The idealistic new owners of Utah's Powder Mountain just released details of their development plans, which include 500 homesites and a village core of restaurants and shops. The Summit Series, a group of young entrepreneurs with big goals of changing the world, bought Powder Mountain in May 2013 for $40 million to create a permanent home for the company's idea-driven conferences and philanthropic parties. As new owners, the Summit Series hasn't been free from controversy, but the current proposal is much smaller than the failed 10,000-home development once proposed by previous owners Western American Holdings. Since purchasing the ski area, the company has held a high-profile 900-person conference called Summit Outside, which was kind of like the Aspen Institute in Utah. And with the launch of a new website and fancy development drawings, this altruistic and dreamy group wants to change the world (and build a few houses, too).
The Summit Powder Mountain website reads more like a utopian handbook than a development plan, with grandiose statements arguing that the ski area will become a "locus of global inspiration and progressive change in the heart of the Wasatch Mountains." People don't just ski here, they gather to "catalyze personal and collective growth," while also enjoying state-of-the-art amenities, of course. But wade through the idealistic jargon and here's what the new plans look like:
· 500 ski accessible homesites, with phase one consisting of over 125 homesites designed in a modern mountain architectural style. Each phase one home will have natural tree cover, ski access, and panoramic views. Lot sizes should be around a half acre.
· According to the Standard Examiner, some lots will be limited to 1,000 square-foot dwellings, with an overall cap of 4,500 square feet for mountainside homes.
· A new village core that will be home to a main lodge, cultural residences, and a walking street. Look for juice bars, eateries, and shops.
· Miles of walking, biking, and nordic trails.
· A stated goal of preserving the natural environment by maintaining natural views.
· Plans to use locally sources, reclaimed, and recycled materials that comply with LEED certifications.
· The ski and village area will host conferences, performances, and farm-to-table dining experiences.
Here's the full Summit Powder Mountain schtick: "Summit Powder Mountain is a residential community designed with the vision of creating an epicenter of innovation in the heart of the Wasatch Mountains. Tucked on the southern side of Powder Mountain, in the town of Eden, Utah, it's a new kind of neighborhood, where friends, family, and the change makers of today and tomorrow gather in an environment created to catalyze personal and collective growth."
So tell us Curbediverse, what do you think of the new Powder Mountain? Let us know in the comments or shoot us a line, here.
· Summit Powder Mountain [Official Site]
· New Development Approach at Powder Mountain [Standard Examiner]
· Powder Plan [Ski Magazine]
· Amenity Watch: Summit Series's First Conference At Powder Mountain [Curbed Ski]
· Utah's Powder Mountain Sells for $40 Million [Curbed Ski]
· All Powder Mountain Dreamlandia Coverage [Curbed Ski Archives]
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