The Silverthorne business community was looped in on upcoming lodging and housing options, vehicle counts for local roads and more at the town’s annual business breakfast. 

Dozens of members from the local business community filled the Silverthorne Pavilion to receive updates on developments, finances and general community initiatives Thursday, Nov. 6. 

Silverthorne’s growth over the last two decades or so resulted in it having the largest municipal population in Summit County. That has been paired with the expansion of its commercial landscape as more businesses opt to set up shop in the centrally-located town off of Interstate 70, drawing corporations like Target and TJ Maxx. To accommodate its growth, the town has undertaken major housing and infrastructure projects in the past five years as officials anticipate increased demand on town services and roads.

New commercial, residential and municipal projects

Community Development Director Danelle Cook gave a presentation to explain what businesses are moving into various structures being built around town. 

The town has been planning a town core area along and around Blue River Parkway, an area that has housed a bulk of the town’s commercial developments in recent years. A focal point of that is a series of blocks near 4th Street comprising two town districts: “Fourth Street Crossing” and “Fourth Street North.” 

People may have noticed the yellow building being constructed in this area next to the Art Spot Makerspace. Cook confirmed that it will be a 101-room Holiday Inn Express hotel. 

“That’s one of the two cranes that you’re seeing in the downtown area,” she said.

The other crane some may see near the corner of Adams Avenue along Blue River Parkway is for the construction of a parking garage and 47 apartments. The apartments consist of two-, three- and four-bedroom units meant for employees of Freeport McMoRan, owner of the Climax Mine in Leadville and Henderson Mine near Empire, she said. 

More housing is on its way to Blue River Parkway with the second phase of the Apres Shores Development along the Blue River, planned to yield 49 condos. 

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For town projects, Cook touched on the ongoing roughly $30-million recreation center expansion project scheduled to be completed in fall 2026. The project, which is meant to add around 24,000 square feet to the existing facility, will help introduce new components to the center like licensed school-age child care, a multi-activity court and more.

Also in 2026, the Silverthorne Police Department plans to move into the former office building for the Family and Intercultural Resource Center, which is planning to move its office to the Sol Center in Breckenridge. The town will expand the square footage of the current building and retrofit it to be a police station. She said the original plan was to build a police facility on the north end of town, but a downward trend in sales tax prompted the town to pause that plan.

Financial and traffic-related facts and figures

Finance Director Laura Kennedy said the town plans to collect around $4.3 million in sales tax for its capital fund, which is meant to fund critical projects, in 2026. At-large, the town plans to collect $11.2 million in sales tax, including the 2% sales tax it gets from the county. 

Kennedy also shared figures on per-capita spending, or the average amount of money spent per-person in a given population, in Silverthorne. She said while sales tax numbers indicate the per-capita spending average for the state of Colorado is $25,000 a year, it is around $81,000 in Silverthorne. She said Silverthorne’s tourism economy helps give it a 220% boost compared to the state average. 

She also presented figures from a new vehicle count initiative started in May for the stretch of Colorado Highway 9, or Blue River Parkway, spanning the Willowbrook area on the north end of town. In May, the stretch of road saw 105,310 vehicles, in June it saw 101,585 vehicles, in July it saw 107,882 vehicles, in August it saw 131,378 vehicles and in September it saw 102,230 vehicles. 

More information on the town’s budget will be presented at a Nov. 12 meeting.