Wednesday, September 29, 2004

Ski View project gets nod

Plan calls for historic cabins to be sold and relocated


By GREGORY FOLEY
Express Staff Writer

A plan to build two five-plexes, two tri-plexes (above) and two duplexes on the Ski View Lodge property in Ketchum was approved this week. The 20-unit project is called Ski View Townhomes. Graphic courtesy of Michael Doty Associates. Photo by Willy Cook

The days are numbered for the Ski View Lodge, the eclectic collection of cabins located at the southern entrance to Ketchum.

Ketchum Planning and Zoning commissioners this week issued final approval for a proposal to replace the historic lodging development at 409 S. Main St. with 20 upscale townhouses.

In a unanimous vote Monday, Sept. 27, the P&Z issued design-review approval for a project called Ski View Townhomes, a collection of six residential buildings that will comprise approximately 37,000 square feet of floor area.

To make way for the project on the approximately 1.4-acre site, the 10 small cabins that have composed the Ski View Lodge since the 1950s will be removed.

The lodge for decades provided rustic tourist accommodations near the base of Bald Mountain but in recent years has been operated as rented housing. Project associates reported this week that tenants remaining at the site must vacate the premises by Oct. 15.

Christopher Simms, executive director of Hailey-based Citizens for Smart Growth, reported Monday that development representatives David and John McDonald have agreed to attempt to sell the cabins to a buyer who could relocate them in the Ketchum area.

David McDonald said Monday that the developers plan to install the foundations for eight of the units before the onset of winter.

?It is just not possible to keep these buildings on this site given the value of land in Ketchum and our need to develop a project that pencils,? McDonald said of the cabins. ?We hope an angel steps forward who can place and restore all of the cabins in a location near Bald Mountain.?

The configuration of the project calls for two five-plex buildings to be constructed along Trail Creek, which runs along the western side of the property. Two three-plex buildings and two duplexes are planned to be built in the middle and eastern portions of the site.

In approving the project, commissioners required the developer to strictly observe a 25-foot riparian-zone setback from Trail Creek.

In addition, proposed work by the developer to remove and trim trees in the riparian zone must be overseen by the city arborist, the P&Z mandated.




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