Retail Sales set Aspen Record

Hotels, restaurants, shops, and other Aspen business sectors collectively produced a record-setting $1.2 billion in taxable sales in 2022, according to the latest figures available from the city of Aspen’s finance department. 

Last year’s sales total got a major assist from inflation, which peaked nationally in June with a 9.1% rate and gradually declined, with December ending the year with an annualized 6.5% rate, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

December sales

December crowned 2022 with $169.7 million in taxable sales in Aspen, a 13.4% improvement over December 2021.

“Monthly economic activity in December exhibited a strong surge in consumer spending in preparation for the holiday season,” according to comments from Pete Strecker, the city finance director, in the tax report issued Feb. 15. 

Brick-and-mortar sales comprised 84% of the retail spending in December, and online/external sales made up for 16% of the sales, the report said. 

Aspen’s retail sectors posted the following performances in December:

• Accommodations, $53 million in sales, up 7.1% over December 2021

• Restaurants/bars, $12.7 million, up 15.5%

• Sports equipment/clothing, $15.1 million, up 6.7%

• Fashion/clothing, $22.1 million, up 16.8%

• Construction, $11.4 million, up 18%

• Food and drug, $10.2 million, up 77.5%

• Liquor, $1.8 million, down 0.7% from December 2021

• Miscellaneous, $14.1 million, up 5.4%

• Jewelry/gallery, $9 million, up 15%

• Utilities, $5.9 million, up 14.6%

• Automobile, $3.4 million, up 48%

• Cannabis, $723,289, down 14.3%

• Bank/finance, $642,041, up 18.9%

• Health/beauty, $577,350, down 39.8% 

  2022 overall sales

  Eleven of the 14 business sectors that fuel Aspen’s retail economy posted sales increases last year over 2021, with accommodations leading the way with $354.6 million in taxable sales. 

  Here’s a look at those sectors’ end-of-year tallies:

  • Accommodations, $354.6 million, up 38.1% over 2021

  • Restaurants/bars, $192.8 million, up 24.4%

  • Sports equipment/clothing, $73.4 million, up 11.4%

  • Fashion clothing, $149.9 million, up 22.8%

  • Construction, $88.7 million, down 6.5%

  • Food and drug, $80.3 million, up 16.4%

  • Liquor, $13.5 million, down 2.2%

  • Miscellaneous, $105.8 million, up 12.3%

  • Jewelry/gallery, $57.5 million, up 22.7%

  • Utilities, $49.6 million, even

  • Automobile, $36.1 million, up 8.5%

  • Cannabis, $9.6 million, down 14%

  • Bank/finance, $5.4 million, up 21.3%

  • Health/beauty, down 36%

  “There were three sectors that experienced declines including liquor, cannabis and health/beauty; however, all of these industries represent just a small slice of the local economy,” Strecker said. “One notable item, the general cannabis industry, has seen declining sales across the entire state of Colorado, down 21% from 2021 collections statewide, and is anticipated to be tied to neighboring states such as Arizona and New Mexico recently adopting legalized marijuana sales. This may be a partial explanation to why this sector of the economy has remained down for the year and may be adjusting to a new baseline.”

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By: staff report - February 20, 2023

All candidates agree: Downtown Aspen is a mess

Editor’s note: This is part of a series about mayoral and City Council candidates’ views on the top issues Aspen faces today.

In a city that thrives on high-end boutiques, posh eateries, chic bars and lacks workers, affordable housing, and locals-friendly businesses in the core, how do the candidates for the Aspen City Council and mayor feel about downtown’s current construction status and is there an answer?

Mayoral candidate Tracy L. Sutton

Sutton isn’t impressed.

“Residential and commercial construction projects in the downtown core need to be completed. We need a vibrant downtown core for both visitors and locals to enjoy. This is critical for local businesses,” she said.

“I know of cases where long permitting processes have been an issue. In general, construction projects have stalled for a variety of other reasons, including a lack of workers, inflation, and rising interest rates.”

“I am concerned that uncompleted projects will continue to damage the charm and character of Aspen’s downtown. Our charming downtown is essential to our appeal as a mountain destination.”

