More than 80 years after the original was built, Ketchum might be home once again to a Bald Mountain Lodge.
Hailey resident and project manager Jim Garrison held an open house on Thursday at the Wood River Community YMCA to introduce the proposal for a new hotel on the high-profile, vacant city block on Main Street between First and River streets.
Unlike the original lodge, known as the Bald Mountain Hot Springs Hotel when it was built in 1929 with 31 log cabins and a pool filled with water from Guyer Hot Springs, the new design is significantly more modern.
The proposed five-story building would include 82 high-end hotel rooms, 26 residential units on the top two floors, about 8,000 square feet of retail space on the ground floor, a restaurant, bar and possibly a spa.
Garrison said that of the residential units, a large majority would likely be added to the rental pool at the request of the owner.
There would also be two levels of underground parking with 111 spaces and an outdoor pool in the southwest corner of the property.
Garrison said the owners would be partnering with hotel operator Rock Resorts, which manages hotels in numerous ski resorts, including Vail, Beaver Creek and Aspen.
The site has been under consideration as a location for a new hotel for about seven years. Former owner Brian Barsotti won approval for a hotel on the site after a long, drawn-out set of negotiations with the city, but then had difficulty financing the project. The property was later sold to Seattle-area developer Steve Burnstead, who developed a new plan for the site. That proposal was rescinded after negotiations for approval broke down.
In an interview in January, Garrison said Burnstead and co-owner Mike Kerby, having formed Bald Mountain Lodge LLC, said they were motivated to submit an application once again by the successful application from local developer Jack Bariteau for his Hotel Ketchum and by the Ketchum Planning and Zoning Commission's recommendation of approval for the proposed Warm Springs Ranch Resort.
If the developers obtain a building permit by June 2010, they would not be required to provide any deed-restricted community housing, an exemption offered by the city to attract a hotel development in the near future.
However, they would have to provide workforce housing for at least 25 percent of the hotel employees. At the open house, Garrison said the hotel would employ 80 to 120 full-time staff, but that a housing plan has yet to be developed.
"The employee housing and parking will be a real challenge," Garrison said.
Garrison said no housing would be provided on-site and that it would be difficult to provide housing within Ketchum due to the cost of real estate.
Ed O'Gara, who lives on the opposite side of River Street from the property, said he thought it would be a great location for a hotel and that he had supported the project previously proposed by Barsotti.
"I just want it to be architecturally nice looking and for (the developers) to make sure they solve the parking issue," O'Gara said. "It could be a good amenity to have within a really short walking distance."
O'Gara was one of a handful of visitors to the open house, likely due to a busy meeting on the proposed merger between Sun Valley and Ketchum taking place at the same time.
O'Gara said that if the hotel is at capacity and another event is taking place nearby, such as a Ketch'em Alive concert, there might not be enough on-street parking in the neighborhood to handle the demand.
Garrison said the developers would likely make an official application submittal to the city in late April, following a pre-application meeting with the Ketchum Planning and Zoning Commission set for March 23.
Jon Duval: jduval@mtexpress.com
Ketchum resident Ed O’Gara, left, and Jim Garrison, right, project manager for the proposed Bald Mountain Lodge, look over a preliminary floor plan for the five-story, high-end hotel that would be located on Main Street between River and First streets in Ketchum. The hotel would include 82 rooms and 26 residential units, as well as a pool, restaurant and bar.
Photo by David N. Seelig
