Big Burke announcement

[MEtoVTSkier]

Quiros added a Q to Burke Mountain’s name when he bought it, but Goldberg said the mountain will revert to its former name.

 

[from_the_NEK]

Also just heard on VPR that "two high-end hotel chains" are visiting the Hotel today.

And it is snowing like crazy!

 

[from_the_NEK]

Just read a tweet from VPR that the Q is now gone and Burke is Burke. A positive development for sure.

The Q might be gone from the official name but I doubt the receiver management team is going to spend a lot of money re-signing everything. They will probably leave that up to whoever buys the place.

 

[thetrailboss]

And it is snowing like crazy!

Qarma at work. The day it is announced that the Q is dropped it snows!!!!

 

[DoublePlanker]

Qarma at work. The day it is announced that the Q is dropped it snows!!!!

+1

Its a good thing the Q is gone. We need a great snow year to keep this place going!

 

[BenedictGomez]

it definately brouught many construction and fulltime jobs with it..

No, it really didn't.

What it brings are transient, short-term jobs, and many of which aren't even filled by locals of the depressed area as is intended. The "many full-time" long-term jobs thing, is the BS that the pols feed you so that you believe this is a great thing.

And it is snowing like crazy!

Ullr knew the Quiros-crew was no good, and he wrought his punishment on the mountains!

 

[thetrailboss]

No, it really didn't.

What it brings are transient, short-term jobs, and many of which aren't even filled by locals of the depressed area as is intended. The "many full-time" long-term jobs thing, is the BS that the pols feed you so that you believe this is a great thing.



Ullr knew the Quiros-crew was no good, and he wrought his punishment on the mountains!

BG--I asked this rhetorical question last week and wonder if you have any thoughts. The question was why is the EB-5 program, in particular, a magnet for fraud and abuse?

 

[deadheadskier]

No, it really didn't.

What it brings are transient, short-term jobs, and many of which aren't even filled by locals of the depressed area as is intended. The "many full-time" long-term jobs thing, is the BS that the pols feed you so that you believe this is a great thing.

Yes and No.

My brother and uncle live in the Quechee area. They are both General Contractors. They would not be able to live or survive in that area without second home owners. There wouldn't be enough things to build or fix. I've got numerous friends in construction trades in Stowe - same thing.

The numbers are definitely inflated by the Pols, no argument there. The majority of the jobs are seasonal and low wage. However, the amount of construction / property maintenance jobs these developments create isn't insignificant. In turn, these are many of the people supporting 12 month a year services in those areas. So, I wouldn't say these developments are all for not.

 

[VTKilarney]

Yes and No.

My brother and uncle live in the Quechee area. They are both General Contractors. They would not be able to live or survive in that area without second home owners. There wouldn't be enough things to build or fix. I've got numerous friends in construction trades in Stowe - same thing.

The numbers are definitely inflated by the Pols, no argument there. The majority of the jobs are seasonal and low wage. However, the amount of construction / property maintenance jobs these developments create isn't insignificant. In turn, these are many of the people supporting 12 month a year services in those areas. So, I wouldn't say these developments are all for not.

Okay, I'll bite. How does building a hotel at the base of Burke result in an increase in jobs for people who do construction for second home owners? Maybe I just missed your point.

 

[deadheadskier]

Okay, I'll bite. How does building a hotel at the base of Burke result in an increase in jobs for people who do construction for second home owners? Maybe I just missed your point.

The Burke hotel (eventually) and the ones at Jay drive second home construction in those areas.

And even the hotels themselves when built still require maintenance. Those workers aren't getting imported. Larger projects that arent taken care of by in house maintenance staff will get subbed out to local contractors over time.

 

[VTKilarney]

The Burke hotel (eventually) and the ones at Jay drive second home construction in those areas.

And even the hotels themselves when built still require maintenance. Those workers aren't getting imported. Larger projects that arent taken care of by in house maintenance staff will get subbed out to local contractors over time.

Gotcha.

