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brad
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 Posted: Thu Jan 03, 2008 1:32 pm Post subject: Ski Rio Sold! Reopening in near future now possible... |
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Ski Rio Sells for $6.5 Million
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ColoradoSkiHistory.com
Last edited by brad on Mon Sep 28, 2009 12:01 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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q
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Joined: 26 Sep 2005
Posts: 146
Location: Aberdeen, Scotland
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| Posted: Thu Jan 03, 2008 3:12 pm Post subject: |
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Brilliant to read that, lets hope it goes through.
What timescales would a "mothballed" resort have to open up again? I read about Waterman in Cali and all the checks on lifts and such like that were required so am guessing it would be 2008-2009 at the earliest?
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trooper1556
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Joined: 20 Sep 2005
Posts: 443
Location: Steamboat Springs, CO
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| Posted: Thu Jan 03, 2008 3:54 pm Post subject: |
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| q wrote: | | so am guessing it would be 2008-2009 at the earliest? |
for sure, there's no way they could get up & running before this season's close |
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Cameron
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Location: Eugene, Oregon
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| Posted: Fri Jan 04, 2008 7:52 pm Post subject: |
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This is pretty amazing and it would be cool if the owners are able to get everything ready for next year.
However, I doubt any new lifts will be installed/replaced.
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Skilifts.org
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caroth
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Location: CO
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| Posted: Fri Jan 04, 2008 8:25 pm Post subject: |
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| So Czech crooks bought the resort? |
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brad
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Joined: 24 Jul 2003
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Location: Denver, CO
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| Posted: Fri Jan 04, 2008 8:55 pm Post subject: |
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yea, that article is interesting...we'll see how it pans out. I have a few contacts down there. I'm going to give this a month or two and try to get the whole story.
I think it's highly unlikely that Rio will even open for next ski season assuming these new owners are serious about reopening. There are some major obstacles to overcome including getting the lifts up to spec (the Riblet double is in very poor condition), fixing the snowmaking system (easier said than done), and rebuilding the base lodge or complete the silvertree restaurant and use that.
I sure hope the place reopens...I get more emails about what's going on at RIO than any other lost ski area on this website.
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brad
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Location: Denver, CO
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| Posted: Fri Jan 04, 2008 9:31 pm Post subject: |
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| Quote: | By Andy Dennison/The Taos News |
1/2/2008 - 1/3/08
New Mexico's bankrupt Ski Rio resort about 10 miles from Colorado, which has been closed since 2000, has been sold to a group of investors for $6.5 million.
Mountain Highlands LLC of Albuquerque, which is in Chapter 11 bankruptcy, sold the property last Friday to CIMEX Invest Inc. of Naples, Fla., and the Czech Republic.
Taos real-estate agent Pavel Lukes, who brokered the deal, described the investors as "very private." He told The Taos News: "They are in the hotel and office building business, and I've seen what they own. However, they have asked for privacy at this time, and I am honoring that.
"I met them socially about four years ago in Vail," Lukes said. "They would ask me about (real estate) opportunities, and they obviously liked this one."
Taos attorney Bruce Kelly, who represents CIMEX, said sale documents have been filed with the Taos County Clerk's Office, and the bankruptcy judge has indicated creditors will be paid.
What the new owners plan to do with the 2,700-acre parcel south of Amalia, N.M., is unknown, Lukes said. "They don't even know yet what they are going to do," he said. "They are not in the ski-area development business now. But the place has so much potential. We're just happy for liberating Ski Rio."
Kelly said little beyond paperwork for the deal will be done this winter. "They've got legal work and permits to get," he said. "They have no date in mind for opening, and they're leaving their options open."
The lifts last ran Jan. 17, 2000, in a poor snow year that hamstrung Mountain Highlands financially. Since then, the property has been accessible through the locked gate on N.M. 196 to only a dozen families who own homes within the resort.
The ski resort purchase includes 900-plus acres of terrain with 2,150 feet of vertical drop, six lifts, accommodations and equipment, about 120 building lots, a loop of underground utilities, a sewage treatment plant, elk-hunting permits and water rights, which Kelly said the new owners would retain rather than sell. The price works out to $2,400 an acre for the 2,700-acre parcel.
Residents of the Rio Costilla valley have seen this scenario before, and they remain guarded. "Oh, I'm happy it happened," said veteran ski area employee Dennis Trujillo, who is a member of the Rio Costilla Cooperative Livestock Association, which formerly owned the land. "We'll see what happens now."
In the past, local residents have worried about the impact of the ski resort on water and neighboring lands.
Tom Atkins has managed the property on and off since 1990, when the federal Resolution Trust Corp. ran the ski area. He left in 1996, then returned in 2003 — four days before Mountain Highlands went into foreclosure.
With a long view, Atkins said this ownership looks better than any of the previous ones. "It looks like a new ballgame to me," he said.
Naresh Patel, a homeowner on the resort's property since 1985, said he was "excited" about the new owners. "It has some future," said Patel, who was in a homeowners' group that failed in an attempt to buy the ski area.
Just under 50 lots around the base of the ski area are privately owned, he said.
The business history of what began as Rio Costilla Resort reads like a primer on questionable Western land transactions.
The livestock association, which owns about 84,000 acres around Ski Rio, put up a lodge and three lifts in 1980 and started operations. A year later, the ski area was sold to California developer Mitchell Brown, who put in two more lifts and cut new trails but filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection when he couldn't make payments on a $205,000 loan.
