Mount Snow Snowmaking, Trail, and Lodge Construction Continues
The long awaited EB-5 projects are taking shape.
Tuesday, September 26, 2017, NewEnglandSkiIndustry.com
Carinthia Pumphouse Construction
With escrowed EB-5 funds finally in hand, capital improvement projects are ramping up at Mount Snow.
Under the EB-5 program in Vermont, a foreigner can invest $500,000 in an approved United States business (which must then create or preserve 10 jobs per investor), in exchange for a green card. Upon nearing its $52 million EB-5 investment goal, Mount Snow's owner, Peak Resorts, fronted $12 million to start the construction of its West Lake project in 2015. While the company was expecting to have the $52 million in EB-5 funds released by early 2016, the alleged Jay Peak EB-5 Ponzi scheme reportedly contributed to significant delays in government processing. As the delays continued, Peak Resorts found itself in a dire cashflow situation, resulting in layoffs and a bridge loan. The escrow restrictions were finally removed in late 2016 when the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services approved the project's I-526.
With the bureaucratic hurdles behind it, Mount Snow has completed a significant portion of the planned construction. The new West Lake reservoir continues to fill, while the new pumphouses are taking shape. The $30 million snowmaking project is expected to provide a 600% improvement over Mount Snow's previous 20 million gallon snowmaking water storage. 33,500 feet of snowmaking pipe is expected to be installed on the mountain in time for the 2017-18 season.
In addition, HKD announced yesterday that it is shipping 200 new Impulse R5 snowguns to Mount Snow.
Meanwhile, 1,600 feet of the novice Long John trail is being blasted, to widen the trail by 35 feet.
Carinthia Lodge Construction
2018-19's big project is also under way, as a 38,000 square foot lodge is being constructed at Carinthia. The EB-5 funded project will feature seating, dining, ski rentals, and retail. The small base lodge to be replaced dates back to when Carinthia opened as a private club ski area in the 1960s.