 

[BenedictGomez]

Goldberg's investigation shows that for fiscal year 2015, beginning May 1, 2014 and ending April 30, 2015, Jay Peak made about $3 million. For fiscal year 2014, that figure was $2.6 million, Goldberg writes, and through February of this year, it appears Jay Peak is on track to make a mere $1.8 million for fiscal year 2016.

Considering all the SNT (Shiny New Toys) at play here, these numbers (if true) are not very impressive.

 

[BenedictGomez]

why is the EB-5 program, in particular, a magnet for fraud and abuse?

1) It's a government program, so incompetence is intrinsic & inherent.
2) There's no economic moral hazard to "free money" (wrote about this extensively circa 2011/12, most thought I was wrong).
3) The only TRUE stakeholders, are foreigners who have no control, and have essentially given up all their rights.
4) Financial incentives at the core structure of EB-5 encourages abuse (X # of jobs per $500,000 in job poor areas).

This is all a recipe for disaster.

 

[BenedictGomez]

"The system is 52 years old," Goldberg writes. "The gondola's manufacturer, which is the only company in the world capable of properly repairing the gondola, has quoted the Jay Peak Resort a $4.15 million price to complete the repairs," Goldberg wrote.

As most here know, I friggin' hate the Jay Peak tram, and like many people who ski Jay Peak, I dont even bother to ski the top of the mountain because we hate the excessively long waits.

Given the estimate to fix this 52 year old tram is $4.15 Million, I'm going to assume a 10% overrun and put the true cost at $4.6M. Why not scrap the stupid, space-consuming, loathsome thing, altogether, spend $4.5M to $5.5M and put in a high-speed quad?

 

[VTKilarney]

Considering all the SNT (Shiny New Toys) at play here, these numbers (if true) are not very impressive.

You mean making $2 million or so a year off of a $350 million investment isn't so hot?

 

[VTKilarney]

As most here know, I friggin' hate the Jay Peak tram, and like many people who ski Jay Peak, I dont even bother to ski the top of the mountain because we hate the excessively long waits.

Given the estimate to fix this 52 year old tram is $4.15 Million, I'm going to assume a 10% overrun and put the true cost at $4.6M. Why not scrap the stupid, space-consuming, loathsome thing, altogether, spend $4.5M to $5.5M and put in a high-speed quad?

As much as I hate the tram, and I do hate the tram, wouldn't a high speed quad put way too many skiers on the top of the mountain? The trail up top would be seriously scraped off within an hour.

 

[from_the_NEK]

As most here know, I friggin' hate the Jay Peak tram, and like many people who ski Jay Peak, I dont even bother to ski the top of the mountain because we hate the excessively long waits.

Given the estimate to fix this 52 year old tram is $4.15 Million, I'm going to assume a 10% overrun and put the true cost at $4.6M. Why not scrap the stupid, space-consuming, loathsome thing, altogether, spend $4.5M to $5.5M and put in a high-speed quad?

A HSQ from the base to the summit is impractical. The Flyer is already ridiculously long.
The tram also provides sightseeing rides year round and provides direct access to the summit building for weddings and other events that are held there. The limited number of summit trails couldn't handle the skier traffic a HSQ would drop up there either.

 

[Domeskier]

Given the estimate to fix this 52 year old tram is $4.15 Million, I'm going to assume a 10% overrun and put the true cost at $4.6M. Why not scrap the stupid, space-consuming, loathsome thing, altogether, spend $4.5M to $5.5M and put in a high-speed quad?

Not bad. NYC spent $25 million to renovate the spiderman ski lift next to the Ed Koch Queensborough 59th Street Bridge. And probably another $10 million to come up with 3 different names for the same bridge, but I digress.

 

[fbrissette]

Considering all the SNT (Shiny New Toys) at play here, these numbers (if true) are not very impressive.

Agreed. However, the upside is that they were able to turn a profit in one of the worst winter ever and this bodes well once competent management takes over. In addition, the figures may turn out to be different once all of the shenanigans are untangled.

 

[fbrissette]

A HSQ from the base to the summit is impractical. The Flyer is already ridiculously long.
The tram also provides sightseeing rides year round and provides direct access to the summit building for weddings and other events that are held there. The limited number of summit trails couldn't handle the skier traffic a HSQ would drop up there either.

This.