Her solution?

“This issue has been relevant for some time. I think the city should have addressed it sooner. We need measures that speed up permitting processes and discourage long construction delays. We also need to discuss with developers what their specific concerns are. More than anything, a process should be initiated as soon as possible.”

Mayor Torre

“Current downtown commercial construction is a mess. The unfinished projects of one developer are having negative impacts on our community, businesses and visitors. These projects were approved before my terms. We are trying to work with these projects to get them completed, and many have their permits, but the majority of this is controlled by the developer and the complex and changing projects,” Torre said.

“My biggest concern with this issue is what we are losing for local owned, local serving, affordable, inclusive places, and being replaced with just the opposite. The current renovation and construction will get completed, but what will we be left with? For now, I seek to support getting construction done and getting tenants in the core.”

He said current downtown residential construction should encourage units that are lived in. “We need to allow AH (affordable housing) unit development, on-site, downtown. Free-market units should be lived in or used, and integrate into the commercial core, not stifle local business or sit empty.”

“The biggest obstacle to progress and completion of the current downtown construction is that the progress is delayed and dictated by money. The city accepts its responsibility for permit and process improvements that need to be made, but also is credited for working to get these projects going. Ultimately, the tenancy or vacancy, planning and execution of a downtown project is determined by the owner and developer, and their strategy.”

Could this have been prevented?

“My opinion is some of the land use codes and project approvals that are playing out now should not have been approved. We have a few code changes to make and also need to exercise more discretion in approval for variances from the code. Some current projects have joined buildings, share systems, and develop across properties. This has led to complex safety, permit and building issues that are delaying completion.”

His solution?

“As mayor, with the support of council members, I have supported more resources to our Community Development Department for improved, efficient plan review and permitting. We have requested and are getting process improvements that will reduce time and costs. We are also looking at timely completion assurances that we can implement for the community.”

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By: Julie Bielenberg - February 21, 2023

Downtown Aspen hungry for food options as buildings remain shuttered this winter

As winter season kicks off, the downtown commercial landscape has experienced some moves in the retail world with new arrivals and the changing of locations, yet several restaurant spaces will remain dark until next year.

Almost a dozen spaces that used to be restaurants in downtown Aspen will remain shuttered this winter season, including a handful that have been closed for multiple years.

The longest that have remained closed are Main Street Bakery, which ceased operations in 2016 and is owned by prominent landlord Mark Hunt, as well as the former Over Easy and Aspen Brewing Co. space on Hopkins Avenue, which the Hillstone Restaurant Group purchased in 2017.

Brian Biel, vice president of the restaurant group, which owns the White House Tavern next door, issued a similar statement last week that the company has made in previous years.

“Hillstone is working with the city of Aspen to pull its building permit and expects to start work on the new project soon,” he said via email.

Hunt told The Aspen Times this past February he hoped to start construction in a couple of months, but that has not happened.

The space next to the empty Hillstone property that was most recently occupied by Tatanka, which closed in 2021, is supposed to open by next summer as a Thai restaurant and a Japanese concept underneath, according to commercial real estate broker Angi Wang with Setterfield & Bright.

The former Aspen Sports Bistro and prior to that, Hops Culture, located on the Hyman Avenue mall, is under contract and will not be open this winter.

The restaurant space in the Golden Horn building on corner of the Mill and Cooper pedestrian malls won’t be open until next winter, according to John Terzian, who represents the Los Angeles-based h. wood Group.

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By: Carolyn Sackariason - December 5, 2022

Wall Street West Is Booming in Aspen With New Crop of Elite Residents

Aspen’s Willoughby Way reads like a game of billionaire Monopoly, dotted with mansions owned by the likes of hedge fund king Dan Och, leveraged-finance titan Bennett Goodman and the parents of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos. 

They’ve long sought refuge in the wealthy Colorado mountain town. But they’re increasingly getting some company.

Aspen, a ski destination known for its exclusivity and cultural cachet, has been luring a new crop of part- and full-time residents. The old-time crowd is calling them parvenus — newcomers to the highest-ranking class of wealth. 

