Billion Dollar Ski Resort Underway In Wasatch County
Aug 12, 2019, 6:55 PM
WASATCH COUNTY, Utah – Utah will boast a new, high-end ski resort in just a few years. A New York City developer today announced he is building a billion-dollar ski resort, and you can already see work on the mountain. The Wasatch County resort will even include special accommodations for military men and women.
“We have, I think, the makings of a really beautiful resort town,“ said Gary Barnett, chairman and founder of Extell Development Company.
In recent years, the developer has purchased 5000 acres of private land west of US 40, above the Mayflower Exit right by Jordanelle Reservoir.
We took a ride on rough roads Into the village area, and up on the mountain where the lifts will be built. Bulldozers were already in the process of clearing land for a water tank that will supply Mayflower Village.
“As we speak, we’re starting on the infrastructure: putting in roads and clearing the ground for putting in roads” said Barnett. “We’ve cleared the ski routes to some extent.”
At the top of Mayflower Village a large beginners ski area and ski beach will blend into shops, luxury homes, and condos. The village will have three hotels, one of them five star.
The convention center, which will be billed first, will include 100 subsidized rooms with discount rates for active duty and retired military personnel and their families.
“I think this is a great location, and we want our military people to know that this is a great place to do business, but it’s also a great place to play,” Paul Morris, Acting Executive Director of the
Military Installation Development Authority.
The Air Force has been looking for a facility like this more than a decade. It will be open to all branches of the military.
“The average soldier doesn’t get paid that much, and this will enable them to have a chance to vacation at a ski resort,” said Barnett.
Groundbreaking for that part of the project: next spring. That hotel and skilifts could be ready by the 2021 ski season, two years from now.
“Whatever we do in terms of skiing will be brand new, state of the art,” said the developers.
Right now, they’re not sure exactly how much ski terrain they will have but they expect somewhere in the neighborhood of 2/3rds the terrain of Deer Valley, and several lifts that will rise around 1000 feet.
Skiers at Mayflower Mountain Resort will be able to ski over to Deer Valley as long as the passes are accepted when that time arrives.
“We’re actually in the midst of studying exactly what kind of skiing we can provide, and I think will determine that the next several months,” said Barnett.
Deer Valley is for skiers only. It is still undetermined whether Mayflower Mountain Resort will allow snowboarders.