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Show Reeal State: = - ‘Building the dream home i in Alta | | Max and Julie Gregoric met at Alta nearly a decade ago. They were from opposite ends of the earth: Max was from Manhattan, Julie was from many places, but was born in Argentina. That they should end up meeting | at Alta is not and all the free trash bags and toilet paper he got. That they followed their version of the enlightened, tains,” says Gregoric (one imagines growing up in New York City will cause that). | He took the first step towards his dream in Draper, a rapidly growing but still partially rural town just south of Little 99 mountain bliss and still managed to build a beautiful (2300 square foot, three. bedroom, two bathroom) home on Alta’s slopes with unusual. People from all over the world end up on Alta’s slopes. That they should end up working there, skiing there, falling in love, marrying, and having a couple of kids (Zachary, 3 years, Zoe, 11 months) and deciding to Stay in Utah is not all that unusual either. It is a pattern followed by half of the glassy-eyed ski bum, powder junkies turned semirespectable adults, who populate Snowbird and Alta (this reporter included. That they should continue to work for years at Alta, which is not known for exorbitant remuneratory practices, is also not unusual. People who become hooked on the mountains concoct innumerable justifications for working. hard for a mere pittance compared to what they could get almost anywhere else. This reporter worked as a _ Janitor for three years and was happy to do it because of the great hours (9 p.m. to 4 a.m.) though under-capitalized, path to.ski happiness and - 270 degrees of views from Devil’s Castle to the top of Snowbird’s tram is, on the other hand, quite extraordinary. I set out to find.out a pretty small place- only - about 1400 square feet-but it had three bedrooms. I built it by hand with just one other guy.” This experience, plus a couple of summers banging nails with. downtown con- tractors, combined with the whom inflated ~ offices. It is adjacent to Grizzly Gulch in an area unofficially referred to as “Levittville” (so named Bill Levitt has.a residences there, as do enough of Max — “It’s the views. The views are Cottonwood Canyon. “TIT bought a one acre heavily wooded lot with a and has owned other properties. He had also looked at real estate opportunities small area for several “It was dream to build log cabin in ed the lot and built a small log cabin, “It was one of those cabin kits, “Lodge Logs,” out of Boise. It was farm house and three chicken coops __ for $110,000.” He lived in the in the Snowbird and Alta old house for a year, divid- years. — always my and live in a the moun- = w o n n Brighto ry , s d a u q 2 s ha : , g n i i k s t h ‘hig i e g a w fnew iY SOOM iit e ‘an : onwee 4 YOwWH We Sitry Dusy Sse aeESE ioe “\- basic handy man know how only a three minute snowhe picked up while manag- — mobile ride from the road ing and repairing his rental in the winter. The commute property in New York gave promises to get longer, him the skills he would _ however, as Julie insists need to build his home in that the family get an Alta. He figured he was enclosed snow cat lest half way there. Zachary and Zoe get The next part was more bounced off the back of the difficult. Max and Julie snowmobile. | were well aware of the There are no lots property prices in the currently for sale in the canyon as well as the. canyon that have deeded scarcity of buildable land. water rights, or that are serTo the Gregorics’ credit viced by an Alta town water they recognized the not-sofor anything close to this apparent value of the land price. This is a bone of con-on which they ended up tention for some lot owners building. They timed the in the Albion Basin area downtown e r o m % 0 0 1 Cori en real estate mar-. ket right and managed to pull substantial equity on their home down in the valley, which gave them working capital. | “People thought I was ¥r Hrs canyon, yet is. “jcompletely accessible by car in the summer and It's unbelievable where | am.” apartment York City, new bowis. to real and Julie’s task was _painfully obvious. It was. also obvious Max was no real estate neophyte. He owns a small house in New is _ canyon above the Alta town estate prices are the raison _ d’étre, the enormity _ The= property the Gregorics bought is located on the north side of the Property ims Wadiie Cottonwood Canyon is both difficult to come by and quite expensive. Building costs are similarly high because of Alta’s conscientious building code and approval procedure as well as the unique conditions for and under which you must . build. Max and Julie were aware of this yet they were determined to live in Alta. In this reporter’s other Capacity as real estate Salesperson in Little Cottonwood Canyon, and for by Alex Miller | only .28 acres. how. a Lu Ll Page | 14-Wasatch Canyon Reporter, 8 February - 21 February 1995 mricees Fars, WHE MOK pete oat TeEAWeT heres ye ETieen, Mut hotest proumoeernernts. ive f3i3 i De DlecKsed - and reheved. who are located within the city limits of, and pay taxes — to, The Town of Alta. With their building site secure and a little money in hand, the Gregorics set about building their house crazy when they heard I in earnest. Alta’s building paid $75,000 for the lot, but requirements are similar to_ I knew I wasn’t going to do any other town’s with the any better, and that prices exception that you must get were going up.” The finalan “Avalanche Study piece of the puzzle that he Report” by a Town of Alta needed to move on fell into approved expert. These © place when the seller of the studies assess the danger of | land agreed to carry a conan avalanche hitting an area _ tract on the land for a couand identify the snow loads ple of years. This left him in terms of pounds per with enough cash to start square foot should the the process of building his _ unhappy event occur. home in the mountains. Max knew that his lot $75,000 is a bargain by was not in an avalanche virtue of location and buildzone so the report was relaability, though the lot is tively eo and inexpen- |