Locals pack the K-1 lodge to hear about investments
By Polly Mikula
About 700 people packed the K-1 lodge last week for the Killington Community Meeting and Resort Update. The main draw was a chance to meet members of the new independent owners’ group that recently bought the resort from Powdr and learn about the $30 million planned investments.
Lead investors Phill Gross and Michael Ferri, along with resort president Mike Solimano, answered questions that were pre-submitted by attendees on Wednesday, Oct. 9. Their answers were refreshingly candid and transparent, including identifying the complete list of 16 investors/investor groups and the board of directors, which had previously been kept anonymous.
The board of directors will include six of the investors and three independent community members. The investors on the board are Gross; Ferri; William Buck, a Killington East homeowner since 1993; Michael Morse, a Killington Mountain School graduate and Olympic mogul competitor; Tim Brennwald, chief operating officer of Powdr; and Michael Sneyd of Great Gulf. The three independent board members are John Casella, director of Casella Waste Systems; Michael Hone, Killington Mountain School Board member; and Carolyn Kepcher, owner of Snowed Inn.
The investors:
Owner-investors include: the Gross family, including Liz and Phill Gross; Michael Ferri and the Ferri family; the Morse family; Jim Bianchi and the LEGS Fund (which includes a number of unidentified business people and local families from Killington); Mike and Christina Gordon; the Buck family, including William and April Buck; Alex Rozek and Mimi Rozek; Simon Yates, from Pico, with his husband Kevin; Matt Strobeck and Carey Strobeck and Delta Properties, based in Burlington and their business partners Rob Cohn, former U.S. Ski Team member, and Andrew McNealus; Peter Nassif; Adam Winkel; Brad Paul, former mountain ambassador at Killington Resort; Mike Hone, KMS Board Member; Scott Halpern; Jason Schwartz; Nick Leeper; Powdr; and Great Gulf.
No single person/entity has more than 20% ownership. Gross noted that there are more than 16 listed because of groups that put together partnerships to participate in the purchase. Several others wished to remain anonymous, he said.
“Everyone is a Killington skier, this is there home; they’re not financially motivated,” said Gross. “They’ve bought into the idea of reinvesting fully.”
Ferri said the Killington Independence Group, LLC, had to turn investors away at one point because it had already raised more than enough. “We’re fortunate that 100% of the purchase price came from equity that we raised from 14 families that have strong ties to Killington, along with our partner, Great Gulf, and Powdr,” he said Ferri.
The group is legally bound not to sell the mountain for at least 10 years, “not that any of us have an intention of doing that,” Ferri added.
Ferri and Gross said that one of the most attractive features about the investment is that the current leadership team at Killington Resort was identified as “among the best in the business,” according to a third-party team that vetted the management and operations.
“We’re going to let them run the mountain,” said Gross. “We’re not going to get involved in anything other than giving them and the community the resources they need to improve the mountain and make it the best it can possibly be.”
Gross said the all-but-certain village planned for the base of Snowshed and Ramshead was another attractive feature, as was the fact that Killington could generate more than enough cash flow to cover its costs and future investments, even in lean years — a rarity among ski resorts.
$30 million investment, plus
Solimano outlined the details of the recently released $30 million investment plans at the resort over the next few years. Significant changes include 1,000 new low-energy snowguns, 500 of which were installed this summer (see related story in this edition), a new Superstar Chair (see related story), and the replacement of the Skyeship gondola’s 116 cabins next summer (they’ll look similar to the K-1 cabins, he said). There will also be a new Skyeship gondola barn replacing the one at mid-station.
The new Superstar chair will be a six-pack and scheduled for installation starting this spring, possibly as early as April, which will cut the season short on Superstar.
“We will definitely push [the timeframe] later, but there’s no doubt we’re not skiing on Superstar probably after the middle of April,” he said. “There’s always going to be a tradeoff, and this is going to be one of those years… I think it’s a good trade.”
The resort will work hard to have skiing into May, but skiing through June is unlikely.
Additionally, Solimano announced that Pico will be getting some upgrades, too. Those will include 44 new guns (doubling the amount of low-energy guns currently operating), an expanded terrain park on Panhandler, and an improvement to the Bonanza beginner area. The plan for Bonanza illustrates how independent ownership will improve the resort’s ability to make changes quickly.
