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Colorado - Mon. 10/28/24 |
A Free Business Publication from Alpine Bank
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COLORADO AG, OTHER STATES URGE U.S. SUPREME COURT TO BLOCK OIL RAIL PROJECT
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Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser, Friday led a coalition of attorneys general in a filing urging the U.S. Supreme Court to uphold a lower court ruling blocking a risky plan to construct a new rail line that would transport hundreds of thousands of barrels of oil along the Colorado River each day and affirming that federal agencies must fully consider the environmental impacts of major projects. Joining the Colorado AG in the filing of the amicus brief were the attorneys general from Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington, and the District of Columbia.
In August of 2023, the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the Surface Transportation Board’s NEPA analysis should have included the upstream and downstream environmental harms of the project, and that the board’s action in approving the rail project was arbitrary and capricious because it failed to consider these impacts. Utah proponents of the proposed rail line are now asking the Supreme Court to limit the scope of federal agencies’ NEPA reviews and allow them to not consider reasonably foreseeable impacts regulated by other federal agencies, states and local governments.
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USFS HIRING FREEZE A CONCERN FOR ALL COMMUNITIES CLOSE TO FOREST LAND
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In September, U.S. Forest Service Chief Randy Moore announced that his agency would not be hiring any seasonal workers, other than seasonal firefighting personnel, in fiscal year 2025, which began Oct. 1. In his statement, Moore said the hiring decision was made as the USFS plans for the “most conservative funding possibility.” He said many seasonal positions were converted to permanent status, but stated the freeze meant the Forest Service would not be able to do the same amount of work it has in years past. In an email confirming the hiring freeze in the Rocky Mountain Region (Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska, most of Wyoming and South Dakota), it was stated, “We understand that this will have an impact that will reverberate across all national forests.”
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CHATEAU V IN EVERGREEN ON THE MARKET FOR $60 MILLION
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Chateau V, built in 2015 in Evergreen, which draws its inspiration from the Palace of Versailles in France, has been listed for sale by Engel & Völkers for $59,998,000. When the property was last sold in 2021, it set a record for Jefferson and Clear Creek counties, with a sale price of $9.5 million. At the time of that sale, the mansion was about 30 percent unfinished. Now, the 21,692-square-foot chateau has six bedrooms, each with its own bathroom and laundry. There are four more bathrooms and six fireplaces in the home. The three-story mansion also has 2,000 square feet of garage space, a two-story library, movie theater, gym, a billiards room with a bar from 1885 and 1,500-bottle wine room. It is situated on 35 acres, with a greenhouse, portes-cochère, heated pool, jacuzzi and kitchen, along with an outdoor dog run which connects to a dog washroom in the house.
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THAT TIME OF YEAR: MOUNTAIN ROADS CLOSING
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The National Park Service Friday issued a news release announcing the closure of the Trail Ridge Road through Rocky Mountain National Park for the winter season. The road, U.S. Hwy. 34, runs from Estes Park to Grand Lake, and traverses some 11 miles above 11,500 feet in elevation. The normal reopening time is the last week of May, weather permitting. The statement said that specific closure points for the highway will fluctuate throughout the fall, depending on weather conditions. The current closure is at Rainbow Curve on the east side and the Colorado River Trailhead on the west side. Old Fall River Road closed Oct. 8 and it, along with Trail Ridge, will remain open to bicycles, hiking and walking with leashed pets through Nov. 30.
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THAT TIME OF YEAR: HALLOWEEN, NOVEMBER AND SNOW?
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The Global Forecast System (GFS), the weather forecast model of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) as well as OpenSnow, forecast at least two snowstorms rolling across western Colorado this week. The first is expected to bring cold weather, wind and snow starting Monday and continuing until Wednesday. The GFS model forecasts 18-30 inches, whereas the ECMWF predicts 12-18 inches to fall in the San Juan mountains around Telluride, Silverton, Lake City and Wolf Creek Pass. The West Elk and Elk mountains should see 8-12 inches of snow by Wednesday night. The Flattops could see 8-12 inches, up to 16 inches if the storm track stays a bit farther north. The northern mountains could receive 4-8 inches.
Sometime Saturday afternoon, Nov. 2, the second storm is forecast to make a push into northwestern Colorado, giving the northern mountains a good shot at snow, with the state receiving snow for about 48 hours. The GFS model forecasts additional snow accumulations in the northern mountains between 7-14 inches, 3-6 inches in the central and southern mountains. This storm is forecast to finally bring snow to the Front Range cities and Interstate 25 corridor from Fort Collins to Trinidad starting Nov. 3. The greater totals are forecast to be south of Interstate 70 in Jefferson and Douglas counties, with potentially between 4-12 inches.
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COLORADO HOTELS MAKE CONDÉ NAST READER'S CHOICE LIST FOR BEST IN THE WORLD
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Earlier this fall, well-known travel publication Condé Nast released its 2024 “Reader’s Choice” list of the top 50 “best hotels in the world.” The list included properties from around the world, and remarkably, there were four Colorado hotels that made the top 50 list:
- Ranking highest among Colorado hotels was Gravity Haus Breckenridge, at No. 8. It has made the list for Readers Choice for five consecutive years.
- Denver’s Limelight Hotel was 16th on the list. It is a newcomer to Condé Nast’s “best hotels in the world.
- No. 20 on the list was the Jerome Hotel in Aspen, the 135-year-old hotel has made the list six other times.
- The Dunton Town House in Telluride ranked 25th overall, although it may better be described as a bed and breakfast operation rather than “hotel.”