The list is long, weighted heavily with members of New York’s finance elite, with some tech and SPAC millionaires sprinkled in. You might spot Dan Zilberman of private equity shop Warburg Pincus, or spouses John Eydenberg of Citigroup Inc. and Darin White Eydenberg of Korn Ferry. Nat Zilkha, a former partner at KKR & Co., bought the house of Goldman Sachs Group Inc.’s David Solomon in 2019.

The Covid-19 pandemic and its remote-work mentality has elevated Aspen beyond a tony mountain escape and into a kind-of Wall Street West. Not unlike Palm Beach or Miami, it’s facing an influx of ultra-wealthy business bigwigs who are no longer tethered to New York and California. Schools are harder to get into, luxury real estate is in even higher demand and a whole collection of restaurants and retailers have sprung up to cater to the rich newcomers.

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By: Heather Perlberg - August 30, 2022

Approvals spark new life into downtown JAS Center project

Nearly three years after Aspen City Council cleared the founder of Jazz Aspen Snowmass to launch a jazz performance and education center downtown, Jim Horowitz said he expects the project will get rolling before the year is over.

JAS announced this week that developer Mark Hunt has received the entitlements and approvals and is actively seeking a building permit to begin construction. Horowitz said he anticipates work to begin in 14 to 16 weeks once the permit is pulled.

“These approvals are for the special perimeter, core and shell of the JAS Center,” the announcement said. “No longer a matter of ‘if,’ only ‘when’ construction begins.”

Most of the property that will be redeveloped is on the second level of 416, 420 and 422 E. Cooper Ave. and above the old Red Onion space. It will be called JAS Center @ Red Onion.

“There is a valid land use approval in place to proceed with a renovation of the building that will provide a venue for JAS,” said city planning director Amy Simon in an email. “We can’t confirm how long the permit review will take. It depends as much on the applicant and the quality of their permit submittal as it depends on our review time.”

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Report: Aspen retail sales sets record, eclipses $1 billion mark in ’21

Taxable sales in Aspen’s retail arena topped $1 billion for all of 2021, making it the first time the 10-figure mark has been cracked in a single calendar year.

Total sales rang up last year finished at $1,020,753,218, according to the city’s monthly sales tax consumption report issued Tuesday. The 2021 figures coasted past performances from previous years. That included 2020, which recorded $766,222,659 in taxable retail sales in Aspen, while 2019, a pre-pandemic year, amounted to $819,757,641 in total sales.

“This final month (December) rounds out aggregate collections for the year, and results in 2021 consumers outspending past cohorts by more than 33% and 24% in 2020 and 2019, respectively,” noted Pete Strecker, city finance director, in the report.

It also topped more recent years such as 2018 ($759,597,078 ), 2017 ($730,414,351), 2016 ($713,876,169) and 2015 ($666,049,387), according to previously released city sales tax records.

December closed out the year strong as it usually does, with retailers chalking up $147,705,780 in overall sales, beating the same month in 2020 by 56% and 2019 by 22%, the report said.

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Taxable sales topped same months in 2020 by 41.8% and 2019 by 74.8%

Sharp increases in both taxable retail and lodging sales highlighted an October in Aspen that behaved less like an offseason month and more like an active one.

In its monthly consumption report issued last week, the city of Aspen’s finance department reported taxable sales in October topped the same months in 2020 by 41.8% and 2019 by 74.8%.

“October, while typically a shoulder season period for businesses to dial back and prepare for the pending ski season, saw high consumer spending despite inflationary price pressures and appears to still be fueled by pent-up COVID driven demand,” said Anthony Lewin, the city’s senior tax auditor, in comments accompanying the report released Wednesday.

