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Show WASATCH CANYON REPORTER, November 9-22, at 994- Page 19 “CANYON OWNERSHIP: Private Property Myths Debunked! by Alexander R. Miller Many people suffer from the misconception that it 5 impossible or prohibitively te nsive to own property in either Big or Little 3 Cottonwood Canyon. While the prices of premium properties in either of these canyons reach well up into the upper| _end of what most ess can afford, there are plenty of © opportunities for patient, creative or resourceful investors. It is true that a large majority of the land in both canyons is owned by the National Forest Service, but, there are pockets of land which have been in private _ hands from the early days of Utah statehood. , For many years there have been private homesteads in both canyons. Most were ments in either canyon are relatively new, in fact, the entire Snowbird Ski Resort which was only a figment of Ted Johnson and Dick Bass’ imagination a scant twentyfive years ago. In the last several years most real estate transactions have been on a much © _ just after the mining boom died. Salt Lake families built retreats in the mountains to escape the treeless heat of Salt Lake City sixty years ago. For a long time these cabins were the extent of development in the canyons. In Big Cottonwood Canyon this still appears to be the characteristic of the real estate market. Some new cabins have been built over the years and some of the older cabins have been winterized but that was the extent of progress until about twenty-five years ago. During all of this time some families maintained large chunks of land either for a future investment or simply to own a piece of land in the canyon’s beautiful surroundings. In the past twentyfive years, the speculators were sorted from those who merely wanted to own property and the burst of development which transformed both canyons radically changes the distribution of land ownership in Big and Little Cottonwood Canyons. During these transitional years, most of the biggest parcels which would be appropriate for development found buyers and now contain some of Alta’s most popular condominium developments like: The Village at Sugarplum, and Big Cottonwood Canyon’s familiar subdivisions like: The. Silverfork Subdivision. The larger develop- attention to issues such as revegetation, public water, _ sewer and gas systems have ual condominiums and homes or one or two building lots. Very limited opportunities still exist for buyers with larger development aspirations but patience, deep pockets and luck are all necessary requirements for the would be developer. 3 It appears muliiet if not impossible that a development of anything like Snowbird will ever be built in Little Cottonwood Canyon © again. There simply are not the vast parcels of land available which were available at the time of the first real boom in modern Utah skiing. However, there are parcels which potentially allow for the development of several new buildings adjacent to both Snowbird and Alta Ski Resorts. Big Cottonwood Canyon, on the other hand, has experienced renewed activity in the last few years. There remain fairly large parcels of land which have. not yet been built upon. As of this writing none of these parcels are on the market but there are plans for future development of condominium units at Solitude Ski Resort. It appears that the last phase of development in both canyons is upon us given the scarcity of remaining land and a general stiffening in the posture of organizations, or in some cases existing owners of canyon property who would just as soon not see any development in the canyons. The reality of buying property or land in Big and Little Cottonwood Canyon bears careful examination. There are considerations potential investors should be aware and there are also some myths which should be put to rest. While there are a few more restrictions on building and owning in these canyons than there are in the city, the rewards are substantial. not seem likely to change because of the limited amount of property available and an and _ There is a some truth to this. There are certain areas in the canyons where you have to build for unique considerations such as avalanches, this can be expensive. increase in both Salt Lake City’s population and prosperity. In exploring ownership in the canyons you should put some issues and myths into perspective. Land Availability Many people believe there is no private land available at all in the canyons, or that only land leases are available. In fact Little Cottonwood Canyon is iae) It 1s expen- ty in the canyons become more accessible to Salt Lakers and destination visitors. This situation does ae Properties | never turn over maintain proper- less. They have certainly | ~ now as aresult of land swaps for a littke more money you with the Forest Service in the © can have a house in the late seventies and early eightcanyons in a location that will jes. An overwhelming porpay dividends for years to tion of the land in either come. | canyon with structures is privately owned. sive to build be become in many ways, more beautiful rather than smaller scale such as individ- While the prices of, premium properties in either of these canyons reach well up into end of what most people can afford, there are plenty of opportunities for patient, creative or resourceful investors’ “summer cabins from the years Most properties with easy access to the ski resorts have appreciated in value substantially over the years. Additionally, the canyons, through careful planning and There are also some proper— ties which can only be accessed by snow cats in the winter and via dirt road in the summer. These building sites represent a small portion of what is available. On other, more accessible, building sites adjacent to the resorts of Snowbird, Alta, Brighton or Solitude, or 95% National orest Service but that leaves a fair amount of gross acreage which is privately held. Big Cottonwood Canyon has a slightly larger a of privately held an Not all of this land is _ able to be developed because of building restrictions and location, but, each year of the last three saw between two and five lots sell with prices ranging from $75,000 to Leasehold down Big Cottonwood Canyon road in the Silverfork Subdivision, building is more in line with valley costs. Given the recent surge of luxury home building on the south east bench of Salt Lake valley in prestigious developments like Pepperwood and Tall Oaks, Walker Woods and Emigration Oaks, builders will find that building in Big and Little Cottonwood _— Canyons isn’t bad relative to the hot south east area. While the building code in Little Cottonwood Canyon is considerably more restrictive than in the valley, Issues Some of the Alta’s older lodges were on property leased from the Forest Service for many years but virtually all of the land under these lodges is privately held the expense of these additional features such as a roof load of 150 pounds per square foot, the addition of more shear walls add only a small percent to overall building costs. The bottom line is that in the canyons Raw land is a very small portion of the real estate business in both Big and Little Cottonwood Canyon. A much larger portion of the gross sales in these areas are resales of existing properties. While less than ten percent of the market turns in any given year this ‘still allows for enough inventory to keep active real estate companies located in both canyons. If you add to the full ownership inventory, the listings of an under appreciated time share market in Little Cottonwood Canyon, a prospective buyer quickly | finds that there is a little piece of the mountain available to anyone who wants one. Condominium developments at Snowbird and Alta total more than four hun- dred properties. This number, while not large enough to’ make the canyon feel crowded (Park City and Deer Valley condominiums number in the thousands), canyon has more to offer by | way of existing homes but there are no condominium Continued on page 18 SNOWBIRD / ALTA PROPERTIES Little Cottonwood Canyon’s only on site real estate office with over 20 years experience in the Snowbird/Alta Resort Areas Sugarplum Powder Ridge Condominiums Homes — Blackjack {Hellgate Shared Ownership Building Lots The View Snowbird Village — snowbird | is large enough to virtually assure that fifteen or twenty properties will be available in the canyon ranging from $100,000 to a $1,000,000 or more. ) - Big Cottonwood realty Snowbird Realty PO Box 920071 Snowbird UT 84092 800-453-7122 ~— 801-742-2222 ext. 4120 801-742-2807 FAX Located in the Snauibiid Center- 2nd Hoo! | |