Vail breaks ground on $500M redevelopment
Publication: Denver Business Journal;
Date: 05/27/2004
Vail-based Vail Resorts Inc. (NYSE:
MTN) broke ground Thursday on the first part of a
$500 million, off-mountain redevelopment project at
Vail ski area.
The five-year project, called "Vail's
New Dawn," will upgrade the Vail Village and LionsHead
base developments. The resort owner's development
arm, Vail Resorts Development Co., is overseeing the
improvements.
Initial work involves building a new
park and an underground parking structure at Vail
Village. The garage is being built to relieve traffic
congestion in the oldest part of the village, and
the park should add to the area's aesthetics.
"After years of discussion and planning,
these projects, once completed, will help to ensure
Vail's future as the preeminent ski resort in North
America," Adam Aron, Vail Resorts' chairman and CEO,
said in a statement. " ... These projects are expected
to generate a significant increase in real estate,
lodging and ski-related profitability in the next
several years."
Vail Resorts recently has struggled
financially.
For the first half of its fiscal year
ended Jan. 31, the company reported a 3 percent drop
in revenue from 2003's same period to $350.9 million,
according to Yahoo!Finance. It also suffered a net
loss of $32.1 million, compared to an $8.4 million
loss last year.
Vail Resorts attributed those losses
to lower real estate revenue, nearly $6 million in
costs for mold remediation and $36.2 million in charges
for retiring debt early, according to Yahoo!Finance.
The new parking garage will be located
on a half-acre next to the Christiania Lodge and include
109 underground spaces and 25 street-level spaces.
Of the underground spaces, which are available for
purchase, 101 already have been sold, according to
Vail Resorts. Prices range from $100,000 to $135,000,
on a deeded fee-simple basis.
Future "Vail's New Dawn" projects
include construction of a new skier services facility
at the base of the Vista Bahn Chairlift, a new spa
and more rooms at the Lodge at Vail, the Lodge at
Vail Chalets and a luxury ski club.
LionsHead's improvements will include
a new pedestrian plaza and village, including a new
RockResorts hotel; skier services; restaurants; stores;
and an outdoor ice rink. The area's streetscape will
be redone, and a new skier bridge and residential
units added.
Vail Resorts owns a majority stake
in Denver-based RockResorts LLC. Olympus Hospitality
Management owns the rest of the resort hotel company.
RockResorts owns and manages 10 hotels, including
the Lodge at Rancho Mirage in California, Pines Lodge
and Keystone Lodge in Colorado, and Snake River Lodge
& Spa in Wyoming.
In addition to the Vail ski area,
Vail Resorts owns the Breckenridge, Keystone and Beaver
Creek ski resorts in Colorado as well as Heavenly
in Lake Tahoe on the California-Nevada border.
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