Retailers in October alone combined to generate $67.3 million in taxable sales, with the industry performances broken down as follows:

— Accommodations, $15.6 million in October sales, up 155.3% over October 2020 and 109.9% over October 2019

— Restaurants/bars, $9.4 million, up 4% over 2020 and 55.2% over 2019

— Sports equipment/clothing, $2.7 million, up 11.5% over 2020 and 87.4% over 2019

— Fashion/clothing, $7.1 million, up 22% over 2020 and 201.2% over 2019

— Construction, $7.6 million, 10.9% over 2020 and 29% ahead of 2019

— Food and drug, $4.8 million, 92.8% ahead of 2020 and 34.2% better than 2019

— Liquor, $777,636, 5% behind 2020 and 30.2% ahead of 2019

— Miscellaneous, $9.6 million, 98.6% over 2020 and 108.3% over 2019

— Jewelry/gallery, $3.7 million, 83.9% over 2020 and 227.4% ahead of 2019

— Utilities, $3.1 million, 7.2% over 2020 and 5.6 over 2019

— Automobile, $1.6 million, 41.3% behind 2020 and 15% behind 2019

— Marijuana, $839,798, 6.6% below 2020 and 34.8% ahead of 2019

— Bank/finance, $247,843, 11.6% behind 2020; 2019 n/a

— Health/beauty, $271,179, no comparisons available

Year-to-date sales through October totaled $824.1 million, outpacing the first 10 months of 2020 by 30.4% and the same period in 2019 by 23.2%, according to the report.

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Kith Opens Aspen Pop-Up and Launches ‘Kithmas’ Collection

Kith is celebrating the holidays with a little extra cheer this season.

For the fifth year, Kith has opened a pop-up shop in Aspen, Colo. Located at 228 S. Mill Street, the new store will be open daily throughout the season. According to Kith, the 1,900 square-foot shop references “an old-school, ‘Home Alone’ vibe.”

On tap at the pop-up will be the company’s new “Kithmas” collection, featuring apparel, accessories and home goods for men, women and kids. The 93-piece range includes Kith apparel and accessories, as well as co-branded items created in collaboration with Monopoly, Swarovski, Medicom Toy, Eastpak. It will also feature the sixth installment of Kith’s longstanding partnership with Coca-Cola.

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The Best Cities in the U.S.: 2021 Readers' Choice Awards

#1 - Aspen

After a year that found many of us escaping to the great outdoors, it’s no surprise that Aspen tops this year’s list. It’s home to some of the best ski slopes in the United States—and some of the best resorts, too. The Little Nell is a popular choice for ski-in-ski-out; you can also stay at The St. Regis Aspen Resort, only a three-minute walk from the base of Aspen Mountain. If you’re more about the “après” than the “ski,” head to Meat and Cheese for the best charcuterie in town, or make a reservation at Matsuhisa Aspen, where chef Nobu Matsuhisa fuses Japanese cuisine and Peruvian ingredients. And if you've discounted the city as a summer destination, don’t: there's plenty to do here when it warms up, like hiking the Grottos Trail just east of town, or checking out the revolving contemporary art collection at the Aspen Art Museum.

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Condé Nast readers name Aspen No. 1 ‘Best Small City’

Condé Nast Traveler’s annual Readers’ Choice Awards named Aspen the country’s No. 1 “Best Small City,” the luxury magazine announced Tuesday. 

The acclaim came as the result of more than 800,000 Condé Nast readers who “submitted responses rating their travel experiences across the globe to provide a full snapshot about the places they can’t wait to return to next,” the announcement notes, adding, “The Readers’ Choice Awards are the longest-running and most prestigious recognition of excellence in the travel industry.”

The full list of readers’ choice awards are already available on the publication’s website and will be commemorated in print in the November issue.

“Aspen is honored to be recognized as Condé Nast Travelers’ Best Small City,” said Aspen Chamber Resort Association Vice President of Destination Marketing Eliza Voss in a statement. “We appreciate the recognition from such a prestigious publication and are flattered to sit alongside so many other wonderful destinations. This award underscores that our small-town charm with big city amenities resonates with visitors and residents alike. Aspen stands out as an authentic mountain town focused on responsible tourism, rich in arts and cultural offerings, with history around every corner, and year-round recreational opportunities for all abilities.”

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‘Where Do I Eat Now?’: A new look for Aspen’s menu of restaurants →

But where do I eat now?

