AWARD

Jennifer Filipowski moved to Eagle in 2019, but in just two years she has made a significant impact on the town, so significant, in fact, she was presented with the town of Eagle's 2021 Community Impact Award. Filipowski is treasurer of EagleARTS and serves on the board of Eagle's Downtown Business Alliance and was one of the founders of the Downtown Development Authority. She supported the Second Friday Eagle ARTwalk program in a phase of massive growth last year when the town closed down Broadway Street for the monthly celebration of local art and local businesses and helped plan last year’s “Murder on Broadway” murder mystery date night, which won best event in the 2021 Governor’s Awards for Downtown Excellence.

EUROPE'S GREENEST CITIES

The Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal) has released a new study that analyzed more than 1,000 cities in Europe of over 100,000 residents measuring whether the cities met the World Health Organization's guidelines on access to green space. The WHO guidelines: at least 0.5 hectares (1.24 acres) of green space within 300 meters (984 feet) linear distance of every home. These were the top 10 European cities with the Lowest Mortality Due to Lack of Green Spaces:

1. Elche, Spain
2. Telde, Spain
3. Guimarães, Portugal
4. Perugia, Italy
5. Cartagena, Spain
6. Walbrzych, Poland
7. Coimbra, Portugal
8. Nicosia, Cyprus
9. Alicante, Spain
10. Rotherham, United Kingdom

THE NOT-SO-GREEN CITIES IN EUROPE

From the study of the Barcelona Institute for Global Health, the European Cities with the Highest Mortality Due to the Lack of Green Space:

1. Trieste, Italy
2. Turin, Italy
3. Blackpool, United Kingdom
4. Gijon, Spain
5. Brussels, Belgium
6. Le Havre, France
7. Boulogne-Sur-Mer, France
8. Copenhagen, Denmark
9. Acoruña, Spain
10. Lyon, France