Balsams Update - Go Big or Go home

[peakbagger]

Les Otten gave a Balsams update

https://www.conwaydailysun.com/berl...cle_b4cb36f6-9fcb-11ea-a81a-8741fff7e944.html

Hmmh, smells like a description of a high end survival/sustainability concept. I wonder if they include mining the bridges on RT 26 on either side of the resort for a SHTF scenario

BTW, the resort previously was supplied power from a biomass power plant that the silent partner scrapped. I think they may have also had a couple of hydros or at least capability to do so.

 

[peakbagger]

FYI, The CBRE listing for the Balsams is no longer available and searching the website there is not sign of it.

 

[NHClimber]

Interestingly, query whether the pandemic is good for a Balsams revival. Probably too little too late with no govt budgets and no one interested in real estate investment. Yet with the massive influx of tourism to MWV (and I suspect elsewhere in the state) in recent weeks, the mind does ponder. Never seen so many NY, NJ, CT and RI plates before.

 

[peakbagger]

I did see that Les's former property down the road in Newry Maine is taking advantage of the demand https://www.nshoremag.com/faces-pla...-two-new-real-estate-ownership-opportunities/ I wonder if any of the Balsams escrowed deposits are headed down RT 26 to Bethel?.

Realistically the Balsams project still requires permitting to be completed as they had stopped the process at one point. There are still significant environmental issues about pumping Androscoggin River water to the headwaters of the Connecticut river for snowmaking (I believe this option has been pushed to a later stage of the build out but key to the major ski area expansion). I an unsure if the project will go back before the state to get access to infrastructure bonds so expect that barring an ultra rich person writing a check for $176 million and starting at risk without permits, my guess is its two winter seasons before its open. Meanwhile Saddleback has put in a new lift, making major base lodge expansion and improvements and is planning more development and Jay is still for sale turn key reportedly for far less than the financing for the Balsams. All three ski areas are in the mystical snow belt that Les refers that will retain snow when the other farther south areas are green grass.

I am starting to wonder if Bayroot (Yale retirement fund) will not buy the bulk of the Balsams lot for timber and future wind power development, They are an abutter and seem to be willing to invest long term as they just bought similar size clear cut parcels from Dillon in Success NH. Reportedly the two prior partners who bought the Balsams paid in the vicinity of 3 million for the entire lot and between major timber operations on land that had not been cut for 100 plus years and the auction of anything not nailed down just about covered their investment. Maybe someone will build an ATV resort on the former hotel site using the only buildings that are worth salvaging (The original hotel structure was deemed to be too expensive to rehab so the project assumed they would build an entirely new structure)

 

[peakbagger]

Les Otten appeared before the Coos County Planning board to get an extension on the projects paperwork. His development application to the board would have lapsed if he didn't extend it from 5 to 10 years. He gave an interview to the Berlin Sun which is in today's edition. its behind a paywall. The short version is "its not dead yet" (for those who want a video reference https://www.youtube.com/watch?reload=9&v=Jdf5EXo6I68)
He reiterated the positive aspect of the projects finances and admitted that the conventional finance market is not there for the project, therefore as he has said before he is looking for special investors and is partnering with a firm that may assist with this. I think his recent comments about the approach was an Eco resort.

Below this is my speculation and not in the article

At one time the facility was self sufficient for electric power generated on site by an on site biomass power plant and possibly hydroelectric (speculation on my part). The biomass plant was sold off at the auction and my guess is it was not state of the art. There is new biomass gasification technology available that would be far better fit but it comes at a premium. http://www.nexterra.ca/files/ubc.php.

There is a natural gas line to the west in Colebrook that could be extended east to the resort for a combined heat and power plant which could be very carbon efficient. Natural gas is a fossil fuel but there is a market where "green natural gas" generated by facilities like landfills and wastewater treatment plants are injected into the natural gas system and other natural gas users can "buy" this green natural gas. In reality the physical transfer does not happen but its the same system used for solar power SREC production. There is also the nearby Granite Reliable Wind Farm that probably would be willing to sell them "green"power. Since the power does not go on the grid there are potential savings to both parties. Northern NH has a problem that it generates far more renewable power than it can move outside the region. The utility is trying to remove bottlenecks but the same WMNF choke point south of South Kinsman that caused Northern Pass to move the proposed route, limits the ability for Northern NH to sell all of its renewable power generation to the New England market. Therefore "green" power demand in Northern NH is easy to supply locally. There was a much larger wind farm proposed north of RT 26 on land adjoining the Balsams that was canceled due to this bottleneck.