People asked that question when the Steak Pit closed in 2010, when Little Annie’s did in 2016, then the Red Onion in 2020 and Jimmy’s an American Restaurant & Grill in September. Aspen resident Ruth Harrison, writing to local newspapers, concluded her letter about L’Hostaria Ristorante’s closing last week with the same line, “but where do I eat now?

Aspen’s menu of restaurants hasn’t just been tinkered with since the pandemic broke in late March 2020. Remade is more like it, the seismic shift evident through the arrival of out-of-town restaurant owner/investors and the continued loss of locally owned and popular standbys, with affordable options becoming an increasingly endangered species.

“The whole town is changing, and it gets harder and harder to survive,” said Mark Tye, who worked 35 years in Aspen’s service industry. These days he’s an observer. “Corporate ownership is a totally different mentality than local ownership.”

Aspen still has plenty of locally run restaurants, and Tye worked at one of them — Mezzaluna. But be it Boogie’s Diner, Wienerstube‚ La Cocina, Cooper Street Pier, Pinions, The Chart House, Rustique, Shlomo’s or Main Street Bakery — and many others that have closed since 2000 — all were locally owned, and guests had a good chance of being personally greeted by the owner, with some of those initial handshakes blossoming into friendships (and repeat visits).

There have been exits among chain locations, too, over recent years. Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse, popular in metropolitan cities, was a bust and closed in 2009. Casa Tua operates there now. McDonald’s shuttered in 2016 and was replaced by a yoga studio. Domino’s left around the time the pandemic hit in 2020.

The wrecking ball came for buildings that had housed popular restaurants: The Boogie’s building was remodeled; Wienerstube’s old Hyman Avenue address is now retail and office space; La Cocina’s spot was razed and replaced with new restaurant space on the 300 block of East Hopkins Avenue, also known as “Restaurant Row”; the Dancing Bear complex occupies the former Chart House space; and Main Street Bakery is an unfinished project that developer Mark Hunt has said he wants occupied by a diner.

Other than the old Main Street Bakery location, there just aren’t any restaurant spaces available in Aspen, unless current restaurant tenants will sub-let their space to a new restaurant, and maybe sell their business as well.

“The only way to get in now is to buy someone out,” said Karen Setterfield, who brokers commercial space downtown. “There’s no space waiting there.”

Liquor license applications offer insight into what kind of money it takes to get a restaurant going in Aspen.

Eli Hospitality, which is taking over Tatanka Western Bistro spot, is investing $2.9 million into what will be called Eli Eats, according its liquor-license paperwork on file at the Aspen city clerk’s office.

Eli Eats’ future spot at 308 E. Hopkins Ave. — La Cocina’s old address — is owned by a Nevada company. Tatanka didn’t last long at the space; it opened in the summer of 2019 and had closed by the end of last ski season. Eli Hospitality also is taking over a lease, which is set to expire in July 2028, that commands an annual base rent of $227,885 through its first five years and $247,724 for the next five years.

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Luxury brands flock to suburbs and vacation hot spots where the rich are riding out the pandemic →

Forget Fifth Avenue and Rodeo Drive.

Luxury retailers are rushing to open new and increasingly lavish stores in suburbs and the vacation hot spots where the wealthy have retreated during the pandemic. Gucci is heading to Oak Brook, Ill. Moncler recently set up shop in Vail, Colo. Dior has a new storefront in Scottsdale, Ariz., and Louis Vuitton in Plano, Texas. And Hermès, the maker of the $500,000 Birkin bag, is settling into suburban Detroit.

"There's a bit of a luxury land grab going on," said David Hurley, executive vice president of the Watches of Switzerland Group, which has opened eight stores this year, including Breitling boutiques in San Jose, Nashville and suburban Philadelphia. "Like many others, we're doubling down on store expansion plans."

Though the pandemic has battered the economy, casting millions of people out of work, the wealthiest among them flourished from a booming stock market and soaring home values. Americans have saved $2.6 trillion since the coronavirus outbreak, with the richest quintile accounting for 70% the vast majority of that tally, according to Oxford Economics.

