For the week of January 8 - 14, 2003

Elkhorn Resort demolition plan approved

Defunct 132-room hotel
to be razed in February

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By GREGORY FOLEY
Express Staff Writer

Closing a four-month debate on the fate of the defunct Elkhorn Resort, Sun Valley Planning and Zoning commissioners Tuesday approved a plan for the resort’s owners to tear down the 132-room Elkhorn Hotel and several smaller commercial buildings in the adjacent village.

Elkhorn resident Jon Thorson, an opponent of the proposed demolition of Elkhorn Resort, objects to the demolition being conducted in the winter, and proposes that the plan be delayed to the spring off-season so it would impact fewer residents. Express photos by Willy Cook

In a unanimous vote, the panel conditionally approved a two-phase plan to demolish the Elkhorn Hotel, River Rock Steak House building and Treat Haus building this winter, and to raze the Sun Valley Elkhorn Resort Realtors building and the resort’s former golf pro shop in early 2005.

The decision paves the way for development partnership CG-Elkhorn—the owners of the resort since December 2001—to advance its plans to redevelop the approximately 11-acre site with a mix of condominiums, townhouses, and commercial space.

CG Elkhorn is a partnership between the Connecticut-based investment firm Greenfield Partners LLC and the Chesapeake Hotel Group.

After a 90-minute public hearing on the proposal—the fourth P&Z hearing on the plan since it was first presented in August—commissioners moved quickly to endorse a motion for approval put forth by Commissioner Nils Ribi.

Ned Williamson, a Hailey attorney representing CG-Elkhorn, urged panel members to end the string of continued hearings. "I think the time has come to make a decision," he said.

Jeffrey Russell, vice president of Greenfield Partners LLC, an investment firm that shares ownership of Elkhorn Resort, tells Sun Valley P&Z commissioners Tuesday that his company is preparing a new plan to redevelop the site with a mix of residential units and commercial spaces for retail sales and services. He notes that the company is not selling the Elkhorn golf course to Sun Valley Co. Express photos by Willy Cook

Jeffrey Russell, vice president of Greenfield Partners, told the panel that the resort was not a viable business and needs to be redeveloped. "It’s a business decision we’ve made," he said.

Russell said CG-Elkhorn is preparing a revised redevelopment plan for the site that it intends to submit to the city as soon as a moratorium on new developments in Elkhorn Village and Sun Valley Village is lifted. The moratorium was enacted Dec. 19, and is scheduled to last for 120 days while the city reviews its land-use regulations in its two commercial districts.

A redevelopment plan put forth by the developers last year was widely criticized because it proposed scores of residential units and lacked provisions for services and businesses.

Russell Tuesday assured the P&Z that CG-Elkhorn intends to stay with the project through its completion.

In addition, he said he wanted to clarify "rumors" about CG-Elkhorn’s intentions for making deals regarding the Elkhorn golf course, Elkhorn ski lift, and the recreational facilities owned by the Sun Valley Elkhorn Association homeowner’s group. "We are not selling the golf course to Sun Valley Company, we are not taking out the ski lift, and we are not proposing a partnership with the SVEA," he said.

As approved, the first phase of demolition to remove the hotel, River Rock Steak House and Treat Haus will occur from Feb. 6 to March 5, with other site work lasting until May 1.

The plan predicts a total of 305 loads of debris will be hauled from the site during Phase One, with five to 15 loads being removed each day.

The second phase of demolition to remove the real-estate office—which has a binding lease through 2004—and the club house will occur from Jan. 18 to Jan. 31, 2005, with site work lasting until May 3, 2005.

The demolition project is estimated to cost "in the low $200,000 range," project planner David Hennessy said.

Several Elkhorn residents voiced opposition to the demolition plan.

Elkhorn resident Patricia Huebner, an anthropologist, said the property could include important Native American archaeological sites that might be damaged by the project.

Elkhorn resident Jon Thorson said the demolition should not occur in winter, when it could disturb more residents of the area than it would in the spring off-season.

Elkhorn resident Fred Rogers agreed with Thorson. "Why don’t we wait? What’s the rush?" he said.

Ketchum attorney Barry Luboviski, an Elkhorn property owner, voiced support for the demolition plan. "We’re dealing with something that’s history, and I think it’s time we move on," he said.

Elkhorn Resort struggled financially in its 25-year history, but typically provided dozens of jobs for local residents, and also served as one of Sun Valley’s primary convention sites and sources of local-option-tax revenues.

The resort was closed by CG-Elkhorn on Sept. 30, 2002, after the owners determined it would never be successful.

 

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