Steamboat Springs, CO Real Estate and Community Blog

Right outside of Steamboat, between West End Village and Silver Spur, lies the future neighborhood of Steamboat 700. The developers have been working non-stop for a year, meeting with the public, submitting proposals, and making promises so that they can get their land annexed into Steamboat Springs and start building houses.

Most think it’s a good idea. Steamboat home prices have appreciated about 40% over the last few years, and Steamboat’s city limits are almost out of buildable land. When there is no more land available to build on, real estate prices really start to climb.

Steamboat 700 is being touted as a “locals” community where homes will have year round residents. It’s a community based on the buzz word ‘New Urbanism’-dense neighborhoods where residents can park the car and walk to shops and parks and schools. There are “pocket parks” instead of yards, trails for biking and hiking, and commercial areas with restaurants, businesses, and shopping all within a few blocks from Steamboat 700 homes.

The concept is to get people away from the sprawling suburbs and strip malls where you only see your neighbor’s garage door go up and down and don’t know their name and get back to nostalgic neighborhoods where the kids all got along and the families barbequed every weekend.

There is a minority who think Steamboat 700 should be put to a vote. These are probably home owners who see Steamboat 700 as a threat to property values. They think that more houses mean less appreciation for them.

I disagree. It’s like the Vail Valley-home prices started to skyrocket when they ran out of land in Vail, so towns and communities like Avon, Edwards, Eagle, and even Gypsum began to grow. Vail hardly became less valuable. In fact, it was the opposite. Edwards is one of the fastest growing communities in Eagle County. People like it for its own merits, not as a Vail substitute.

Eagle County population grew 80% between 1990 and 2000 (most recent Census data) vs. 43% for Routt County.

Here in Steamboat we have a few options, namely Hayden, North Routt, and Oak Creek. Routt County has room for hip, new, vibrant communities. People who don’t like it are probably the ones that complained about the ugly Harbor Hotel coming down to make way for Howelson Place and the super ugly Ski Time Square complex being torn down. Heck, the third floor of Ski Time Square was condemned.