ASPEN REAL ESTATE – The five lots the U.S. Forest Service is looking to carve out of its Aspen West End property and sell via an online auction could each fetch between $2 and $2.5 million, according to a local real estate expert, and accommodate at least a 3,200-square-foot house…

Aspen real estate broker Tim Estin [with Coldwell Banker Mason Morse] said that there have been two land sales in the West End this year, and two additional lots are under contract.A 7,500-square-foot corner lot at 501 W. Hallam closed for $2 million in January, Estin said, while another 6,000-square-foot lot closed for $4 million in April. There is an active listing for a 6,000-square-foot lot near the Forest Service’s land that has been on the market for 832 days, Estin said. The original list price of $2.68 million has been lowered to $2.48 million, he said. Based on that and other asking prices for West End lots, Estin estimated the parcels could each go for $2 to $2.5 million, although he said the Forest Service’s motivations and timeline will have a lot to do with the final sale price.

Estin also suggested that the Forest Service might be wise to not put all five lots to auction at once. “Five lots would be flooding the system a bit,” he said. Snelson said the agency has taken that concern into account, and is evaluating all strategic options.
By Curtis Wackerle, Sept. 12, 2012 ADN

The USFS property in Aspen, bordered by Hallam and 7th St on the bottom, is slated for redevelopment. Five lots in the upper right are to be sold to fund a project that includes a new admin. bldg. and visitor center, at lower left, and other facilities. Courtesy AT and U.S. Forest Service

Full article link and posted below in full:

Sept. 12, 2012

Published on Aspen Daily News Online (http://www.aspendailynews.com)
USFS looking to capitalize on West End real estate
By Curtis Wackerle
Aspen Daily News Staff Writer

The five lots the U.S. Forest Service is looking to carve out of its Aspen West End property and sell via an online auction could each fetch between $2 and $2.5 million, according to a local real estate expert, and accommodate at least a 3,200-square-foot house.

The Forest Service plans to sell off about 1 acre of its 3-acre prime Aspen real property, in order to finance a redevelopment of the aging visitors center, employee housing and administrative facilities at the S-curves site. The project is expected to cost $9 to $10 million.

At a Pitkin County commissioners work session on Tuesday, White River National Forest Supervisor Scott Fitzwilliams said the effort to sell the Aspen land on the free market could have implications for other Forest Service “conveyance” plans, as the agency is looking to unload other parcels in Colorado.

Given the nature of the Aspen real estate market, the Forest Service is expecting a good haul from the sales. But if those hopes turn out to be unfounded, “we’re going to put the entire conveyance program to bed for a while,” Fitzwilliams said.

While the agency, in collaboration with the Government Services Administration, will ascribe a minimum bid to the parcels, that figure hasn’t been determined yet, said Aspen-Sopris District Ranger Scott Snelson. Each lot would be around 6,000 square feet.

The sales are expected to take place through an online auction format, which would be open for 30 to 60 days. Snelson said he expects the sales to commence sometime this winter, although no date has been set.

Fitzwilliams noted that real estate prices — especially for raw land — have been hard to pin down as of late.

One of the five lots is a corner lot on Smuggler and Eighth streets. The other lots emanate from there on both Smuggler and Eighth streets.

Aspen Community Development Director Chris Bendon said three of the five lots would be entitled to 3,240-square-foot homes, based on underlying zoning, and that two of the lots, which are slightly larger, could accommodate homes in the 3,500- to 3,600-sqaure-foot range.

Aspen real estate broker Tim Estin said that there have been two land sales in the West End this year, and two additional lots are under contract.

A 7,500-square-foot corner lot at 501 W. Hallam closed for $2 million in January, Estin said, while another 6,000-square-foot lot closed for $4 million in April.

There is an active listing for a 6,000-square-foot lot near the Forest Service’s land that has been on the market for 832 days, Estin said. The original list price of $2.68 million has been lowered to $2.48 million, he said.

Based on that and other asking prices for West End lots, Estin estimated the parcels could each go for $2 to $2.5 million, although he said the Forest Service’s motivations and timeline will have a lot to do with the final sale price.

Estin also suggested that the Forest Service might be wise to not put all five lots to auction at once.

“Five lots would be flooding the system a bit,” he said.

Snelson said the agency has taken that concern into account, and is evaluating all strategic options.

“We’ve gotten several different pieces of advice,” he said.

He added that the feds might retain the services of a local real estate broker to help market the properties.

The new visitors center will include a conference room, outdoor amphitheater, and new affordable housing and offices. Snelson said the idea is to create a “stewardship center” that would facilitate better partnerships with other area organizations involved in natural resources.

“All around, I think it’s going to be a much richer community asset,” Snelson told the commissioners.