Killington to Launch a New (and Long Awaited) Village

Article Provided by Roger Lohr, XCSkiResorts.com

In the March local election, the residents in the town of Killington, Vermont passed the TIF (tax increment financing) zone at the Killington resort and it will take up to $47 million to build infrastructure (water system, road reconstruction) in a planned village project that will move ahead at Killington Mountain Resort. The vote was 75% in favor of the TIF zone at the resort which occurred due to the coming together of the resort, local businesses and residents to bolster the local economy.

Michael Sneyd, a resort development representative from Great Gulf Group, a firm from Toronto joined Killington/Pico president and general manager Mike Solimano to present some of the plans to a group of journalists hosted by the SkiVermont organization. The project will take a couple of years to plan, design and sell while the construction is expected to take about four years. The 4,229-foot Killington is part of Powdr, the company that also owns other areas such as Mt. Bachelor, Snowbird, Copper Mountain, Silver Star and others. Great Gulf has worked on similar projects at Stratton Mountain and resorts in Canada.

Phase 1 of the project would develop a walkable pedestrian avenue and 700 units near what is now Snowshed in the village that in the words of Sneyd would incorporate a “ski beach” concept and be “animated for skiers and nonskiers.” The snowmaking pond would be featured and surrounded by a promenade. The village will be designed to serve skiers, bikers, hikers, golfers, music event attendees, and other festival aficionados.

Sneyd also commented that there would be about 110,000 square feet of retail space in the village that will not be limited to Killington resort businesses. The living spaces would be whole ownerships (not fractional) and there would be a rental program to be developed for residential owners. Speaking to the development concept that is being planned Sneyd stated, “This is not a quaint Vermont thing.”

One of the intriguing aspects of the project is that the Snowshed and Ramshead lodges would be reconstructed and joined by a snowcovered bridge spanning over what is currently the Killington Road. The Killington village concept has been on the drawing boards for decades and it appears that the community will have an opportunity to reap the rewards of the project coming to fruition.