ASC Scores With 42.6-Million Real
Estate Deal Sundial Lodge project sells out in ten hours.
Edited Sean O'Brien
(7-8-98)

(Press Release, August 8)—It isn't every day one must ride a ski lift to buy real estate. But that's what happened the first of August, as buyers boarded the Flight of The Canyons Gondola in Summit County, Utah. Within ten hours, the launch of the Sundial Lodge condominium project at The Canyons Ski Resort was completely sold out.

Total value of the real estate under contract: 42.6-million dollars, making it the biggest one-day ski resort condominium sale ever recorded in the United States. The sales will become final upon completion of the project, in time for the '99/00 ski season.

"We knew this was going to be big going in," says American Skiing Company Senior Vice President For Real Estate Scott Oldakowski. "The Canyons is an incredible resort and a fantastic property. Still, it's an amazing experience to sell that much real estate in one day."

Company officials had reason for high expectations. On April 9 of this year, more than 200 realtors and prospective buyers-some of whom stood in line since midnight-placed refundable 5,000-dollar deposits on the right to select units at the then-unpermitted Sundial Lodge project.

The April turnout was so successful that American Skiing Company more than doubled the first phase of the project, which got the green light for construction several weeks ago. This weekend's event saw the conversion of non- binding reservations into binding contracts.

In all, 150 condominium units were sold on Saturday, at prices ranging from 149,000 to 498,000 dollars.

"There were 212 reservation holders," Oldakowski says. "Some purchased two units, and several buyers would have purchased more than that, if we had not limited it. We're really not surprised by the amount of interest this project generated, because when it comes to on-mountain real estate, the quality of the ski experience is as important as the quality of the property. Skiers know that American Skiing Company resorts are the leaders in resort operations, so prospective buyers came in with a lot of confidence."

More than 100 prospective buyers who were turned away from the sold-out first phase will have special access to the next phases of development at the resort.

Those who made the cut, however, were delighted. Heidi Gatch, a realtor with Prudential Coleman Real Estate in Park City, represented nine buyers who purchased a combined total of fourteen units. "People bought because they were excited to get in on the ground floor of what they consider a blue-chip organization," Gatch says. "The opportunities here seem endless. All of my clients left walking on air-and for a realtor, that's the holy grail."

The Sundial Lodge is one of two major real estate projects now under construction at The Canyons. The Grand Summit Resort Hotel, a quartershare condominium hotel also located in the resort's new Resort Village, is posting presales significantly ahead of the company's initial expectations.

The Grand Summit Resort Hotel at The Canyons was also nearly doubled in size from its original design to accommodate buyer demand. It, too, is scheduled for delivery in time for the '99/00 season.

The additional development at the Sundial Lodge and the Grand Summit has added approximately four months to the expected construction period of the properties, but will enable American Skiing Company to generate more sales, according to company officials.

On the mountain, the resort plans to build three new lifts this summer- including a new high speed quad to Peak Ninety-Nine 90. The new lift will increase vertical descent at The Canyons to more than 3000 feet, and the additional skiable terrain will make The Canyons the largest resort in Utah.

Success Isn't Limited To The Canyons

Steamboat, Colorado, is also logging unprecedented presales in the company's new Grand Summit Resort Hotel at Steamboat. It, too, was nearly doubled in size to accommodate demand. Located adjacent to Steamboat's gondola, the new 450,000- square-foot quartershare condominium hotel is slated to open in time for the '99/00 ski season.

American Skiing Company introduced the concept of quartershare hotels to the ski industry, and now operates five in the Northeast: two at Sunday River, Maine; and one each at Attitash Bear Peak, New Hampshire; and Killington and Mount Snow, Vermont. But, the Steamboat and The Canyons projects mark the first venture West for the quartershare program.

"It's extremely encouraging to see how our real estate team translated our quartershare product knowledge to match the needs of Western skiers," says Leslie B. Otten, chairman and chief executive officer of American Skiing Company. "They went into Colorado and Utah with great success."

The company is also in the midst of planning several future projects.

At Heavenly, which straddles the California/Nevada state line near the southern tip of Lake Tahoe, the company has secured permits for three large projects. Two of the projects, representing approximately 800 units, are located in the South Lake Tahoe Development District, adjacent to the base of a planned and approved gondola to the upper mountain. The company plans to begin presales in the upcoming ski season. The third project is a condominium hotel at Heavenly's Stagecoach base area in Nevada. That project represents approximately 110 units.

In the Northeast, the company is moving ahead with the permitting processes for Resort Villages at Sunday River, Maine; and Killington, Vermont. It's also in presales for the expansion of the Grand Summit Resort Hotel at Sugarloaf/USA, Maine. No construction start dates have been set for those projects.

Partnerships

Last week, the company announced a joint venture with Marriott Vacation Club International, a subsidiary of Marriott International, Inc., to develop luxury vacation ownership properties at five of the Alpine resorts owned by American Skiing Company.

The joint venture consists of select land purchases by Marriott at American Skiing Company resorts. Under terms of the joint-venture agreement, five initial sites, each consisting of 200 luxury villas offering weekly vacation ownership increments, are planned for development by Marriott: Killington, Vermont; Sunday River, Maine; Steamboat, Colorado; The Canyons, Utah and Heavenly, California/ Nevada. Additional land purchases at four other American Skiing Company resorts are planned in the future.

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