TORONTO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Skyline International Development Inc. (TASE:SKLN) has entered into a binding agreement of purchase and sale to acquire Bear Valley Mountain Resort (bearvalley.com) in northern California. The agreement comes after several weeks of discussion with the current ownership and local community leaders that had formed the Bear Valley Mountain Cooperative and who were also in the process of purchasing the resort. Closing is subject to the US Forest Service issuance of a permit to operate the resort, expected in 30 to 60 days.
Located in the Sierra mountain range between Lake Tahoe and Yosemite, Bear Valley Mountain Resort is known as a year-round, less congested, family-friendly option for skiing and other recreational activities like water sports, biking, music festivals and golf. With the purchase of the ski area, Skyline has an option to purchase development land in Bear Valley Village for 350 residential units and add a 40,000 sq. ft. Village centre which includes a 53-room Lodge and a 17,000 sq. ft. commercial complex.
Bear Valley first opened as Mt. Reba Ski Bowl in 1967 and quickly added terrain and lifts to become a top notch destination in the late 60's and early 70's. In 1991, it became Bear Valley Mountain and today hosts skiers, boarders, and backcountry users with varied terrain and a family focus making Bear Valley known as the ‘Friendliest Mountain In The West.’
Skyline, Canada’s leading owner, operator and developer of hospitality resorts and destination communities will acquire the 1,700 acre Bear Valley ski area, including nine chair lifts, an approximately 2,000 stall parking lot, and a 40,000 sq. ft. mountain base lodge. Bear Valley Mountain’s elevation is 8,500 vertical feet with a vertical drop of 1,900 feet.
“We are delighted to add Bear Valley to our growing portfolio of hotels and resorts,” says Skyline CEO Michael Sneyd. “Given Bear Valley’s spectacular beauty, excellent terrain and potential for improvement, we believe it is a great fit.”
Founded in 1998 by visionary entrepreneur Gil Blutrich, Skyline has expanded rapidly over the past five years, growing its asset base from $26 million to $311 million with the acquisition of hotel and resort properties in Ontario and the Northern Tier. Bear Valley is the company’s second US acquisition. In 2011, Skyline acquired the Hyatt Regency and Cleveland Arcade.
“Bear Valley is a family and community-based resort with many similarities to our Canadian Horseshoe Resort near Barrie, Ontario,” says Chairman and President Gil Blutrich. “Both appeal to families and local groups while benefiting from their close proximity to large urban centres – in Horseshoe’s case, the 8.8 million people who live in the Greater Golden Horseshoe and for Bear Valley, nearly 5 million who live in the Bay Area. Bear Valley is a perfect, natural and quiet alternative to Lake Tahoe.”
“When the resort came up for sale in 2013, the community formed a cooperative effort that raised funds from the community for the purchase of the mountain. Skyline was impressed by the passion, dedication and collaboration demonstrated by the Bear Valley Mountain Cooperative and will work with their leadership in the coming weeks as they develop detailed plans for Bear Valley,” added Sneyd.
Skyline’s four seasons playground vision has focused on reinvigorating branded resort properties by renovating their existing hotels and residential units and expanding their residential and retail footprint with an emphasis on turning those properties into lifestyle communities. The firm has achieved impressive results by taking advantage of corporate efficiencies and economies of scale to restore maximum profitability. In 2013, Skyline was named among Deloitte’s ‘Best Managed Companies’ in Canada and Skyline Hotels & Resorts was awarded ‘Regional Hotelier of the Year’ by Toronto-based Kostuch Media.
About Skyline International Development Inc.
A leading
Toronto-based developer of hospitality properties and destination
communities, Skyline
International Development owns over two million square feet of real
estate, has over 2,600 acres with development rights for more than 7,000
residential units and nearly 1,300 rooms in its holdings, employing more
than 1,500 staff. Its unique asset mix includes part ownership of
Toronto's iconic Omni King Edward Hotel, as well as ownership of, under
the Skyline
Hotels & Resorts brand, the city's contemporary boutique Cosmopolitan
Hotel and Pantages
Hotel. Skyline's resort assets include landmark Deerhurst
Resort with 45,000 sq. ft. of meeting space lakeside in Muskoka and Horseshoe
Resort, home to Toronto's closest ski area and an adventure park.
The company is also creating residential communities at Deerhurst,
Horseshoe and, most extensively, at the historic lakefront of Port
McNicoll, Ontario, a restored gateway to the 30,000 Islands, a
UNESCO World Biosphere Reserve. In 2013, the company launched Skyline
Vacation Club, Ontario’s first drive-to, members-only, points-based
urban and country vacation club. In late February 2013, Skyline acquired
50 per cent of the retail component in both the Village and surrounding
the golf course at Blue
Mountain and the remaining developable land. In early 2014, Skyline
became a public company trading on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange (TASE).
Visit: www.skylineinvestments.com.
About Bear Valley Mountain Co-op
The Bear Valley Mountain
Cooperative was an informed evolution of form and function. From the
passionate desire of a few homeowners to see Bear Valley reach its full
potential to the encouraging town hall meeting, the evolution was both
organic and cultivated. The coop exploratory team interviewed key
individuals involved in the development of other alternatively managed
ski areas including Mad River Glen coop, Bridger Bowl 501c4, Bogus Basin
501c3, and the Sugar Bowl homeowner model. The undeniable sense of
ownership, ability to raise funds quickly, and less arduous process of
legal and financial formation led to the final decision to form a
cooperative.
