Summit County Overview

This is an article in The Summit Daily News. I came across a few months ago that gives some great insight into our community.


Thursday, September 11, 2008

Summit County, Colorado, is located in the heart of the Rocky Mountains, approximately 65 miles west of Denver in the central Rocky Mountain region of Colorado. Summit County’s easterly boundary is located at the Eisenhower Tunnel on Interstate 70 and the westerly boundary is the top of Vail Pass on I-70. Hoosier Pass on Colorado Highway 9 is the location of the most southerly boundary and Green Mountain Reservoir is the most northerly.Summit County encompasses 599 square miles, containing approximately 386,053 acres. Most of the county is federally owned, with some 306,417 acres, representing 79% of the land being either the White River National Forest or the Eagles Nest Wilderness area. The remaining 21%, approximately 79,635 acres, is private land.The County has four primary population centers in the towns of Breckenridge, Frisco, Silverthorne and Dillon.Breckenridge is the oldest town and serves as the county seat. The permanent population is estimated at 28,000 people, an increase of 19% in the last eight years. Summit County had the distinction of being the sixth fastest growing county in the state between 1990 and 2000. Summit County is the home of four major ski resorts: Breckenridge, Keystone, Copper Mountain and Arapahoe Basin. All areas, with the exception of Arapahoe Basin, are major destination resorts providing full amenities from hotels and condominiums to retail stores and restaurants.The Blue River, Snake River and Ten Mile Creek all feed Summit County’s two large reservoirs, Dillon Reservoir and Green Mountain Reservoir. In the summer, sailboats glide across Dillon Reservoir, and a few kayaks, canoes and motorized boats dot the water.The dominant economic driver for Summit County continues to be recreation-based tourism and visitors. Skier visits in recent years have topped 4.2 million. Combining the ski resorts winter activity with the amenities available in the summer, such as Dillon and Green Mountain Reservoirs, five golf courses, gold medal trout streams, the surrounding mountains, makes Summit County one of the more popular destinations both winter and summer.Tied to visitors is the construction of second homes, a dominant part of Summit County’s visual and economic landscape. An improving national economy in the first half of the decade and increasing numbers of baby-boomer retirees contributed to the substantial increase in the quality and quantity of new home construction in 2005 and 2006. The construction industry, providers to the construction industry, and real estate and property management companies continue to be significant employers.Figures released by the Colorado Demography Office estimate Summit County 2005 top-five employment categories (public and private sectors) to be accommodation and food (27.2%), retail trade (13.7%), government (9.8%), construction (9.7%) and real estate (9.4%). Along with occupancy of second homes comes the need for a wide range of resident services such as retail, household, and specialty services. The Northwest Colorado Council of Government completed a study in 2004 on the effects of second homes in Eagle, Grand, Pitkin, and Summit Counties. Based on assessor 2000 through 2001 database information, 67% of our housing units were second homes. This study has been renamed to “Transitions in Mountain Communities” with the second phase indicating non-local home ownership at 66% in 2006 with 1,929 new units added between 2003 and 2006.Second homes also continue to put pressure on the demand for already scarce land and have driven property values upward. While the national real estate market may be cooling, Summit County continues to experience appreciation in sales prices and ever increasing numbers of sales through June 30, 2006. The 2007 reappraisal values reflect solid growth in most property classifications. Total employment is estimated at 22,200 jobs with increases in the construction, manufacturing, retail trades, transportation and warehousing, administrative services, healthcare/social assistance, accommodation/food services, other services, and government seen in recent years. The County’s annual unemployment rate hovers between 3 and 4 percent.Summit County citizens welcomed their first hospital, the St. Anthony Summit Medical Center, which opened December 7, 2005. The state of the art 25-bed facility has a full range of diagnostic, surgery, and treatment options. An adjoining medical office building opened in August 2006, which houses doctor’s offices and other ancillary medical and County facilities.(Compiled from the Summit County Website)

Summit Daily News Source