Getting your player ready...
A century ago, if you were leaving town on the Fourth of July to find some mountain majesty, you’d likely be headed over Berthoud Pass for the nearby Fraser River Valley – closest part of the Western Slope to Denver, and uncommonly scenic, as well. “A lot of the dude ranches were up here,” says Jim Houston with the Reserve at Ten Mile Creek in Granby.
That was before the I-70 Eisenhower Tunnel route opened beneath Loveland Pass, making destinations like Breckenridge and Vail more accessible to Front Rangers. The Fraser Valley, with its Winter Park ski area, slipped into the shadow of rapid resort development over in Dillon, Silverthorne and Eagle Vail. Now that’s changing back in favor of the proximity of Fraser and Grand County, according to brokers involved in Fraser Valley resorts. “Winter Park and Fraser have been there a long time, but their time is coming,” says Dale Schossow, broker associate with Fuller Sotheby’s International. “Summer recreation is exceptionally strong there, and you can get there in a much shorter commute.” Those assets start with the scenery – wide vistas of the craggy Indian Peaks, and broad areas of rugged national forest that are very accessible. “There’s a rural agricultural ambience that you don’t see in Summit or Eagle,” adds Schossow, pointing to wide expanses of grazing land along the valley, opening up vistas of the back ranges. “This is a great place,” Schossow notes, adding that he sees properties being comparatively more affordable in Grand County, as opposed to areas further west. “And all the amenities are there.” Those include four golf courses, boating on Granby Reservoir, the Fraser River, and the unpretentious resort flavor of Grand Lake – gateway to Rocky Mountain National Park. Those aren’t to mention Winter Park and Mary Jane ski areas, along with the family-styled ski experience offered at Ski Granby Ranch, 15 miles beyond Winter Park. As with many mountain properties following the 2009 downturn, agents see the market in the Fraser Valley as transitional – but showing signs of life now, particularly in their relative lack of new home inventory this summer, something that’s important to buyers who are lured by the recreation and want something right away. “There’s a lot of old stuff and not a lot of new,” says Dana Keller, director of sales for Rendezvous, the master planned resort in Winter Park, sponsoring a Run for Independence in Winter Park at 8 a.m. tomorrow, and the Rendezvous Rock-n-Ride bike tour and music festival next weekend. At Rendezvous, buyers can find two offerings that can be ready soon: a ProngHorn triplex with 2-car garage from the low $400s, available by Labor Day; and a new “chalet” single-family product, 2,150 square feet with three bedrooms on individual levels, and what Keller calls ‘amazing’ views of Byers Peak. Chalets are from $650,000 – add a $20,000 lot premium on the one available late this month.@marksamuelson
