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.
Since it was first proposed in 1999, the Belleayre Resort - named for the ski center - has been targeted by opponents worried about overdevelopment in the mountainous wilderness. Similarly, officials from New York City, which draws drinking water from the Catskills, said the project could upset the delicate environmental balance that allows them to avoid building a multibillion dollar filtration plant.
Developer Crossroads Ventures tried to address those concerns by reducing the size of the resort. Instead of the 400 hotel rooms and 372 lodging units originally proposed, they now plan 370 hotel rooms and 259 lodging units. The number of acres to be developed has been more than halved to 273.
Crossroads also agreed to avoid building on the wilderness land that most concerned New York City officials. The state will buy 1,216 acres of that land along with 78 acres of the defunct Highmount Ski Center in a combined purchase expected to cost about $14 million. The larger plot will be protected as open space.
The agreement among developers, the state and the city now goes up for environmental review. A number of the environmental groups that had fought the original proposal signed on to the agreement and joined Spitzer for the announcement at a Kingston hotel. Tom Alworth of the Catskill Center for Conservation and Development called the new plan “environmentally sound development.”
But the state chapter of the Sierra Club and other environmental groups remained opposed to a project they still consider too big or too threatening to New York City's drinking water. Richard Schaedle of the Catskill Heritage Alliance said the self-contained resort will “suck the economic vitality from the surrounding communities.”
“It's taking away from our forest land,” said Schaedle, who lives a few miles from the development. “It's just changing the way of life we have.”
“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.
Since it was first proposed in 1999, the Belleayre Resort - named for the ski center - has been targeted by opponents worried about overdevelopment in the mountainous wilderness. Similarly, officials from New York City, which draws drinking water from the Catskills, said the project could upset the delicate environmental balance that allows them to avoid building a multibillion dollar filtration plant.
Developer Crossroads Ventures tried to address those concerns by reducing the size of the resort. Instead of the 400 hotel rooms and 372 lodging units originally proposed, they now plan 370 hotel rooms and 259 lodging units. The number of acres to be developed has been more than halved to 273.
Crossroads also agreed to avoid building on the wilderness land that most concerned New York City officials. The state will buy 1,216 acres of that land along with 78 acres of the defunct Highmount Ski Center in a combined purchase expected to cost about $14 million. The larger plot will be protected as open space.
The agreement among developers, the state and the city now goes up for environmental review. A number of the environmental groups that had fought the original proposal signed on to the agreement and joined Spitzer for the announcement at a Kingston hotel. Tom Alworth of the Catskill Center for Conservation and Development called the new plan “environmentally sound development.”
But the state chapter of the Sierra Club and other environmental groups remained opposed to a project they still consider too big or too threatening to New York City's drinking water. Richard Schaedle of the Catskill Heritage Alliance said the self-contained resort will “suck the economic vitality from the surrounding communities.”
“It's taking away from our forest land,” said Schaedle, who lives a few miles from the development. “It's just changing the way of life we have.”
Citizen
Hot Jobs
New! Off the Menu
The Citizens' Say
Post your comment - click hereThere are No comments posted.