With travel and dining out largely off the table, many are splurging in other ways. Sales of luxury homes - with a median price of $1.03 million - surged 88% in the most recent quarter, far outpacing their lower-priced counterparts, according to data from national real estate brokerage Redfin. Demand for second homes, which more than doubled early in the pandemic, remained elevated through May. High-end automakers Audi and BMW saw revenue spike 90% in the most recent quarter, while Porsche sold a record 36,300 vehicles in the first half of the year.

That shift in spending has padded the fortunes of high-end brands. Sales at fashion house Hermès rose 127% in the most recent quarter, while profits at luxury giant LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton are up fourfold from a year ago. Demand for Hermès bags, often considered investment pieces because of their high resale value, remained brisk during the pandemic, with one selling for as much as $450,000 in auction last year.

Brands are aiming to cash in on the luxury boom by moving even further upmarket, according to Kayla Marci, an analyst at retail intelligence firm EDITED. Designers like Chanel, Gucci and Louis Vuitton have marked up handbags, and many others are adding new stores with VIP suites, private shopping appointments and concierge services to accommodate the wealthy.

As a result, commercial real estate brokers across the country are reporting unprecedented demand from luxury retailers trying to take advantage of cheap rents.

"The pandemic has decentralized luxury retail," said Milton Pedraza, chief executive of the Luxury Institute, a market research firm in New York. "It seems like everyone has moved to the suburbs or to their vacation homes - so that's where the stores are going, too."         

When New York's elite flocked to the Hamptons to ride out the coronavirus pandemic, luxury retailers hurried to meet them there.

Gucci opened a two-story boutique. Christian Louboutin and Dolce & Gabbana set up pop-up shops. And Watches of Switzerland showed up this summer in a vintage Airstream trailer filled with watches retailing for as much as $50,000. The aluminum vehicle was most recently parked at the Hampton Classic, a week-long horse show, where it was stocked with timepieces from Grand Seiko, TAG Heuer and Ulysee Nardin.

"We want to be where our clients are - and right now, a lot of them are in the Hamptons," Hurley said.

Real estate developers say that has galvanized luxury retailers to look beyond the iconic fashion districts of Beverly Hills, Manhattan and Miami. The mass migration to online shopping early in the pandemic, analysts say, gave brands a clear picture of how living patterns were being reshaped.

"E-commerce by nature is hyperlocal - you're shipping from a warehouse to a specific address, so you know exactly where the demand is," said Justin Abrams, chief executive of FlagshipRTL, which helps fashion and lifestyle brands set up physical stores using short-term market tests. "Brands are saying, 'What are the Zip codes we need to win? Let's go there.'"

That, he says, is how Moncler recently landed in Vail, Colo., and why Proenza Schouler opened pop-ups in East Hampton, N.Y., and Greenwich, Conn.

"There's a lot more flexibility now," he said. "There's no need to take a 10-year lease on a space on Rodeo Drive anymore."

In Aspen, broker Angi Wang says luxury retailers that once looked to the ski town for seasonal pop-ups are progressively committing to larger, long-term spaces. Among this summer's newest entrants are Balenciaga and Overland Sheepskin Co.

"It used to be that our market was too small, but now everyone wants to be here permanently," said Wang, who works for the real estate firm Setterfield & Bright. "They're clamoring to get in, to the point where we honestly don't have any space left."

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Aspen building home to NY Pizza, Green Dragon sells for $7.3 million →

A Hyman Avenue mall building home to a pizzeria and pot shop has a new owner.

The $7.3 million sale of 409 E. Hyman Ave., which is home to Green Dragon marijuana dispensary and New York Pizza, closed the last week of June. The seller was Norton LLC and the buyer was Aspen Hyman 409 LLC, according to the Pitkin County Clerk and Recorder’s Office.

Green Dragon and New York Pizza are the building’s sole tenants. New York Pizza’s lease is good through 2026, co-owner Earl Rodgers said. Green Dragon has a lease with options, said Alex Levine, the Denver-based company’s chief development officer.

