As DEC Decision On Belleayre Resort Nears, New Study Shows It Will Fail Economically Unless It's Scaled Back
PINE HILL, N.Y., July 29, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation is now in the final stages of environmental review and permitting decisions for the largest real estate development in the history of the Catskills: a giant, 629-room luxury ski resort development planned by developer Crossroads Ventures which would adjoin the Belleayre Mountain Ski Center.
The project has caused continual controversy since it was first proposed over a decade ago. If permitted to be built at the excessive size and high-elevation location the developer has insisted on, the proposed resort would not be feasible, could not meet its economic projections and would cause economic as well as environmental damage to the region, according to a new economic analysis conducted by Public and Environmental Finance Associates (PEFA), which was commissioned by the citizens' group Catskill Heritage Alliance (CHA).
The PEFA study critiques a recent economic analysis commissioned by Crossroads and conducted by Crossroads' consulting firm HVS (available on request, see below) as part of the NYS DEC's environmental review of the project.
Among other problems, PEFA finds the HVS analysis grossly underestimates construction and other costs by hundreds of millions of dollars and grossly overestimates revenue, claiming that Belleayre will command the same revenue per available room as top-tier, world-class, 5-star base area ski resorts in the Rocky Mountains such as Aspen and Vail.
PEFA's analysis shows that the data HVS cites not only fails to make the case that the Belleayre Resort as proposed by Crossroads would succeed economically, it indicates that the resort would either fail outright, or at best cannibalize visitorship from existing tourism businesses along the Route 28 corridor and be a net loss for the region.
The 629-room full-build-out scenario the developer advocates would increase the room count along the Route 28 corridor by 200%, flood the local tourism market, and involve spending millions in public funds on costly and environmentally damaging high-elevation development on Highmount, which the resort could not recoup.
But the study finds the project would be more feasible economically if it followed a lower-build, less capital-intensive scenario compatible with less expensive alternatives proposed in the Draft Unit Management Plan for Belleayre. A lower-build approach at the resort would place only about 250 rooms lower down the mountain at Wildacres, raising the local room count by only 80%, an increase the local economy could better absorb.
Note to editors and producers: The PEFA study is available here. Spokespeople for the Catskill Heritage Alliance are also available for comment. To request an interview, a copy of the HVS analysis that the PEFA study critiques, or other information, please contact Stephen Kent, [email protected], 914-589-5988.
The Catskill Heritage Alliance is a grassroots organization dedicated to preserving the harmony between people and wilderness in the central Catskills.
Contacts:
Stephen Kent, KentCom LLC, [email protected], 914-589-5988
Kathy Nolan, Catskill Heritage Alliance, [email protected], 845-688-9702
SOURCE Catskill Heritage Alliance
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