Big Mountain begins reshaping master plan
The tweaking of Big Mountain's master plan began not long after real-estate partner Hines left the ski resort in July, but next week work on future development plans kicks into high gear.
"I'll know a lot more after the board meets next Friday," said Fred Jones, chief executive officer of resort operator Winter Sports Inc.
Jones expects the board to discuss potential projects and revamp the master plan to reflect a smaller scale than Hines had in mind when it proposed the $300 million Glacier Village.
"The buildings we envision in the core will be smaller scale," Jones said. "Kintla Lodge is the scale we're after. Morning Eagle Lodge is fine, but that size is more appropriate for Whistler [in British Columbia] or other resorts."
While the business community embraced Hines' upscale plans for Big Mountain, many residents wondered if the resort would retain its character and charm once the billion-dollar real-estate firm was finished with it.
In the end, Hines decided to pull out of Big Mountain and focus on its forte, commercial development. Jones, on the job just over two months when Hines left, said at the time that Winter Sports was disappointed with the departure.
He noted, however, that the board had begun rethinking the scale of its real estate development.
Jones has a lot of ideas about how he'd like to see Big Mountain developed - although he stresses that the board has the final say.
That said, he rolls out ideas one after the other.
"Our focus is on skier services, how to take care of people when they arrive here," he said.
Expansion of The Outpost day lodge at the bottom of Chair 6 is on the drawing board. The lodge has a ski rental shop, but Jones sees the need for a bigger, high-volume rental service. Children's facilities are slated to move to the Outpost next summer.
Plans are also in the works to expand the ski terrain in the Chair 6 area to accommodate the ski school and children's programs. Winter Sports bought 110 acres from Stoltze Lumber Co. a couple of years ago with expansion in mind.
"We'll put in more terrain and beginner lifts. The plan would be to turn Chair 6 into a high-capacity access lift," Jones said, noting that the lift currently runs at half capacity.
Chair 6 has served as the free beginner lift since it was built several years ago. The resort will continue to have a free lift, but it probably won't be Chair 6, he said.
Long-range plans will include expanding and upgrading the Summit House, built about 25 years ago. For now, the furniture is being replaced.
A new cafeteria-style lodge is anticipated in the village area, but Winter Sports is still working through location options.
"It's a few years out," Jones said.
Beyond upgrades to equipment and facilities, the master plan will map out real-estate development.
"Our whole focus is how do we ensure the financial viability of Big Mountain," he said. "We need to develop real estate to serve us operationally. What units sell for determines what they rent for."
Winter Sports has been fine-tuning the master plan to develop "rentable" beds in the middle price range, with a unit cost of under $400,000.
"That's the target," Jones stated. "I don't know if we can get there."
He would like to see a lodging project under way in the village area next summer. There's been a high level of interest from Australian developer Lang Walker and Bob Bowden of Aspen, Colo., partners in the Slopeside townhomes now under construction along Chair 6.
Other developers want a piece of the construction pie, too, Jones said, but he declined to name specific firms.
Hines' Glacier Village plan called for a 20,000-square-foot convention center, but that probably won't materialize in the new master plan. Jones' vision is to incorporate smaller meeting spaces in several buildings.
Jones said a 100- to 120-unit condominium hotel with meeting space is a more workable concept than a stand-alone convention center.
"The majority of business is in smaller conventions," he said.
Jones, who relocated to Whitefish from Park City, Utah, continues to stress that part of Big Mountain's appeal is that it's a small ski resort, and that brings with it a comfortable, laid-back feel people are searching for.
"We're appealing to a different group than Park City or Vail," Jones said. "The whole atmosphere in Whitefish is very different than Park City or Colorado. This is a niche market, and that niche is Northwest Montana."
Features editor Lynnette Hintze may be reached at 758-4421 or by e-mail at lhintze@dailyinterlake.com