“We have a long-term lease,“ Levine said, ”and we don’t plan to go anywhere.“

The Green Dragon, which opened its Hyman mall location in March 2014, also will be undergoing an interior renovation later this year.

Green Dragon and New York Pizza complement each other well, with both establishments bouncing business off each other, Levine said

Rodgers and Kevin Jones opened New York Pizza in 1993. In February 2010, they expanded into Orchard Plaza shopping center in El Jebel, where a City Market is. And Friday, the third New York Pizza opened, this one at 400 E. Valley Rd. in Carbondale. It also is located near the new City Market.

That gives New York Pizza three locations in the valley and possibly more in the future.

“We’re local people,” Rodgers said, “and we’re not coming and going, and we have a loyal following.”

The new ownership’s long-term plans for the three-story, 3,720-square-foot building on Hyman, which includes a basement, are unclear.

“It just so happens to be a smaller building compared to other commercial (in downtown Aspen),” said broker Angi Wang, of Setterfield & Bright, who represented Aspen Hyman 409 LLC in its purchase.

The building was not listed on the Multiple Listing Service but came to Wang’s attention through the Denver office of New York-based commercial real estate company Newmark Group, which marketed the property for sale.

The new owner is associated with Aspen Shimmer Properties, which is based in Centennial, according to public records.

Wang said the buyers are keeping a low profile for now.

An LLC affiliated with Aspen Shimmer also bought the 228 S. Mill St. building for $5.9 million in January. The 4,300-square-foot commercial building is located around the corner about 300 feet away from where Green Dragon and New York Pizza do business.

The Mill building, completed in 1980, is listed on the city of Aspen’s inventory of historic landmark sites and structures.

In 2017, Aspen City Council adopted an ordinance giving buildings in downtown’s outdoor malls — located on blocks of East Hyman, East Cooper and South Mill — historic designation also.

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Aspen retail scene heats up for the summer →

It appears that the effects of the pandemic have only made Aspen’s commercial real estate scene even more desirable than it has been in recent years.

Downtown Aspen has one retail space available for summer occupancy, according to Angi Wang, a broker at Setterfield & Bright.

She and fellow broker Karen Setterfield said they haven’t seen this kind of demand ever.

“It’s stronger than it’s ever been, and I’ve been doing this for 30 years,” Setterfield said. “Everyone wants Aspen. … We are out of spaces, and we have unlimited demand for retail spaces.”

They said they have been fielding several phone calls every week from prospective retailers wanting to set up shop in Aspen.

“Offers are coming in all different directions,” Setterfield said. “Spaces are getting multiple offers.”

The same goes for people interested in buying existing restaurant businesses.

There have been multiple offers lobbed at some longtime establishments but the only one that has actually transferred ownership is Pinons.

Owner Rob Mobilian confirmed last week that after operating the restaurant for 33 years in Aspen, he has sold the business to a restaurateur who owns Casa D’Angelo in Fort Lauderdale and other eateries in South Florida. He also owns a second home here.

Pinons will be transformed and reopened this June, Mobilian said, adding he met with the new owner at his restaurant in Fort Lauderdale last fall to discuss the deal.

“It has been a long a run,” Mobilian said about his tenure in Aspen’s restaurant scene.

There have been rumors and reports that other restaurants in Aspen have sold, but they haven’t, according to current owners as well as commercial real estate brokers.

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Aspen’s downtown core thriving with nearly full occupancy this winter →

Just as the residential real estate market has exploded with wealthy people moving to Aspen in what has been dubbed the “urban exodus” during the COVID-19 pandemic, the retail scene in the commercial core is following suit.

Observers of the local business scene had thought at the outset of the pandemic, which hit Aspen in mid-March, that they would be counting the increasing number of empty storefronts by the fall offseason.

But just like most things COVID, it has been the opposite.

“We didn’t know what was going to happen with the market,” said Angi Wang, a broker associate with Setterfield & Bright, which handles a majority of retail leases in Aspen’s downtown core. “Everyone was scared and super apprehensive for the summer but summer was more fruitful than people expected.”

