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Sometimes it seems the march of the condominiums over the crest of the Sierra, down into Truckee, and on to Lake Tahoe is relentless.
Wherever there's the hint of a ski area, developers clamor to slap up second homes and condos. If the property lacks hills, they quickly add a golf course. Any so called "amenity" that might entice buyers is quickly touted in brochures, but always, mind you, with the fine print at the bottom cautioning that the amenities might never be built.
Some locations are almost guaranteed to be a sure draw for home buyers. Lake Tahoe, for example, offers true year round opportunities, with snow, water, and lots and lots of golf courses. Other locations near Tahoe, such as Donner Summit, have a more limited attraction for second home buyers.
There's abundant snow, but, well, sometimes it's almost too abundant. If the snow plow doesn't come in a timely fashion, you may be taking a few extended "snow days" off from work. The lakes are small, delightful, and unable to accommodate any boat larger than a canoe or Laser - no motorboats allowed. And perish the thought of a golf course.
Snowfalls can come as late as May, and as early as September, making the Summit singularly inhospitable to golf course grass (and golfing in a snowstorm isn't a lot of fun as it's hard to see the ball!).
Donner Summit has a hardy (and growing) core of year-round residents who value it for all of its rugged, not always easy to live in beauty. They also esteem it for what it doesn't have - theme park ski resorts with struggling malls, warrens of condominiums, chain restaurants and night life. Frankly, it's as dead as a doornail at night on the Summit.
Misters Foster and Syme and their company, Royal Gorge LLC hope to change all that. Their initial documents submitted to Placer County show they plan on developing over 1,000 units. Many of these units (they're cagey about the number), will be sold in the form of timeshares, or, their functional equivalent, fractional ownerships, the timeshare of the 21st century. In order to sell these units, Misters Foster and Syme have offered lots of amenities - ski lifts connecting to Sugar Bowl, mild mannered ski runs, ridge-top restaurants, a viewing tower and restaurant looming over the scenic North Fork of the American River, a horse facility, at least two artificial lakes - more, if they dam Van Norden Meadow, which they had promised to save as open space.
It is very likely that many of these prizes dangled out to entice buyers will never be built, as all of these proposals have very high hurdles to surmount because of environmental laws, and an extremely motivated citizen base dedicated to making sure all environmental laws are enforced.
One wonders what pool of buyers will, given the choice between developments closer to the newly vibrant Truckee, with its large selection of shops and restaurants, and a wealth of choices in golf links, or Lake Tahoe, with all its varied attractions, choose to purchase in an area famous for its record snowfalls, some nice low-key ski resorts, and not much else? And more importantly, what pool of investors, in today's gray hair inducing market, will choose to gamble on a project, that, 10 years down the road, might not have many buyers?
If they build it, and no one comes, what do we do with an empty condominium village?
ooo
Katherine Gray lives in Serene Lakes.
Wherever there's the hint of a ski area, developers clamor to slap up second homes and condos. If the property lacks hills, they quickly add a golf course. Any so called "amenity" that might entice buyers is quickly touted in brochures, but always, mind you, with the fine print at the bottom cautioning that the amenities might never be built.
Some locations are almost guaranteed to be a sure draw for home buyers. Lake Tahoe, for example, offers true year round opportunities, with snow, water, and lots and lots of golf courses. Other locations near Tahoe, such as Donner Summit, have a more limited attraction for second home buyers.
There's abundant snow, but, well, sometimes it's almost too abundant. If the snow plow doesn't come in a timely fashion, you may be taking a few extended "snow days" off from work. The lakes are small, delightful, and unable to accommodate any boat larger than a canoe or Laser - no motorboats allowed. And perish the thought of a golf course.
Snowfalls can come as late as May, and as early as September, making the Summit singularly inhospitable to golf course grass (and golfing in a snowstorm isn't a lot of fun as it's hard to see the ball!).
Donner Summit has a hardy (and growing) core of year-round residents who value it for all of its rugged, not always easy to live in beauty. They also esteem it for what it doesn't have - theme park ski resorts with struggling malls, warrens of condominiums, chain restaurants and night life. Frankly, it's as dead as a doornail at night on the Summit.
Misters Foster and Syme and their company, Royal Gorge LLC hope to change all that. Their initial documents submitted to Placer County show they plan on developing over 1,000 units. Many of these units (they're cagey about the number), will be sold in the form of timeshares, or, their functional equivalent, fractional ownerships, the timeshare of the 21st century. In order to sell these units, Misters Foster and Syme have offered lots of amenities - ski lifts connecting to Sugar Bowl, mild mannered ski runs, ridge-top restaurants, a viewing tower and restaurant looming over the scenic North Fork of the American River, a horse facility, at least two artificial lakes - more, if they dam Van Norden Meadow, which they had promised to save as open space.
It is very likely that many of these prizes dangled out to entice buyers will never be built, as all of these proposals have very high hurdles to surmount because of environmental laws, and an extremely motivated citizen base dedicated to making sure all environmental laws are enforced.
One wonders what pool of buyers will, given the choice between developments closer to the newly vibrant Truckee, with its large selection of shops and restaurants, and a wealth of choices in golf links, or Lake Tahoe, with all its varied attractions, choose to purchase in an area famous for its record snowfalls, some nice low-key ski resorts, and not much else? And more importantly, what pool of investors, in today's gray hair inducing market, will choose to gamble on a project, that, 10 years down the road, might not have many buyers?
If they build it, and no one comes, what do we do with an empty condominium village?
ooo
Katherine Gray lives in Serene Lakes.
