LP Village Phase II: Almost Shovel Ready?

[teleo]

One thing we also want all to know it that the access from Sugarbush Village will not be impaired with any grading change. People will ski be able to ski and and off and when the new lift is in, it will actually be more convenient for those that use is from the Village.

Thank you from one of the folks that access from Sugarbush Village. This has been a worry of a number of people over there.

Will access to the GH chair from SB village be left as is? Or are you referring to access to the double chair from the village?

IE, GH is currently a small skate over from the village, but if construction goes to high I could see that skate getting blocked.
Or requiring skins.

[HowieT2]

Win-thanks for taking the time to keep us internet weenies informed. I've heard how busy you are and your effort here is really appreciated.

The space dedicated to the RE sales presumably will be freed up when the RE is fully sold thereby opening up space for other things. Either way, very exciting news and I'm sure everyone here wishes SB the best of luck.

Tin-cute kid.

[Tin Woodsman]

One thing we also want all to know it that the access from Sugarbush Village will not be impaired with any grading change. People will ski be able to ski and and off and when the new lift is in, it will actually be more convenient for those that use is from the Village.

Thank you from one of the folks that access from Sugarbush Village. This has been a worry of a number of people over there.

Will access to the GH chair from SB village be left as is? Or are you referring to access to the double chair from the village?

IE, GH is currently a small skate over from the village, but if construction goes to high I could see that skate getting blocked.
Or requiring skins.

From the look of the renderings, it doesn't appear as though any of the buildings will intrude further onto the slope side than the temp village already is. At least not materially so.

[win]

Teleo,

The plan is to still be able to skate over from the Village to the GH lift. There will be some grading in between but you definitely will not need your skins. The glide to the new Village Chair will be shorter and easier.

One of our objectives is to improve the connectivity from Lincoln Peak Village to Sugarbush Village. I would really like to have hiking and biking paths in the non-snow months and recreational access (ie skiing and snowshoeing) in the snow months. We think it is really important that people from Clay Brook can get to Chez Henri, Miguels and Dino's Deli and that residents and guests in the Village condos can get to the slopes, CR Pub and Timbers for example. In the end we envision one interconnected community.

[sgottmann]

As always, thanks for chiming in. With all due respect, I continue to be disappointed in this decision. It's great that the Microbears will be integrated into the base area, but dropping the tots over in the SB Village is a PITA, and I'm not sure how that can be disputed. Shuttle service does nothing to eliminate the underlying issue of multiple stops to begin the day. Sure it's not my money, and you are right that it's tough to get anything built in this climate (thank the lord for the EB-5 program), but this seems like a glaring omission to me. You are choosing to build a real estate discovery center that could easily be housed in a temporary facility. You are choosing to add 3 and 4 bedroom palaces above the kids ski school when you are having trouble selling the existing inventory in CB. This deficiency will now be locked in for a generation or three, as I would imagine that State regs would have required some sort of re-design, which is unfortunate.

Make no mistake, it will be great to have first class facilities that are thoughtfully designed and the beginnings of a village core. Yet, it seems like a lot of pieces will have to go missing - the village will be half-pregnant.

I agree with Tin on this one. I have 3 kids, ages 7, 5 (miniblazers), and 3 (village double rider, ocassional day care) and have been throught the PITA that currently exists. Of course it is my own fault for having 3 rugrats so close in age but my real concern is not for me. The real issue is for guests that visit SB with little kids. Guests with day care kids that have stayed with me have a real hard time with the multiple drop offs and pick ups, especially when they are fired up for SB terrain and conditions. Unless you've done it, you don't know what a PITA it is --- way more than 10 seconds.

Win, I respect your attention to the matter but think you are underestimating this issue for beginning skiing families and the long term consequences. On the plus side, i think the 3 smaller buildings does present a much more attractive sense of scale at the mountain. The new facilities will be a substantial improvement and hopefully help tie the village to the mountain a little more. Despite my concerns, I look forward to the new development and wish you continued success.

Regards

[win]

Two follow on comments.

Yes, we still have some CB inventory left but that will move. We do see demand for three and four bedrooms and that is where we have a shortage, and we do see a demand for full ownership with the ability to custom furnish. As I have said, there is no ROI on new quality skier services buildings without some real estate development. Those are just the facts.

Someone also asked about bathrooms. There will be public bathrooms in the adult ski school/rental building so one will not have to go all the way to the Gate House.

There are also elevators in both buildings for HC access and other needs.

[HowieT2]

Teleo,

The plan is to still be able to skate over from the Village to the GH lift. There will be some grading in between but you definitely will not need your skins. The glide to the new Village Chair will be shorter and easier.

One of our objectives is to improve the connectivity from Lincoln Peak Village to Sugarbush Village. I would really like to have hiking and biking paths in the non-snow months and recreational access (ie skiing and snowshoeing) in the snow months. We think it is really important that people from Clay Brook can get to Chez Henri, Miguels and Dino's Deli and that residents and guests in the Village condos can get to the slopes, CR Pub and Timbers for example. In the end we envision one interconnected community.

