Friday, April 8, 2005

Ownership shifts at Warm Springs Ranch

P&Z to convene two special meetings next week


By GREGORY FOLEY
Express Staff Writer

The group that owns Warm Springs Ranch has a new composition.

Henry Dean, spokesman for Sun Valley Ventures, said this week that two of the group's owners have sold their interest in the 77-acre property northwest of downtown Ketchum and are no longer involved in a plan to redevelop the site.

Erwin Mieger, a San Francisco-based investor, and Bob Bisno, a Los Angeles-based developer, have both sold their 20 percent interests in the Warm Springs property, Dean said. Sun Valley resident Steve Roth, a pre-existing partner in Sun Valley Ventures, and the Washington-based Noble House hotel group have purchased the collective 40 percent interest being sold by Mieger and Bisno.

Roth, who previously owned a 20 percent interest in the property, now holds a 30 percent share, Dean said. Noble House, which is planning to be the operator of a proposed 60-unit boutique hotel on the Warm Springs site, is now the new owner of a 30 percent interest, Dean said.

A San Francisco-based trust will continue to hold a 40 percent interest in Warm Springs Ranch, Dean said.

Dean, project director for Sun Valley Ventures' plan to redevelop Warm Springs Ranch, said the ownership changes would not have any immediate impacts on the plan.

"It strengthens the viability of the project," Dean said, in part because the hotel group now holds a significant stake in its future.

Sun Valley Ventures is currently seeking approval from the city of Ketchum to annex most of the golf-course property into the city and redevelop it. The redevelopment plan includes the hotel, a residential complex, a spa, a new Warm Springs Ranch Restaurant and a 37-acre public park.

Dean, a Ketchum-based developer, noted that he has entered into a contract with Sun Valley Ventures to develop the entire project. Dean also said he would hold a percentage ownership of the residential aspect of the project, if it is approved and completed.

Dean said Bisno and Mieger—who often work in collaboration—opted out of the project largely because Bisno does not have adequate time to devote to it.

"There are no hard feelings," Dean said.

The Ketchum Planning and Zoning Commission is currently reviewing the proposed Warm Springs Ranch annexation and redevelopment plan.

The P&Z will convene a special meeting Monday, April 11, at noon to tour the Warm Springs Ranch site. Commissioners will then discuss the project during a special meeting Wednesday, April 13, at 5:30 p.m. in Ketchum City Hall.




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