Way cleared for resort development in Catskill Park

KINGSTON - A long-stalled proposal to build a high-end resort in the heart of the Catskill Mountains took a major step forward Wednesday as developers and the state agreed to a scaled back plan.

Two hotels, lodging units, a spa, a conference center and a golf course are being planned for high in the Catskills about 100 miles northwest of New York City, next to the state-run Belleayre Mountain Ski Center. Under the a deal, the state will buy a defunct ski center next to Belleayre to expand that operation. Gov. Eliot Spitzer said the complementary resort and ski center projects will help make the Catskills a “ski destination.”

“To the extent that we can tell all consumers, ‘You don't need to go to Canada, you don't need to go to Colorado, you don't even need to go - and I love the Adirondacks - but you don't maybe need to go as far north as the Adirondacks. You can ski right here,”' Spitzer said in announcing the deal.