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NEW HOTEL TO OPEN AT ENTRANCE TO U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY
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A new 375-room hotel, the Hotel Polaris, is scheduled to open Nov. 14 at the TrueNorth Commons development at the North Entrance of the U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs. The Polaris is a public-private partnership put together between the Association of Graduates and Air Force Academy Foundation, the City of Colorado Springs, Blue & Silver Development Partners and Provident Resources Group. The hotel will have six food and beverage operations including: Pamela’s, celebrating American regional cuisines; The Aviator Bar with rooftop views and a refined cocktail experience; Doolies ’50s-style soda shop featuring vintage diner classics; and Ascend Spa & Wellness, a six-room spa and wellness center. There also will be 26,000 square feet of meeting space.
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RESEARCHERS WORKING TO DEVELOP HAY CROPS THAT USE LESS WATER
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Last week, The Water for Colorado Coalition hosted tours at several sites along the Colorado River corridor to look at projects that are designed to conserve water. One of those was the Colorado State University Western Colorado Research Center where Dr. Perry Cabot, a research scientist with CSU, is conducting trials of alternative forage or hay crops in an effort to find crops less water-consumptive than alfalfa which is grown throughout the region. One crop, Kernza, is of interest because it can produce both hay and grain. Along with Kernza, another forage crop that researchers are looking at is Sainfoin. For their research, the scientists use drones and artificial intelligence to help study the crops as they grow.
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CONE ZONE AND STREET CLOSURES FOR DOWNTOWN DURANGO TRAFFIC
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The Colorado Dept. of Transportation and the Durango & Silverton Narrow-Gauge Railroad will be making improvements to the intersection and train tracks at Main Avenue and 14th Street at the northern end of downtown Durango. The project began with closures of Main Avenue from Camino del Rio to 13th Street and the east side of 14th Street from Camino del Rio to East Second Avenue at 6 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 27. The closures will be in place for approximately 11 days. It’s a well-traveled intersection, seeing approximately 28,000 vehicles in annual average daily traffic for 2023. During the closure of Main Avenue and 14th Street, motorists on Camino del Rio and North Main Avenue may encounter periodic traffic holds. Durango city officials said that motorists can travel from East Third Street to Ninth Street as an alternative route while the closure is in effect. Traffic will be detoured to 13th Street and East Second Avenue.
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THE ECONOMIC IMPACT OF BRAVO! VAIL
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Bravo! Vail Music Festival announced that its 37th annual summer festival, June 20 to Aug. 1, 2024, brought in $39.4 million in direct economic impact to Eagle County and the state of Colorado. The total figure includes $1.4 million in sales tax revenue for all Eagle County towns, with the remaining $38 million directly benefiting local businesses. The impact figures were derived by Intercept Insights, a marketing research firm in Avon. The study was based on the spending of 53,178 concert attendees and 403 musicians during the festival.
In the town of Vail alone, Bravo! Vail generated $23.8 million in direct economic impact. This included $915,100 in sales tax; $4.7 million spent on food and beverage; and $13.1 million spent on lodging — approximately 22,758 room nights. Eighty-six percent of attendees who live outside of Eagle County said they came specifically for the festival. Bravo! Vail’s $39.4 million economic impact figure is a significant increase from last year’s $34 million.
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DBJ’S FASTEST GROWING COMPANIES IN METRO DENVER, 2024
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Each year, the Denver Business Journal recognizes the fastest-growing metro-area companies through its Fast 50 awards program. To rise to the top 50 rankings in 2024, finalists were nominated and had to submit three full years of revenue for audit while meeting the following criteria:
- The company must be privately held, locally owned and for-profit
- It must be headquartered in the seven-county Denver-metro region (Adams, Arapahoe, Boulder, Broomfield, Denver, Douglas or Jefferson counties). It must have a three-year sales history (fiscal years 2021, 2022 and 2023) with revenue gains from 2021 to 2023
- It must have an average of at least $1 million in sales for the three most recent years, with no year less than $200,000
Extra-small: Companies with $1 million to $5 million in annual revenue
- G2M Insights, Denver, g2m.ai
- Saavihome, Denver, saavihome.com
- Proov, Erie, proovtest.com
Small: Companies with $5 million to $8.6 million in annual revenue
- Cloud Campaign, Boulder, cloudcampaign.com
- Pathify, Greenwood Village, pathify.com
- OLC (Ohlson Lavoie Corporation), Denver, olcdesigns.com
Medium: Companies with $8.6 million to $50 million in annual revenue
- Industrial Constructors/Managers Inc., Commerce City, icminc.net
- 8Z Real Estate, Boulder, 8z.com
- Serendipity Catering, Lakewood, serendipityfood.com
Large: Companies with $50 million to $150 million in annual revenue
- NEI Electric Power Engineering Inc., Lakewood, neiengineering.com
- Vertix Builders Inc., Firestone, vertixbuilders.com
- KCI/Krische Construction Inc., Longmont, kciconst.com
Extra-large: Companies with more than $150 million in annual revenue
- Western Veterinary Partners, Denver, westernvetpartners.com
- Pax 8, Greenwood Village, pax8.com
- Workplace Elements LLC, Denver, elementsofplace.com
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TOP DENVER-AREA CORPORATE PHILANTHROPISTS
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Top Denver-area Corporate Philanthropists 2023, ranked by cash contributions to Colorado charities in 2023:
- King Soopers Inc.
- Alpine Bank
- JPMorgan Chase & Co.
- FirstBank
- U.S. Bank
- Ball Corp.
- CoBank
- HCA-Healthtone LLC
- Enterprise Mobility- Enterprise Leasing Company of Denver LLC
- Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck LLP
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MARKET UPDATE - 10/25/2024 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 10/24/2024)
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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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