The Wall Street Journal - 20.09.2019

THE WALL STREET JOURNAL. Friday, September 20, 2019 |M11

Rusty Gregory, the chief executive

of ski-resort giant Alterra Moun-

tain Co. “It’s very specific to their

market,” Mr. Gregory said, adding

that it’s not clear whether it is a

formula for long-term success.

Tiffany Fox, vice president of

marketing at Summit Sotheby’s

International Realty in Park City,

said the resort “ticks all of the

boxes.” The resort’s location near

Salt Lake City, its design sensibil-

ity, and mix of housing stock and

price points should appeal to the

wealthy millennials driving the

market, spec builders and budget-

conscious apartment shoppers.

The idea to buy the mountain

originated with Greg Mauro, a

founder and managing partner of

the venture-capital firm Learn

Capital, who has a home in Eden.

The Summit Series founders

joined Mr. Mauro and Learn col-

league, Rob Hutter, to buy the

mountain in 2013 for about $40

million at a time when its owners

were financially distressed.

The team has hired resort and

real-estate executives to manage

the operations and sales, but

many details are still question

marks even six years in. It plans

for 1,500 to 2,000 residential

units, depending on demand for

hotel rooms and rentals, Mr.

Derck said. Completion may take

another 15 to 20 years, he says.

The company, says Mr. Derck,

plans to continue to own and op-

erate the ski resort, recreational

facilities, and events venues, will

likely take a stake in future retail

properties, and intends to sell

most of the land reserved for resi-

dential development to developers

or individual homeowners.

The venture sold out its first

batch of 144 lots, mostly to a

group of about 100 early investors

in Summit Powder Mountain.

They put in between $250,000

and $2 million in exchange for a

promissory note for a deed to a

correspondingly sized lot. Its sec-

ond batch of lots—57 on top of

the mountain—is priced between

$550,000 to $1.43 million. Brian

Williams, the director of real es-

tate, says nine people have re-

served one. Another area is

mapped for 30 cabins—arranged

to promote interaction between

neighbors. Summit Powder Moun-

tain is selling the vacant cabin

lots with pre-designed plans for

homes of 1,300 to 3,000 square

feet. Prices range from $1.3 mil-

lion to $2.9 million for the land,

plans and construction of the

home. About half have sold, in-

cluding three to buyers who

weren’t previously Summit mem-

bers (buyers get Summit member-

ship). Mountain Resort Builders is

working directly with buyers to

construct the homes. “Usually the

commodity is, how isolated can

you be?” said Brian MacKay-Ly-

ons, the Canadian architect be-

hind the plans. “Here, it is all

about being close together and

celebrating that.”

This month, Summit Powder

Mountain broke ground on its sec-

ond phase of development, a pub-

lic ski village. One building will

have condominiums, while another

will have lofts and commercial

space; prices for the condos and

lofts range from $600,000 to $3

million. (Summit Powder Mountain

is in talks with a mountain-resort

developer to buy the lots and con-

struct the buildings, Mr. Derck

said.) An affiliate of Greenline

Capital plans a hybrid building

with 60 micro-condos starting at

$300,000 that will include a 57-

room Selina hotel, a brand for

“digital nomads” that counts Adam

Neumann, We Co. co-founder, as

an investor. Greenline intends to

purchase the land for the project,

pending county approvals.

“The most interesting people

are the starving artist, the film-

maker, the documentarian,” Mr.

Mauro said. “We want this project

to be a home for them.”

The strategy may be working.

Ms. Fox, of Summit Sotheby’s,

said she is starting to get more

questions about the development

from young, wealthy buyers who

are looking for an environmen-

tally friendly ski community

where they can get to know their

neighbors.

“It won’t appeal to everyone,”

said Stephen Roney, the chief ex-

ecutive of Berkshire Hathaway

HomeServices Utah Properties,

“but I don’t think that’s what they

want either.”

Summit Powder Mountain may

also benefit from trends boosting

Utah’s relatively affordable ski-

home market: migration from

neighboring, higher-tax states,

particularly California, and a bur-

geoning tech community, local

real-estate agents say.

As part of its focus on creating

an environmentally sustainable

development, Summit Powder

Mountain plans to earmark 75% of

its land for conservation and rec-

reation, including the ski area. It

capped the number of skiers on

its 8,500 acres of skiable terrain

to 1,500 a day. Homes are limited

to 4,500 square feet above ground

and must be built in a style called

“heritage modernism.”

One of the most eye-catching

homes will belong to Tom Butt-

genbach, the founder and chief ex-

ecutive of 8minute Solar Energy, a

solar-power developer. The 5,500-

square-foot Dark Chalet will be

partly below grade.

The exterior will be made of

glossy- and matte-black metal

panels that incorporate commer-

cial-grade solar to generate 362%

of the home’s energy needs. In-

side, a 28-foot-wide fireplace will

be the focal point of a three-story

space that can accommodate Sum-

mit Series events, said architect

Tom Wiscombe.

John Plunkett, 67, and Barbara

Kuhr, 65, the founding designers

of Wired Magazine, are taking a

different approach. Entitled to

build up to 4,500 square feet,

they plan to construct a four-bed-

room home of just 2,700 square

feet. To make it blend into the

mountainside, they will add a

green roof between the main

house and a detached garage and

library. The budget is $450 to

$550 a square foot.

The Park City couple had been

considering moving to New York or

Los Angeles, but Summit Powder

Mountain renewed their interest in

Utah, Mr. Plunkett said. “If they

pull this off,” he said, “it is some-

thing we can be deeply involved

with over the next 20 years.”

MANSION | MOUNTAIN & SKI HOMES ISSUE

362

Percent of

Dark Chalet’s

energy needs

solar panels

will provide

Summit Series

and Summit

Powder

Mountain co-

founder Elliott

Bisnow, top

right, in his

1,588-square-

foot, one-

bedroom

home, right,

top center and

top left.

COST TO BUILD

$350 a foot

Gayle Troberman, the chief marketing officer of iHeartMedia Inc., above center, with her wife, Sue Turner, the chief operating officer of ListenJay,a

podcast-review website, above right, built this home. Her mother, Ellen Troberman, sits on the couch.

1,500

Number of daily skiers allowed

on Powder Mountain

80%

Portion of Summit buyers who

are Summit Series members

30,000+

Summit attendees to date

A rendering of the Dark Chalet, above, the future 5,500-square-foot home of Tom Buttgenbach, founder and

chief executive of 8minute Solar Energy.

TOM WISCOMBE ARCHITECTURE (RENDERING)

PETER GREENWOOD (ILLUSTRATION)

LINDSAY SALAZAR FOR THE WALL STREET JOURNAL (5)