That can be partly chocked up to billions of dollars in real estate sales this year as people from cities chose Aspen and the surrounding area to settle in during the pandemic.

“Retailers are following suit,” Wang said, noting that at least a dozen new businesses are setting up shop for the winter season and beyond, with more leases in the works. “People who moved here are shoppers and can afford to shop here.”

Wang estimated that the vacancy rate for retail storefronts in the downtown core is “next to nil.”

“We’re doing deals and we are filling the spaces,” she said, adding that some spaces have had multiple offers, which has driven square-footage rates higher than the asking price.

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Pandemic Home Buyers Drive Aspen’s New Gold Rush →

ASPEN, Colo.—Prices have gotten so high here that a $1.8 million home late last year was included in an affordable-housing lottery by the Aspen Pitkin County Housing Authority.

That home has yet to sell, but plenty of others in Aspen have. The mountain resort town is part of a real-estate trend playing out in places such as New York’s eastern Long Island shore and in Lake Tahoe, Calif., where home prices have surged as wealthy urbanites look for space and outdoor amenities during the pandemic and while working from home.

Aspen is attracting affluent buyers from both coasts and Texas. July home-sales contracts jumped more than fivefold over that same month a year earlier, a surge that appraiser Jonathan Miller called unprecedented for Aspen in a recent report.

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Aspen housing market sets blistering pace with 8 home sales of $10M or more already this month →

Out-of-state buyers have been gobbling up Aspen properties at what real estate observers are calling an unprecedented pace that not even the pre-Great Recession days can match.

This month alone helps demonstrate that. Eight property sales, each selling for more than $10 million, have gone through the Pitkin County Clerk’s Office since Aug. 1. Those eight deals combined for $119.8 million, including $22 million for an undeveloped residential lot on Red Mountain that was recorded Tuesday. By comparison, August 2019 generated $162.3 million in total sales for both residential and commercial real estate, according to property records.

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Real Estate in the News 2020

Bidwell Building Up First for Mark Hunt Construction Projects

Developer Mark Hunt’s has started the redevelopment of multiple buildings on the Cooper Avenue mall, the Aspen Daily News reported. The project begins at the corner of Cooper Avenue and Galena Street, where the Bidwell building will be torn down, and includes the Red Onion annex, also set for demolition, as well as renovations of the second-floor spaces above the historic restaurant and building to the west. The corner building will house new retail units, while the second floor space above the Red Onion is slated to become a performance venue and educational space run by Jazz Aspen Snowmass. Next on Hunt’s list is the demolition of the Buckhorn Arms building at 730 E. Cooper Ave. across the street from City Market, which is to become a new hotel.

Read more real estate in the news MAY 2020

Ski industry lost $2 billion because of COVID-19 pandemic, trade group reports

The U.S. ski industry lost at least $2 billion last winter because of the economic collapse from the COVID-19 crisis, a national trade association announced Wednesday.

Denver-based National Ski Areas Association said skier visits fell nearly 14 percent in the 2019-20 season compared to 2018-19. Skier visits totaled about 51.1 million in the shortened season.

Most resorts were forced to close in mid-March when the pandemic hit and states issued health closure orders. The lifts stopped spinning when resorts were crammed with spring break vacationers.

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Uncertainty, optimism in Aspen-Snowmass real estate markets

Uncertainty mixed with optimism makes for an interesting environment when it comes to making investments, particularly large investments like real estate. But today, these two forces are prominent influences in our Aspen-Snowmass real estate market.

In the first five months of this year, the country has gone from what seemed like a stable growing economy with a record low unemployment rate of 3.5% and a stock market setting new records, to a global pandemic crisis that led to a global economic shutdown and unemployment that lingers in the 13-14% range. Both of which have led to a Fed prediction of a record 53% drop in the country’s GDP in the second quarter and to social unrest in the streets of the nation’s cities not seen since the 1960s. Just when it looked like a period of extreme uncertainty was taking over, the Labor Department reported last Friday an unexpected rebound in U.S. employment with the non-farm payroll jumping by 2.5 million jobs.

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