Squaw significantly scales back growth plans
By Ed Fletcher, Sacramento Bee
In the face of a community backlash, the owners Squaw Valley ski resort announced plans Monday to scale back their proposal to expand an existing village at the base of the mountain.
The new plan – dubbed “The Right Plan” on the resort’s website – calls for a series of buildings housing 1,493 new luxury bedrooms. That’s less than half the 3,400 bedrooms proposed in the company’s 2011 plan. Monday’s revision is the second revision of the development proposal by Colorado-based KSL Capital Partners LLC.
Chevis Hosea, the company’s vice president of development, acknowledged the firm was a little surprised by the level of resistance to its 2011 proposal. He now says the company has a better plan after listening to its customers and the community.
Stepner, one of the founding members of Friends of Squaw Valley, said there are battles ahead once the exact site plan and building design aesthetic come into focus, but he said he was pleased with how far Capital Partners moved from the old plan – dubbed by some as a Disneyland in the snow.
The plan is a game they play. They start with numbers that are mind blowing, then when everyone objects they cut it in half. Half is three times what is necessary, but those who oppose it say well we showed them. The village is empty most of the year. I don’t get how they have the money to develop their plan only to have it sit empty for months at a time. Maybe lift tickets are to high. Feel sorry for those who live in Squaw.
ditto above! why? It’s all about touting amenities to boost real estate prices. Whether they have a functioning community or even profitable retail is irrelevant -after all others will foot that bill. Same is/has happened to Kirkwood and will end up characterizing Homewood as well. Just talk to any of the shop owners in Squaw to gauge whether they think they are making money. But there is always a new one ready that bought the “this is a gold mine” pitch.