Using a thick steel cable rigged to two large excavators, construction workers sliced through the middle of the last remaining building of the old Elkhorn Resort, as if preparing to remove a layer from a wedding cake.
Instead, one corner was dug into like a drunken uncle who couldn't wait for the ceremony to end.
Around a dozen spectators in Elkhorn Village Wednesday watched as timber, concrete, glass and other debris tumbled four stories to punctuate the end of the defunct resort in Sun Valley.
The building, which sat adjacent to the Elkhorn tennis courts, was the east wing of the hotel, housing rooms as well as the golf clubhouse and pro shop.
The demolition is part of a redevelopment by Ketchum-based CG Elkhorn, which, in partnership with Connecticut-based investment firm Greenfield Partners LLC, purchased the Elkhorn Resort in 2001. The hotel—once a bustling tourist attraction—was closed in fall 2002 after it was deemed to be economically unsustainable.
The developers are nearly complete with Phase 2 of the three-phase project.
"We saw the potential to revitalize the core by redeveloping the hotel, which was dying," said David Hennessy, a Ketchum-based partner in CG Elkhorn, during an interview last month. "The resort was old and couldn't compete with Sun Valley."
Standing in place of the resort so far are four condominium buildings, each containing around 18 units, and 12 townhomes.
Phase 2 is scheduled for completion this summer. Hennessy said that many of the units have already been reserved. As of May, all six townhomes from Phase 1, completed at the end of last year, had been sold and only five of the 38 condo units remained for sale, he said.
While the site of the recently demolished building is scheduled for future development, it will be cleared and landscaped for the time being, said CG Elkhorn representative Frank Salvoni.
Salvoni said a large portion of materials from the building, such as light fixtures, furniture and copper piping, was donated to other organizations, including the nonprofit Advocates for Survivors of Domestic Violence, based in Hailey.
While units in Phase 1 sold quickly and Hennessy expects the second phase to be in demand as well, he said the downturn in the real estate market and economy has led the developer to delay the start of Phase 3. The final phase will also include townhomes and condominium buildings.
As another sign of change, the new Market at Elkhorn Springs appears close to opening its doors, as the shelves are being stocked in the 4,000-square-foot market, which is located in the same building as the Elkhorn post office boxes.
Market owner Doug Logan was not available to give an exact opening date. However, in an earlier interview Logan said he will be working with Idaho's Bounty, a food cooperative of regional organic growers and producers from the Magic Valley and Hagerman, to help provide Sun Valley residents with a full-service grocery store with a focus on organic and natural foods.
An excavator begins the process of demolishing the last remaining building of the old Elkhorn Resort on Wednesday. The building was home to the defunct resort’s clubhouse and pro shop, as well as hotel rooms on the upper floors. Photo by Greg Stahl