Les's first big success at Sunday River long ago was putting in top to bottom snowmaking when few other east coast resorts were doing it. He used a bunch of diesel generators and diesel air compressors initially with tanker loads of diesel but air emission regulations has made that far less attractive thus many resorts bring in grid power via Hendrix cables https://www.windpowerengineering.co...oblem-of-many-cables-and-not-much-pole-space/ . This approach is very noticeable along the Kanc heading out to Loon Mountain. Thankfully new snow making equipment uses a lot less power albeit still a significant amount. If Les could claim a "green" resort along with his claim that the Balsams location allows far more natural snow he may have a way to differentiate his resort from others.

 

[NHClimber]

Interesting. Thanks for the update. Going to be interesting to see how the hospitality industry recovers from the pandemic. I expect that there will be a massive rebound because after having suffering through 18 months of work from home there will be a rush to travel. While many people will have settled into vacation homes or otherwise relocated, overall I don’t see this diminishing their desire to travel one the pandemic fades. I’m not sure how that changes the landscape for the Balsams though, unless there is a greater desire for quasi local travel or perhaps eco travel as you note.

 

[NHClimber]

The Daily Sun article mentions ESG investors, so that is the angle that Les is probably pursuing given the appeal of creating a low impact (in relative terms) sustainable resort.

 

[Andrew]

Here is some more info from the more local paper that includes the Berlin Daily Sun story: https://colebrookchronicle.weebly.com/

The Colebrook Chronicle is a good source without a paywall that I find interesting since it includes not only Coos, but also NEK and just over the border in Canada.
I would have figured by now that they would have given up on the original plan and convert Balsams into some kind of ATV mecca, although I'm not sure what the status of the SPNHF easement that was overlaid on the land of the XC network regarding such use (there are existing multi-use trails woven in network). I think about those trails often and since I have spent many hours of my life clearing and maintaining trails, sadly imagine these growing in. It was good skiing.

In the recent thread on Jericho development, peakbagger gave an accurate description of the ATV interest shifting more to the north and west towards Colebrook. You may not be aware that Coleman State Park that is almost contiguous to the Balsams land has been subject to a shift in welcoming year-round motorized use recreational accommodations (as well as a block of campsites farter north at Lake Francis State Park- seasonal). https://www.nhstateparks.org/visit/state-parks/coleman-state-park

A big part of this at Coleman was the state parks having to figure out what to do with major development on state land for decades by the Eckert Foundation. All kinds of housing units for a youth development camp that was called Camp Eh Toh Anee at the old Coleman Lodge former sportsmen's camps. I know I savaged the spelling on that despite being heavily involved in this project for years, but never could spell it right.

 

[peakbagger]

I have not seen the Balsams SPNHF easement but someone involved with the process claimed that it was very broad, effectively anything but a transmission line corridor. Yes there were some parts of the land were identified as a "special area" that ban any development on a small part of the property and I expect some agreement not to fragment the land but SPNHF has the reputation that they can be quite flexible on their easements. If you look back at the time of the transaction, the Tillottson estate was desperate to sell the Balsams due to legal constraints. At least two potential deals had fallen through and each offer was lower. The people involved with the transaction were locals and I think the majority were against Northern Pass. Eversource was losing the game of landscape "checker" against SPNHF so they thought they had a way to win the game by buying the Balsams, running the lines into Bayroot land and dumping what was left including the resort. That definitely meant the death knell for the resort and any jobs. SPNHF got involved last minute and their solution kept the hopes of the resort alive and allowed the estate to buy down the value of the property. My guess is the estate didnt want to dilute the value to resort so they would have wanted a loose easement.

The estate eventually gave up and sold the resort to two locals who reportedly covered their purchase price by extensive logging on land that had not been cut since the early 1900s and the fire sale auction. The logging implies a loose easement in at least parts of the property. They also inadvertently ruined the long term development potential of the resort by tearing down some historic structures.

I still wonder what will happen with the incredibly expensive set of parcels that Eversource bought for Northern Pass. They were going to hand them over to Ride The Wilds in backroom deal but when it came to light the deal was dashed. They can never sell them for anywhere near what they paid for them.

 

[Andrew]

I contributed to SPNHF's fund drive for the easement acquisition, but never looked into the details for how it affected recreation. I had a personal stake with NP as the line is within a mile of my house and increased height might have made it visible from my picture window.

 

[peakbagger]

There is an article in the Berlin Paper today (paywall) that Les Otten's team now owns the project outright. He bought out the share of the local contractor who was one of the partners that bought the resort from the Tillotson Corporation.

The local contractor and a regional car dealer were the buyers of last resort after the Tillotson estate has received the SPNHF easement proceeds and no other entity wanted to buy the property as a going concern. The two partners who bought it hosted the infamous auction selling off whatever was not nailed down (and some that was) and also did the demolition of some historic buildings that prevented any future developer from gaining access to fairly valuable historic tax credits. Reportedly they also did extensive logging of the back of the property.

