Developers unite on project designed to sell real estate

Website among new media effort

Thinking of building or buying a home in the Crested Butte area, but just not sure where? Crested Butte Mountain Resort and a group of local real estate agents and developers are working on a marketing tool that will help prospective homebuyers and builders understand how their property fits into the overall “big picture” of development in the Crested Butte area.

CBMR real estate sales and marketing manager Bo Stambaugh presented the idea for a development master vision and website to the Mt. Crested Butte Town Council in April. The town council approved an expenditure of $5,000 from the town’s admissions tax fund to be used on the master vision project.
“We want to create a marketing piece to be used by all real estate brokers and developers, to create a big picture vision, particularly about development in Mt. Crested Butte,” Stambaugh said.
He said the development community is aware that the vast majority of new development and large-scale investment is going to happen in Mt. Crested Butte, in projects such as Mountaineer Square North, North Village, and the build-out of the Prospect subdivision.
Stambaugh said the idea for a real estate master vision began about a year ago, along with a few other changes at CBMR such as the recent branding study and hiring of Telluride resort executive Ken Stone as the resort’s chief marketing executive. Stambaugh says, “Inside CBMR we knew it was time for some change.”
CBMR real estate and sales director Michael Kraatz says they started by forming a council of local real estate agents and developers to begin working toward a unified goal. Kraatz says a sub-committee of that council created the idea of a marketing website with a map of the Crested Butte area (between Round Mountain and Mt. Crested Butte) and informational pieces about specific developments that have been proposed or are in construction and have a total cost of more than $5 million. Kraatz says the website would also include links and information about conservation easements, public facilities, and recreational opportunities.
Cathy Benson, a local real estate agent who serves on the sub-committee says, “anybody that is seeking information about what’s happening in Crested Butte will have the opportunity to go on this website.”
Stambaugh said, “We’re trying to highlight the total investment and commitment in the long haul. We’re early in our growth cycle… We can think with more vision, and do it in a way that really differentiates us in the mind of the consumer.”
Mt. Crested Butte mayor William Buck, who also serves on the master vision sub-committee, says the website is an informational piece for prospective developers, real estate brokers and homebuyers, but it will not be specifically a real estate sales tool, and no information about individual real estate agencies will be included. He says the website will help the town by highlighting public features such as the rec path and Town Hall, as well as future amenities like the proposed aquatic center. “It’s a collaborative piece. We’re all partners in the economy,” Buck says.
Stambaugh said James Niehues, who also makes the resort’s ski trail maps, was being commissioned to create the master vision map, and CBMR would be developing the website in-house.
He said they will also be printing 10,000 informational pamphlets with the area map and a summary of future developments.
Stambaugh said there were many partners contributing to the project and they were asking Mt. Crested Butte to give $5,000. He said the real estate community was being asked to contribute $15,000, and developers were being asked to contribute $2,500 for each major development listed.
Mt. Crested Butte town manager Joe Fitzpatrick said there was $291,000 available in the admission tax fund for use at the council’s discretion.
Council member Gary Keiser asked Stambaugh when the Master Vision would be finished.
Stambaugh said they expected to have the website up by early July.