SB village needs to be linked to the base by some sort path/walkway without going down and around the parking lots or through an active ski slope. Moving the village chair up the slope a bit would help.

[chuck]

From one who drives many miles to ski @ SB with four daughters, bathrooms near the parking lot are a HUGE plus!

[teleo]

Teleo,

The plan is to still be able to skate over from the Village to the GH lift. There will be some grading in between but you definitely will not need your skins. The glide to the new Village Chair will be shorter and easier.

One of our objectives is to improve the connectivity from Lincoln Peak Village to Sugarbush Village. I would really like to have hiking and biking paths in the non-snow months and recreational access (ie skiing and snowshoeing) in the snow months. We think it is really important that people from Clay Brook can get to Chez Henri, Miguels and Dino's Deli and that residents and guests in the Village condos can get to the slopes, CR Pub and Timbers for example. In the end we envision one interconnected community.

Excellent! I always thought Sugarbush would be best served by “one interconnected community” as most people have no clue and don’t care where the ownership lines are. (I know it can be hard to think that way when you’re planning one part of it. Glad to hear you are.)

Other related and random thoughts:
-I do like the multiple smaller buildings concept over two large buildings which never quite seemed like a “village” to me.
-Splitting daycare will be a PITA for some (not me, only 1 kid, and as someone else said the factory is closed)
Wondering if this could be mitigated somehow by creating an area to change, etc at/near the daycare so those with both could start their day at the daycare and ski to the other area? Anyone think that could be workable?
-New chair closer to SBV will be good, albeit maybe a little late for me. My little ski buddy just figured out how to get on and off the magic carpet by herself so that chair is in my immediate future.
-Anyone ever thought about a mini-golf area tucked in somewhere for the summer?

[MntMan4Bush]

Out of curiosity how many kids are in Daycare any given weekend? Weekday? I assume that holiday weekends are much more crowded.

[Tin Woodsman]

SB village needs to be linked to the base by some sort path/walkway without going down and around the parking lots or through an active ski slope. Moving the village chair up the slope a bit would help.

God yes. The current space between the two entities is so uninviting in all four seasons. You've got a muddy parking lot, a few dumpsters, some undeveloped scrubland and then another dirt parking lot before you approach civilization. I would hope that a more approachable and inviting landscape will be part of the plan, be it covered in snow or in the middle of summer.

[Tin Woodsman]

From one who drives many miles to ski @ SB with four daughters, bathrooms near the parking lot are a HUGE plus!

I would agree. However, it seems that the current plan is to have public bathrooms only in the adult ski school, which looks like it's going to be tucked away on the slope side of the plaza. You'd think that the most mileage would be derived from kid-friendly public bathrooms in the kids ski school. Sort of a part of the dropping off process if you're not staying within 15-20 minutes of the slopes (and sometimes even if you are).

[Tin Woodsman]

Other related and random thoughts:
-I do like the multiple smaller buildings concept over two large buildings which never quite seemed like a “village” to me.

I'm not as much of a fan, if only b/c, until I see otherwise, the bulk of CB will continue to stick out like a sore thumb. That said, now that I think about it a little more, it's hard to come to any firm conclusions until we understand the scale of the future residential bldg in phase 1C. If that's going to have 3 stories above grade as it appears, than that would really look nice, with large structures to the SW and NE surrounding three smaller buildings in the middle.

-Splitting daycare will be a PITA for some (not me, only 1 kid, and as someone else said the factory is closed)
Wondering if this could be mitigated somehow by creating an area to change, etc at/near the daycare so those with both could start their day at the daycare and ski to the other area? Anyone think that could be workable?

I'm just a guy, but this is a really, really good idea to me. Since Microbears are moving to the new facility, you'll have all that room on the right (north) side of the day care bldg to play with. Now perhaps the plan is to simply increase the day care space, but it would be really cool if there was a dedicated spot for parents of day care tots to begin and end their day if they so choose. If the grading, signage and landscpaing is improved, the skate over to the mtn wouldn't seem as much of an obstacle - they really are separate entities right now.

[mikec13]

I think this is a great idea but you will have to include parking...if a parent can park, drop off, change and then go ski I think it would work...a one car per family day care only parking program

[freeheel_skier]

Out of curiosity how many kids are in Daycare any given weekend? Weekday? I assume that holiday weekends are much more crowded.

I don't know how many but it is always busy when I have to drop my 16mo off. And as someone else said it is way more than ten seconds from day care and ski school. Dropping off at day care then driving over to drop off my daughter @ ski school then parking the car.....I don't know how my parents did it with 4 little b@stards! Hey it's part of life right? SO if you see someone in short sleves, sweating when it is 14 deg out sherpa'ing bags talking to himself....that would be me

I agree with sgottmann regarding the families who are not up on a regular basis. I can see how the multiple drop off thing can be a problem.