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That's kind of the case with all vacation properties no?The crazy thing about units like this is that almost none of them will be occupied, but for a handful of weeks/weekends per year.
Fully-owned Ghost Town buildings essentially.
It's freaking terrible. I still follow the Stowe Reporter having called Stowe home for many years. When they published the article that the town planning board approved it, not one person who commented on the FB page approved.that building is ugly... I wonder where they are going to shoe horn that in on the Spruce side of things?
Vail only operates the ski area. They won't be making money off these real estate transactions other than secondary income from visitorsI'd rather have my home mountain making money off luxury condos than affordable housing for the masses. People buying a second (or nth) home in this price range aren't spending every free weekend there to justify the cost, or renting it out when they aren't around for additional income. They are looking for places to park assets. The mountain makes money and the regulars don't see a material increase in skier visits. Everybody wins.
Vail only operates the ski area. They won't be making money off these real estate transactions other than secondary income from visitors
It very much used to be the Anti-Vail. Prior to Spruce it was basically just a ski area. Only a minimal amount of modest slopeside real estate. They had the one high speed quad and the gondola, but the facilities were pretty spartan other than that. They made minimal snow, groomed a lot less, ski patrol didn't call the cops when you pouched a line; it was a classic in the vein of a Cannon or Wildcat. Whiteface would be an apt comparison actually. Lake Placid isn't "rural poverty" despite the ski area not having a Disneyland resort at it's base. Neither was Stowe "rural poverty" prior to the Spruce Disneyland Resort.I never really thought of Stowe as an anti-Vail. I guess they could put a tar-paper roof on the new condominiums to appease class-conscious regulars who prefer to do their skiing surrounded by rural poverty. Stowe's problem (assuming there is one) is not 27 new luxury condos. It is (as you point out) a cheap pass that has dramatically increased skier visits.
It very much used to be the Anti-Vail. Prior to Spruce it was basically just a ski area. Only a minimal amount of modest slopeside real estate. They had the one high speed quad and the gondola, but the facilities were pretty spartan other than that.
To each his own. It is way more crowded, way more tracked out on powder days. way more expensive for a day skier and has lost the feel of a Vermont ski area. I personally do not go there for the amenities or the glitz. I go there to ski so for me, everything they have done is not beneficial. Well with one exception. The new snowmaking system kicks ass for the early season. Also I would always respect the locals as they are fully invested in the place. If they are not happy it says a bunch about the owners. We do not have that issue for the most part with Win Smith at Sugarbush. I am very thankful that things turned out fairly well over here because I bought here and now call in my home.I guess I don't have a very strong preference as to whether I ski at a place like the Stowe of the 90s or the Stowe of today. If I were looking to buy, I'd strongly prefer the Disney resort they have there now.
To each his own. It is way more crowded, way more tracked out on powder days. way more expensive for a day skier and has lost the feel of a Vermont ski area. I personally do not go there for the amenities or the glitz. I go there to ski so for me, everything they have done is not beneficial. Well with one exception. The new snowmaking system kicks ass for the early season. Also I would always respect the locals as they are fully invested in the place. If they are not happy it says a bunch about the owners. We do not have that issue for the most part with Win Smith at Sugarbush. I am very thankful that things turned out fairly well over here because I bought here and now call in my home.