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Page 16 — COLORADO REAL ESTATE JOURNAL — June 17-June 30, 2015
by John Rebchook
Rachel Betz is a successful
residential real estate broker
in Denver and along the Front
Range.
But her latest venture is as the
owner of a 22-acre indoor/out-
door, upscale private event cen-
ter five minutes south of Idaho
Springs.
It is called Blackstone Rivers
Ranch and will open next year.
It includes a 6,000-square-foot
building, designed by Denver
architect Don Ruggles of D.H.
Ruggles.
The property, 35 miles from
Denver, will include an amphi-
theater and will focus on riv-
erfront weddings and private
parties.
Betz, a broker with Keller Wil-
liams, got the idea for the center
when she was shopping for a
place for a mountain wedding
when she got
married.
She lives in
a home on the
property.
“But I am in
Denver just
about every
week for
work,” said
Betz, who in
addition to
selling homes and upscale con-
dos in downtown Denver, also
has a $10 million land listing for
a property in Fort Collins.
“I am selling a ton and just
started a team last year,” she
said.
However, she wanted a busi-
ness that would give her a break
from selling real estate 365 days
a year.
“I had been working so much
that I started looking a few
years ago to create a business,”
in addition to selling homes and
properties, she said.
At first, she looked in North-
ern Colorado.
“It was kind of a farmland
and when you looked across
a meadow, you could see the
mountains.
“At the time, I never dreamed
that I would actually be in the
mountains.”
That changed when she
looked for a mountain venue
for her own wedding.
“We started looking and
couldn’t find anything we
liked,” Betz said.
Many of the close-in moun-
tain operations were not provid-
ing the upscale experience she
was seeking.
“Before I got married, I did
some research and found that
a lot of the places that rent out
space in the mountains are not
very fancy,” Betz said.
But they are popular.
“The demand is huge,” Betz
said. “They’re booked every
weekend, all summer long. It’s
just difficult to find the kind of
boutique style, high-end experi-
ence I was seeking.”
She was thrilled when she
found the site near Idaho
Springs.
“The land already had been
zoned for commercial develop-
ment, which is what we need-
ed,” Betz said.
In addition to weddings, she
expects Blackstone Rivers Ranch
will host events such as:
• Wine and food tastings;
• Leadership and survival
camps for children and adults;
• Fitness andwellness retreats;
• Outdoor and wilderness
sport experiences;
• Family reunions; and
• Business conferences.
The natural amphitheater will
allow for smaller music events
and concerts, plays, and other
exhibitions, with a focus on the
arts.
She compared it to a small-
er version of the Red Rocks
Amphitheatre in Morrison.
“We hope that our dream of
opening this center will not only
bring a lot of joy to the people
who choose to celebrate here,
but will be a big boost for our
area’s economic development,”
Betz said.
“We will be offering a space
unlike anything that Idaho
Springs currently has to offer,”
she continued.
“Not only that, but something
not found on the Front Range
within such a close proximity to
downtown Denver,” Betz aid.
“It is our dream,” she said.
Her center is coming at a time
when Idaho Springs is planning
to invest millions of dollars in
infrastructure improvements
that may include a Riverwalk
along Clear Creek.
Betz said even after Black-
stone Rivers Ranch opens, she
still plans to sell residential real
estate.
“I am probably going to throw
my team a little more of the
business and not do so much
myself,” Betz said.
Indeed, she also thinks there
will be synergies between her
residential brokerage and her
mountain center.
“One of my goals is to put
together these terrific packages
for our brides,” Betz said.
“We will offer free upgrades
and free inspections and those
kinds of things when brides get
married here and buy a home
through my team. I think the
two businesses will nicely com-
plement each other.”s
Colorado
A look at Blackstone Rivers Ranch, being designed by architect Don
Ruggles.
Rachel Betz