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Your Morning News - December 29th, 2014

New Castle to Honor Captain Killed in ISIS Fight

The Town of New Castle is planning a public memorial for an Air Force Captain killed in action. William DuBois died in Jordan on December 1st on a mission to attack ISIS targets.

Now, town officials want to memorialize the New Castle native with a monument. Mayor Pro Tem Bruce Leland is leading a committee charged with looking over designs, finding a location and securing financing.

“The stage that’s going to take some time is brainstorming about designs. I’ve got a dozen of them in my head already! We will look at all of those and pick a few to pursue.”

The committee will solicit design ideas from the community after it meets for the first time in January.

Holiday Business in Aspen

Workers in Aspen are transitioning from Christmas to New Year’s. The two holidays are important...this week is the most prosperous of the year. On Friday, a worker named David was making the transition in downtown Aspen. He didn’t want to give his last name, but did take a moment to talk with Aspen Public Radio’s Elise Thatcher.

David: “I’m removing a tree from the little Nell.”

Elise:  “And you’re tying it onto the roof of your truck…”

David: “Yeah, tying it onto the roof of my truck and getting it out of here.”

Summer business in the Upper Valley has been growing steadily, but the winter holiday stretch is still the most concentrated time for hotel bookings.

Aspen Real Estate on the Rise

The Aspen real estate market is about to complete its best year since the boom time of 2007. That’s according to one real estate broker’s analysis.

Tim Estin’s report shows a year-over-year increase in sales at nearly every price point but especially for high end homes. The largest spike came in sales above $7.5 million. Last year saw just four sales in that range. 2014 took in twelve.

There was also a significant jump in sales for properties over $20 million. In 2013, one sale was transacted. This year, there were three over $20 million.

Overall, the number of Aspen properties sold is up 14% and the inventory of active listings is significantly down since the Great Recession. Estin says a healthy national economy is helping.

“The saying in Aspen is, as Wall Street goes, so goes Aspen and Wall Street’s at record highs, unemployment statistics are declining, the GDP is at 5% in the third quarter this year, Colorado is one of the top three or four performing economies in the nation, and consumer confidence is way up.”

In the last month, Aspen has seen two significant sales – one was record-setting. A penthouse condo in the downtown core fetched $15.8 million, while a restored Victorian downtown sold for $16 million.

Habitat for Humanity Expands in the Valley

The Roaring Fork Valley chapter of Habitat for Humanity is expanding in the coming year. The nonprofit will break ground on a new store build a home in Basalt for the first time and has other projects in the works.

The new store will be on the other end of the property where the main REStore location is now. That’s about five miles south of Glenwood Springs on Highway 82. The two existing retail locations will be consolidated there, and will include Habitat homes. Scott Gilbert is President of the chapter.

“And on that piece of land the 6 acres, we’ll build three or four duplex homes for Habitat Homes right along the bike path there.”

Another big change for 2015 is Habitat for Humanity qualified for a special tax credit which provides an incentive for people who donate. As for housing, the nonprofit hopes to move four families into new homes in 2015. One would be in Basalt, and three in Carbondale. Gilbert hopes to also finalize the paperwork for an Aspen duplex.

“We build a lot of homes downvalley in Silt and Rifle, and while those are a great and a good price, if someone’s working upvalley, getting a home that far from their work, 70 miles daily commute, that’s a really tough way to parent and a tough way for a kid to not have his family around.”

Gilbert says the linchpin in that project is land donated by the Aspen Pitkin County Housing Authority.

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