Amador County – Kirkwood Mountain Resort announced Wednesday that it has agreed to sell its ski resort operations to Vail Resorts of Colorado.
Kirkwood CEO David Likins announced the agreement, saying the “purchase includes Vail’s acquisition of selected base village commercial development opportunities in the Mountain Village at Kirkwood.”
Likins said “Kirkwood’s shareholders will retain 100 percent of the remaining real estate development parcels in the Kirkwood base area including the single family subdivisions in The Palisades and Martin Point and the future village development projects in East Village and Timber Creek, as well as an economic interest in Vail’s village project.”
Kirkwood Mountain Resort chairman, former Ambassador Charles Cobb said: “We are extremely pleased to be in a position to work with Vail Resorts to build one of the most unique ski communities in North America.” He said the “combination of Kirkwood’s natural ski assets and Vail’s best in class resort operating capabilities will make this the most coveted resort experience in the West.”
Vail’s “Epic” pass holders will have immediate access to skiing and riding at Kirkwood Mountain Resort while Kirkwood pass holders will have access to Heavenly and Northstar also starting immediately.
Likins said “Kirkwood has an incredibly exciting future” because “Vail will own and operate a resort that is so convenient to Silicon Valley via hassle-free Highway 88 and is now coupled with the benefit of the Vail family of resorts both regionally and in Colorado.” He said it “makes Kirkwood the place where many Northern California families will want to immediately plant roots.”
Likins said “the fact that they are committed to retaining the unique Kirkwood culture while introducing their world class operating practices will make this the next must-visit destination.”
The Kirkwood community, founded by Bud Klein nearly 40 years ago, is approximately 50 percent complete with more than 500 residential units yet to be constructed. The selling shareholders, along with Likins and CFO Nathan Whaley, will continue the residential development and community management through subsidiaries, Kirkwood Mountain Development and Kirkwood Mountain Realty. The same group recently divested its publicly regulated utility to the local municipality that is within two weeks of opening a brand new, state of the art electricity plant.
Whaley said Kirkwood has the “most intriguing mountain resort real estate left in the western United States,” including on-slope single-family home sites and hundreds of ski-in, ski-out village-based townhomes, condominiums and hotel properties.” He said they are looking forward to what the future holds when combined with Vail’s reputation for “unparalleled guest and on-mountain experiences.”
Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
