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Local News that affects
Mesa County Commercial Real Estate |
| July 2006: "Mother Earth
News" ranks Grand Junction as one of a dozen "great places you've never
heard of". The article is in the August/September edition. The author
Lynn Byczynski describes Grand Junction as "a charming town in a
dramatic setting. The 12 communities that are spotlighted in the
article, have populations between 2,300 and 60,000. Mother Earth
describes Grand Junction in two paragraphs and a pull-out box that
includes details on population, climate, cost of living, medium home
price and a plug for the Colorado National Monument, which is labeled a
"don't miss". The magazine based its picks on affordability, sense of
community, emphasis on the environment, sustainability, alternative
energy and local food. Mother Earth News reaches more than 1.4 million
readers. |
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| July 2006: The dollar
volume or Real Estate in Mesa County during the first half of 2006
increased almost 25 percent over the same period last year. Bob Reece,
principal of Advanced Title Technology, said real estate sales during
the half of 2006 totaled $834 million as compared to $670 million for
the same period in 2005. Reece's research shows the first half dollar
volume has more than doubled in the past 5 years. The strength of Mesa
County economy driven by energy exploration and production is a major
factor in the explosive growth the county has experienced. |
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| August 2006: Colorado Oil
and Gas Association consultant and former Mesa County Commissioner Kathy
Hall told GOP members during a forum at the Mesa County Republican
Women's Luncheon that abundant energy reserves in Western Colorado and
the region, will "Fuel The World" for years to come and will be
integral to the U.S. becoming energy independent. Retired geologist and
oil and gas industry negotiator C.J. Gudim told the group "Most of the
world's most expansive oil reserves are in politically precarious Middle
Eastern countries, including Saudi Arabia, Iran and Irag. That is why
energy independence is vital Hall said. "Energy conservation and
development of the Western Slope's natural resources, including natural
gas, she said, are a major part of the solution." Article
Source: Grand Junction Daily Sentinel, August 15th, 2006 |
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| October 2006: The National Association of
Realtors recently documented that there was a nationwide slowdown in the
housing market. Mesa County's strong housing market appears to be
bucking that trend. Local observers say they expect the area's market to
remain strong for the foreseeable future. Locally, market indicators are
moving in the other direction, and conditions are putting prices upward
pressure on prices said Sandy Barger a local Realtor and a member of the
board of directors for the Grand Junction Board of Realtors. She said
together with a steady demand from buyers and a smaller supply of homes
on the market, have driven the average sale price of a home up almost
11% in the past year. Barger said even in the face of a national housing
slowdown, she doesn't expect the local real estate market to be falter
anytime soon. Mesa County's economy seems to be in a long-term growth
trend that will last at least another five years, she said." Article
Source: Grand Junction Daily Sentinel, October 8th, 2006 |
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| October 2006: "Shell is sure
of Oil Shale process" Executives are confident of a proprietary process
that can squeeze oil from Western Colorado oil shale rock, said the head
of Royal Dutch Shell's United States Branch. "We proven the technology,
what we are now trying to prove is the environmental safekeeping of that
heating process" said John Hofmeister of Shell. Its process leaves the
rock in place by heating it to free the petroleum molecules, which it
collects in a conventional well as kerogen. "We know we can make high
quality transportation fuels" said Jill Davis of Shell Exploration,
"However that means the company must show it can produce commercial
quantities without damaging groundwater in the vicinty" Davis said.
Shell probably won't make any commercial decisions until around the end
of the decade, she said. Article
Source: Grand Junction Daily Sentinel, October 24th, 2006 |
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November
2006: Three companies hoping to unlock the energy buried in
the marlstone of Piceance Basin took another small step with positive
environmental finding by a federal agency. "The process so far is moving
at a reasonable pace" said Jim Evans chairman of the Club 20 Oil Shale
Task Force. The findings affect projects proposed by Chevron USA Inc.,
EGL Resources Inc., and Shell Frontier Oil and Gas Inc. All three
anticipate heating oil shale in place to free petroleum molecules, which
then can be collected and used as a fuel for motor vehicles.
