BASALT — Erik Cavarra, Managing Broker at Alpine Property Real Estate sees continued growth in commercial and residential areas within the Roaring Fork Valley.

Statistical Market Analysis

Status	# Listings	List Volume	Sold Volume		List Price	Sold Price	Sale/List Price	Total SqFt	List Price Per Total SqFt	Sold Price Per Total SqFt	Agent Days On Market
Active	20	12,195,500	0	Low Avg High	25,000 609,775 1,995,000	0 0 0	0.00 0.00 0.00	220 2,068 8,487	113.64 327.85 564.36	0.00 0.00 0.00	54 293 1,007
Overall	20	12,195,500	0	Low Avg High	25,000 609,775 1,995,000			220 2,068 8,487	113.64 327.85 564.36		54 293 1,007

 

An upvalley restaurateur is taking a prime, vacant spot in Basalt, and
a longtime established retailer is swapping one space on Midland Avenue for
another.

The downtown core experiences peaks and valleys, he said.
There have been more vacancies than usual because of five years of recession and
lingering economic trouble, according to Bramson.

“There’s always going to be a high
level of interest in downtown,” he said. “If things are priced right, they
certainly will move.”

The owners of Red Mountain Grill at the Aspen
Business Center and Aspen Highlands have signed a three-year lease for the space
Midland Baking Co. used to occupy in the Riverside Plaza building on Two Rivers
Road, Bramson said. He and real estate agent Debra Ritchie handled the
deal.

Jamie Ramey, of Red Mountain Grill, said the Basalt restaurant will
have a different name and theme than its sister eateries. It will be called the
Fryingpan, he said, and will be open for lunch and dinner. He said more details
will be available before the restaurant opens in mid- or late
February.

Midland Baking Co. vacated the 1,592-square-foot space at the
end of October. Bramson said the site is attractive because it has good exposure
on Two Rivers Road near the intersection with Midland Avenue.

Express
Yourself — which specializes in greeting cards, gifts and custom printing of
party and wedding invitations and other materials — is moving from 217 Midland
Ave. to the Riverwalk Building, across the street and slightly to the east. It
is taking over the former site of Toklat Gallery.

“We’ve just outgrown
our space,” said Express Yourself owner Amy Forsey. The business has been in the
same spot for 20-some years. Forsey bought it in 2004. She is leaving an
800-square-foot space for 1,300 square feet. Bramson helped her find the new
space.

Forsey isn’t concerned about leaving a well-established
spot.

“It’s not even 200 steps away,” she said of the new space. “I
counted them.”

The Riverwalk site is still highly visible from Midland
Avenue. Plus she isn’t entirely dependent on foot traffic running across her by
chance. She has a high number of returning customers and custom business, she
said.

Express Yourself is making the move this weekend. Forsey said she
plans to open Tuesday.

Bramson said he expects Express Yourself’s corner
space to be sought after quickly by a new tenant.

Bramson said other
commercial activity he assisted with recently was getting Campbell Audio Visual
into the former El Korita restaurant space in Orchard Plaza, near Movieland, and
Zapazoo Inkworks, which specializes in custom silk-screening, into the El Jebel
Plaza where Mountain Soles used to be located.

One major turn of events
that could reshape downtown could evolve in the summer of 2014. Clark’s Market’s
lease in the building at the center of town expires in “mid-summer” of next
year, said CEO Tom Clark Sr.

“I would say it’s likely we’ll close it,”
Clark said, emphasizing that no decision has been made yet. The grocery store
has been located in the 20,000-square-foot space for 13 1/2 years. It has a
15-year lease. It’s not a competitive facility for a grocery store because it’s
small and needs substantial upgrades, he said.

Clark said his company
will “keep an open mind” to maintaining a grocery store in the midvalley, but
reality dictates that might not happen. City Market is established in El Jebel
and Whole Foods Market opened in Willits Town Center in August.

“It looks
like the grocery business is pretty well wrapped up there,” Clark said.