The face of Frisco, Colorado is changing
Where once we had little cabins, today we have huge condo buildings. Yes, they are designed nicely, and have a mountain feel, but the town is losing a little of its charm and quaintness. One example is the half acre site at First and Granite, that used to have a Bed and Breakfast named The Lark on it.
Recently a developer bought the old B&B building and turned it into a very nice looking condo complex named The Mount Victoria Lodge. It has commercial spaces on the ground floor and two floors of condos above. There are 10 condominium units and the prices ranged from $550,000 to $695,000. Parking is in a common garage behind the commercial spaces on the first floor. All condos were sold before the building was finished. I must say that it is an improvement over what was there, but it is a mammoth building!
Another example ocurred recently at 4th and Galena, where a small cabin was torn down and a duplex was built on it. Each side of the duplex sold for approximately $1,000,000, and both sides sold prior to completion. We are finding that Buyers want a very nice level of finish, but don’t necessarily need a large home as a second home. They do want wine coolers, granite counters, stainless steel appliances and hardwood floors. A rustic mountain look is a plus. We are aslo seeing a trend toward two sets of washers and dryers with one being near the master suite. The majority of people buying in this price range do not rent and prefer to just keep it for their own use. 
Timberline Cove is another new building that is nearing completion, and it has awesome lake views from the front units and nice mountain views from many other condos. The complex is on the last piece of lakefront property and is behind the Holiday Inn. It is almost finished, and is supposed to start closing its first sales next week. From the time the first units were reserved until today, many of the condos have appreciated as much as 40-50% over what they were initially bought for.
Frisco has developed into two distinct areas; the lake area and downtown, and people seem to have a strong preference for one or the other. If views or access to the bike path is important, then they tend to go to the area near the lake. Many people seem to really want to be close to Main Street so that they can walk to dining, take the bus directly to the ski areas, or enjoy the frequent festivals and events that happen in the summertime. The bike path is also convenient for these people, as is Walter Byron park.
There is one little cabin that will not go under the bulldozer’s blade. It is currently for sale for $589,000 and is about 800 sq ft, 2 bedrooms and 1 bath. It is really cute inside, but has no land other than what it sits on, so cannot be developed. 
I am curious to see if it will actually sell at that price, as it seems high, but there will probably someone out there that falls in love with it and just has to have it!
At least we will have one cabin left in town, other than the ones, like the one to the right, that has been moved to Frisco’s Historic Park.
Joanne- It’s amazing what building is occuring in your neck of the woods. It’s not surprising that the market is hot, hot, hot! We lowlanders are always looking for amazing places to live and you are helping us find the perfect home. I love catching up with what is happening in Summit County by reading your blog. Thanks for all the great information and the wonderful pictures.
I went and drove by that little cabin you mentioned the other day, just out of curiosity. It is indeed cute (love love love the red and white door), but it is TINY!!! It was quite a shock when I read that the property was a total of .01 of an acre!!! After I considered it for a moment, though, I thought it would be perfect for a Denver couple (with no kids) who wanted a 2nd home up here for the weekends. But like you — I’m dying to know what the final sale price will be; I find the price it’s listed at right now to be suuuuuper high.
Jennifer,beautiful places to live are getting more scarce all the time as they get crowded out. We are lucky to have 80% of our county in public lands, but it does mean a squeeze on how much can be developed, so we get tear downs.
Erin, It is really good that the cabin will not be scraped and replaced, and that is the reason it has no land. If it had land with it it would have been snapped up and torn down already. I agree, the price is high, but you never know what someone in love with it will do! Perhaps I will blog about it after it has sold, but when it is not my listing, I cannot “advertise” it and this would be considered advertising I think.