"The country's economic and national security depend on developing
domestic energy resources such as oil shale like the oil shale found in
Western Colorado", said C. Stephen Allred, assistant secretary of the
Interior for Land and Minerals Management. Article
Excerpts from: Grand Junction Daily Sentinel, November 10, 2006 |
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November
2006: The Grand Junction City Council on Wednesday night
approved St. Mary's Hospital's $261 million dollar expansion, a project
hospital executives say will allow the largest medical center between
Denver and Salt Lake to remain in step with its growing customer base.
St. Mary's Century Project, includes the the construction of a 12 story
440,000 square-foot tower and the remodeling of the 120,000 square feet
of existing hospital buildings. "We see this as a major economic
development component of the community", Diane Schwenke, excecutive
director of the Grand Junction Area Chamber of Commerce, told the
council.
The Century Project will create new emergency and surgery departments
and a critical care unit. The project will increase the total number of
beds from 247 to 335 and convert all of them to private rooms. All
helicopter landing pad will be built on top of the roof of the tower,
and a large elevator will deliver patients directly from the roof to the
emergency and surgery rooms. The expansion will create 200 new jobs and
bring in 75 new physicians into the community in the next 10 years. The
hospital plans to break ground on the tower in June 07, with completion
in 2009. The remodeling of the existing facilities will begin in 2008,
with completion in 2011. Article
Excerpts from: Grand Junction Daily Sentinel, November 16, 2006 |
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November
2006: A Littleton, Colorado based land consultant has spent
more than $10 million to buy 1,500 acres of land and water rights in the
Mack area during the past year, according to records on file with Mesa
County. It is unclear with Craig A. Burbage of Bow Mar, a section of
Littleton, is purchasing the property, but people in the Mack area
have said they believe he may be buying land and water for Shell
Exploration and Production Co. "It's supposedly Shell's deal," said Mesa
County Commissioner Craig Meis.
Shell spokeswoman Jill Davis said the company does not comment on it's
land deals. However Davis said "it would not surprising if the company
was looking at land purchases and land exchanges as it prepares for
possible commercial production of oil shale from shale in Western
Colorado. Article
Excerpts from: Grand Junction Daily Sentinel, November 19, 2006 |
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November
2006: Bank deposits in Mesa County have more than doubled
since 1994 and picking up speed as the Western Colorado economy bustles
ahead. Since 1994, the number of banks in county has reason slightly
from 14 to 17, and the number of bank offices has doubled, from 23 to
46, and deposit growth has outpaced that of Colorado as a whole.
Deposits have grown in Mesa County banking institutions from 807 Million
in 1994 to 1.9 Billion this year, according to the Federal Deposit
Insurance Corp. That's a growth rate of 135 percent. Article
Excerpts from: Grand Junction Daily Sentinel, November 26, 2006 |
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| December 2006: Energy
companies on February 8, 2007 will bid on the right to drill on about
9,600 acres of public land in Mesa and Delta Counties, the Bureau of
Land Management announced today. Article
Excerpts from: Grand Junction Daily Sentinel, December 4th, 2006 |
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| December 2006: Garfield
county (60 miles east of Grand Junction) was the most active drilling
county in Colorado, will see a significant jump in drilling permits by
the end of the year, according to state estimates. Garfield county will
likely have approximately 18,00 permits issued in 2006, up about 300
from last year. Article
Excerpts from: Grand Junction Daily Sentinel, December 8th, 2006 |
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December 2006: Natural
gas activity in western Colorado continues to grow at an exponential
rate, despite depressed wholesale prices.
Colorado continues to be one of the epicenters of gas development in the
country. Colorado Oil and Gas Conservations Commission director Brian
Macke said there are now 5,800 active wells in the state, with 3,500 of
those operating in Garfield County (60 miles east of Mesa County).
Williams Production is currently the largest producer in the county,
outpacing #2 EnCana. Williams drilled between 420 and 450 wells in 2006
and plan on drilling 500 gas wells in 2007. EnCana will drill 190 wells
in 2006 and will increase that total to 260 in 2007.
On federal land open to gas development the Bureau of Land Management
Glenwood Springs field office issued 299 drilling permits during the
2006 federal year that ended Sept 30. More than 400 permits are expected
during the 2007 fiscal year. Article
Excerpts from: Free Press, December 11, 2006 |
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