search

The Real Deal Logo

Trending

Lawmakers reach sweeping housing deal with “good cause eviction,” new 421aLawmakers reach sweeping housing deal with “good cause eviction,” new 421aHarry Macklowe faces major losses on Miami, Midtown projectsHarry Macklowe faces major losses on Miami, Midtown projects$1.8B in Parkmerced debt heads to special servicing$1.8B in Parkmerced debt heads to special servicingDavid Werner strikes $115M deal to snap up 100 Wall Street at big discountDavid Werner strikes $115M deal to snap up 100 Wall Street at big discount
Commercial
New York

New gondola creates Tahoe megaresort

Decades in the making, the project has not been welcomed entirely with open arms

(Illustration by Kevin Cifuentes for The Real Deal with Getty Images)
(Illustration by Kevin Cifuentes for The Real Deal with Getty Images)

A new 2.4-mile, $65 million gondola has made Palisades Tahoe the largest ski resort in California, though not everyone is thrilled with the project, the Mercury News reported.

The gondola, which has been in the works for decades, merges the Palisades Tahoe (formerly Olympic Valley) and Alpine Meadows ski areas into one 6,000-acre megaresort, enabling skiers to access both areas without having to make a 20-minute drive, according to the outlet. Instead, the gondola connects, via a 16 minute ride, Palisades to KT-22 mountain to Alpine.

“It’s going to be a good thing, with some definite downsides,” nearby resident Scott Dailey said to the outlet. “It should reduce a lot of car and shuttle bus traffic. We’ll be much more likely to go visit Alpine on the spur of the moment, which is cool.”

The gondola has 96 cabins that can carry eight passengers each, but it doesn’t just open up options for skiers. Owner Alterra Mountain Co. hopes to have a residential and entertainment expansion in the area, with 850 hotel and condominium units and a 90,000-square-foot Mountain Adventure Camp that includes an indoor pool, water slides, movie theater and bowling alley.

Sign Up for the undefined Newsletter

Palisades, which offers 41 lifts and 279 ski runs, is now the third-largest ski resort in North America, behind Whistler Blackcomb in Canada and Park City in Utah.

The new gondola is giving some locals angst, many of whom say it will forever alter the area’s distinct culture, not to mention the pristine powder that K-22 accumulated will be gone even earlier.

“It doesn’t increase terrain. It doesn’t improve the skiing experience at all,” Olympic Valley resident and skier Andrew Hays told Mercury News, who noted the increase in the number of visitors to the resort. “How do we manage these crowds? We need to be looking for ways to expand our terrain.”

“It looks a lot like a very expensive marketing ploy,” Tom Mooers, executive director of the environmental organization Sierra Watch, added. “My biggest concern about the gondola is: Where will it end? Will the region stay a mecca for everyone who loves the great outdoors — or will you get off the gondola amongst a bunch of Las Vegas-style attractions?”

— Ted Glanzer

Tags
DevelopmentResorts