 

[NHClimber]

FYI that there is an article today in the Conway Daily Sun about weddings on the property. One can rent one of three private homes located on the property.

 

[Andrew]

FYI that there is an article today in the Conway Daily Sun about weddings on the property. One can rent one of three private homes located on the property.

They probably saw what was going on with their neighbors and realized they had a ready market. This is my thought since I did not read article as I've used up my free access. Just down the road to Colebrook we watched this effort grow over the past few years https://www.mohawkfalls.com/

This is also one of the markets we went after while developing the Coleman Lodges at Coleman State Park just up the road, with some success.

 

[peakbagger]

Too bad they have trashed a portion of the resort around it. I guess a photographer will pick his shots to keep the demo out of the background. Its cash flow and business for local motels and caterers so that is a good thing.

 

[NHClimber]

I did get a chuckle from the photos that naturally leave out the smoldering ruins on the grounds. I didn't look yet to see where the referenced private residences are located.

 

[peakbagger]

There is a very long interview with Les Otten and his new partner on the Balsams project in the Colebrook Chronicle

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1d5ZfrE30dxiokzB2ILYgotEYIi6memXU/view

There is some interesting background and some wishing and hoping but no real news on path forward for the big project.

 

[peakbagger]

Its back!

https://www.conwaydailysun.com/berl...cle_0548f0a6-5866-11ec-80a1-af52ce5b15c1.html

A new creative way of financing the hotel and conference center by a "non profit" using non recourse county revenue bonds. The way it reads is that the grand plans for the upgrade to the ski resort are not included. Therefore, a state of the art resort hotel without a resort? My assumption is that this "primes the pump" for the investors in the overall resort to build out and invest in the balance of the resort on a profit basis. No mention of the 40 million in county improvements that was on the table previously.

 

[rocket21]

Its back!

https://www.conwaydailysun.com/berl...cle_0548f0a6-5866-11ec-80a1-af52ce5b15c1.html

A new creative way of financing the hotel and conference center by a "non profit" using non recourse county revenue bonds. The way it reads is that the grand plans for the upgrade to the ski resort are not included. Therefore, a state of the art resort hotel without a resort? My assumption is that this "primes the pump" for the investors in the overall resort to build out and invest in the balance of the resort on a profit basis. No mention of the 40 million in county improvements that was on the table previously.

The new partner is the same group said to be financing the Big Squaw/Moosehead Resort development in Maine: https://www.newenglandskiindustry.com/viewstory.php?storyid=934

 

[peakbagger]

They look legit but it does seem to stretching their reach, then again there is lot of money sloshing around the real estate market looking for investments. My guess is they are a 501C with very generous compensation to executives. Kind of strange to call a ski lodge and conference a "mission" but I expect they can repurpose a structure into a Church of the Perpetual Snowflake

I wonder if they ever worked out a deal to get closer access to the peak and ridge with the wind turbines? The ice throw zone in effect when built was overlapping their proposed terrain expansion to get some more vertical. Brookfield sold the wind farm so it's a different group to deal with now. The windfarm is frequently transmission limited so it would be interesting to see the Balsams put in some big storage batteries and run the place and the snowmaking off of locally produced wind power. They had previulsy claimed that the resort would be super energy efficient. Since they are adjoining sites, they could skip the grid and its associated costs. There are still several permits required from the Coos County planning board that were put on hold when the financing fell apart but I do not think any are show stoppers except for the wind throw zone problem. The wind throw zone can be made smaller but that means the turbine operators may have to limit operations of the turbines in question in icing conditions. Someone who worked there said they have some very impressive not for publication photos of the damages from ice falls off the blades and tower.

If they ever do the later phases Brookfield (and the AMC) are still in the picture as a potential intervenor for the proposal to pump water from the Androscoggin. That is more controversial issue due to the potential to pump invasives (if they exist) from the Androscoggin into the Connecticut River.

 

[Andrew]

..... Kind of strange to call a ski lodge and conference a "mission" but I expect they can repurpose a structure into a Church of the Perpetual Snowflake.....

If they would restore the ski touring trails, that would qualify in my mind as providing the opportunity for a religious experience. It pains me to this day that such a fine set of ski touring trails has been lost to use.

Shockingly for someone with an appetite for reading I had none to read yet another article about plans for the Balsams. After years of talk and attending meetings and constantly considering and planning towards the impact on the adjoining state park and the region, now can only slightly raise my eyebrow in interest. Dixville Notch will sadly never be the same, and what is now existing and planned is no improvement.

add comment...feel the need to clarify that I enjoy reading peakbaggers informative posts including this subject, as I appreciate his perspectives and summarizations on many issues, especially local ones as I no longer have free access to the Berlin Daily Sun. This story made it eventually to other local news I subscribe to, but I didn't have the motivation to bother to read.