Without any specified funding under Powdr, Solimano, and the team had planned to “regrade this, and move that, and turn the rope toe into a handle toe, you know, a really good effort,” he said. “Then Phill calls me this week and says, ‘What do you think about a magic carpet on Bonanza?’ And I was like, ‘Of course, that’s what we needed, but we didn’t have the money, so we just did all the other the best things we could do’… So that’s kind of the cool part about being nimble… It’s really been fun.”
The details for the magic carpet are still being worked out. It will be a covered carpet and constructed in partnership with Vermont Adaptive, hopefully by next season.
“There are no words that articulate how positively significant it will be for our programs, our adaptive snowsports instructors, and participants with disabilities. Vermont Adaptive is so very appreciative that this project is being prioritized,” said Erin Fernandez, executive director for Vermont Adaptive Ski & Sport.
Village progress, timeline
“This is our premiere property,” said Michael Sneyd, president of Great Gulf Resort Residential of the planned Killington village. “It’s the one I spend most of my time on, and it’s where Great Gulf is laser-focused on the future.”
Sneyd said he even recently bought a condo at the Killington Grand Hotel that will “look out at the new village.”
The planned village will be at the base of Snowshed and Ramshead commercial and residential space. Sneyd told the crowd Wednesday that the first phase of the village will include over 650 ski-in/ski-out condominiums, single units, and townhomes at Ramshead, over 110,000 square feet of retail and dining, over 85,000 square foot iconic ski lodge, as well as two public squares and a waterfront promenade. Sneyd also showed future ideas for a farm-to-table greenhouse/garden, a canopy boardwalk, and nature play structures for kids.
Great Gulf and Safdie Architects are “continuing to evolve the architectural studies,” Sneyd said. “So I can’t show you updated plans today,” he told the crowd at K-1, emphasizing their focus on creating multiple offerings at the village. “A great destination offers experiences. It’s already a great place to ski; it’s got to be a great place after skiing, too,” he added.
While new plans will be subject to new Act 250 permit approvals, water, and road infrastructure progress will be evident this winter and spring.
Great Gulf is working to finalize Act 250 permits for stormwater reconfiguration at its new parking area and stormwater pond. It hopes to secure those soon to begin clearing trees cleared there and in the approved Ramshead neighborhood this winter.
“The best time to clear trees is January,” Sneyd said.
The town and Great Gulf are also working on necessary permits and easements to build out Road H this spring, which will intersect the new parking areas along Killington Road and connect with Old Mill Road and East Mountain Road.
Sneyd told the crowd Wednesday that they hope to finalize its village architectural plans and get them to the town’s Development Review Board in the first half of 2025, then submit its Act 250 application in the second or third quarter of 2025. If all goes well, Great Gulf will begin selling units in the third and fourth quarters of 2025, and the building could start as soon as the second quarter of 2026.
“We’re still on track to having the first occupancy before the 2027 ski season,” Sneyd said.
Future predictions: 10 years in the future
The night’s final question, directed to all three panelists, Gross, Solimano, and Ferri, focused on the future. “There’s been a lot of talk about that 10-year mark,” asked Dave Beckwith, director of snow sports at Killington Resort, who was moderating the question/answer session. “What’s your legacy? What does this resort look like in 10 years?”
Ferri answered first, “I would hope that it certainly has the best facilities and provides the best skiing in New England or in the whole country. I also hope that it provides an opportunity for upward mobility for the employee base that runs this mountain. As the mountain gets bigger and the revenues grow, there are more opportunities for the people who work hard in this business. I hope they also participate in that future,” he said.
“It’s gonna have the best village in the East as well,” Gross added. “I mean, there’s no downside to what we’re going to put together… What the Killington team wants to do, that’s where we’re going — that’s our North Star for where we’re going to be in 10 years.”
“I look 10 years out, and I think the infrastructure is going to be amazing,” said Solimano. “I look forward to asking, ‘Hey, what can we do to improve this place?’ And nobody even being able to think of anything!… So I’m waiting for that, but I know you always have a lot of great feedback, and that’s the culture! We’re always trying to improve the place.”