In 1986, the name changed to Ski Rio, and Liberty Federal Savings & Loan Association of Raton brought it out of bankruptcy for 15 cents on the dollar. The operators went in for the new sport of snowboarding, including installing one of the first half-pipes around.
But in 1988, Liberty Federal went under, and the RTC, the federal bailout agency, ran the ski area until it was closed in 1990, citing losses and a slew of lawsuits, bad debts and broken contracts. "Funny, but the feds were the best operator," said Atkins. "Budgets were made, paychecks were paid. Things ran smoothly."
After several abortive attempts by purchasers, San Remo Vacation Club of Tierra Verde, Fla., bought the property for $1.125 million in 1992 — but never opened it for skiing. A year later, Texas investor David Hendricks purchased Ski Rio and ran it for four consecutive years. In the winter of 1995-96, good snow attracted more than 70,000 skier-visits.
However, foreclosure ended Hendricks' operation in 1996, and Jon Lau of JNC Corp. in Texas bought the resort for $2.9 million. Despite some good years and a number of improvements, he failed to make a go of it, and the area closed for good in January 2000.
For a ski area once known by local ski bums as Ski Free-o, a future as a skiing, snowmobiling and snowboarding playground now seems to be, at the very least, a possibility. "I don't know what they plan to do," said Lukes, "but at least we've removed all of the past." |
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ColoradoSkiHistory.com |
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brad
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| Posted: Thu Jan 10, 2008 9:35 pm Post subject: |
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From Taos News
| Quote: | Buyers plunk down $6.5M to resurrect defunct resort
By Andy Dennison
Sunday, January 6, 2008 8:03 AM MST
Another chapter in the colorful history of Ski Río began Friday (Dec. 28 ) with its sale for $6.5 million to a group of investors from Florida and the Czech Republic.
Papers have passed between Mountain Highlands, LLC, of Albuquerque, which went into Chapter 11 bankruptcy to avoid default, and Jana Sobotova of CIMEX Invest Inc., of Naples, Fla., and the Czech Republic. A hearing on Wednesday (Jan. 2) in U.S. District Bankruptcy Court in Albuquerque was scheduled to divvy up the proceeds to creditors.
Taos real estate agent Pavel Lukes brokered the deal with some “very private” investors.
“They are in the hotel and office building business,” Lukes told The Taos News, “and I’ve seen what they own. However, they have asked for privacy at this time, and I am honoring that.”
Even though Lukes shares his former Czech surname with the buyer’s husband, Petra Lukacs, he said that they are not blood relations.
“I met them socially about four years ago in Vail,” Lukes said. “They would ask me about opportunities, and they obviously liked this one.”
Taos attorney Bruce Kelly, who represents CIMEX, said sale documents were filed Wednesday (Jan. 3) with the Taos County Clerk’s Office, and the bankruptcy judge has indicated that creditors will be paid.
Plans undetermined
Exactly what the new owners plan to do with the 2,700-acre parcel above Amalia remains to be seen.
“They don’t even know yet what they are going to do,” said Lukes, who is acting as the buyers’ sole spokesperson at this time. “They are not in the ski-area development business now. But the place has so much potential. We’re just happy for liberating Ski Río.”
As for CIMEX plans, Kelly said little beyond paperwork will be done this winter.
“They’ve got legal work and permits to get,” Kelly said. “They have no date in mind for opening, and they’re leaving their options open.”
The lifts last ran Jan. 17, 2000, a poor snow year that hamstrung Mountain Highlands financially. Since then, only a dozen home-owning families have had access through the locked gate at the end of NM 196.
Not only did the purchase include 2,150 feet of vertical drop, 900-plus acres of terrain, six lifts, accommodations and equipment, it also came with about 120 building lots, a loop of underground utilities, sewer treatment plant, elk-hunting permits and water rights.
The price works out to $2,400 an acre for the 2,700-acre parcel.
Residents of the Río Costilla valley have seen this scenario before, and they remain guarded.
“Oh, I’m happy it happened,” said veteran ski area employee Dennis Trujillo and a member of the Río Costilla Cooperative Livestock Association that formerly owned the land. “We’ll see what happens now.”
In the past, local opposition has surfaced regarding water use and impacts on neighboring lands.
Tom Atkins has managed the property on and off since 1990, when the federal bailout agency Resolution Trust Corp. ran the ski area. He left in 1996, then returned in 2003 — four days before Mountain Highlands went into foreclosure.
With a long view, Atkins said this ownership looks better than any of the previous ones.
“It looks like a new ballgame to me,” Atkins said.
Landowner Naresh Patel, who has had a home on the resort’s property since 1985, said he was “excited” about the new owners.
“It has some future,” said Patel, who was in a homeowners’ group that once failed in an attempt to buy the ski area.
Just under 50 lots around the base of the ski area are privately owned, he said.
Fractured history trails sale
The business history of what began as Río Costilla Resort reads like a primer on questionable Western land transactions, courtesy of coloradoskihistory.com.
The livestock association, which currently owns about 84,000 acres around Ski Río, put up a lodge and three lifts in 1980, and started operations.
A year later, it was sold to California developer Mitchell Brown, who put in two lifts and cut new trails until he couldn’t make payments on a $205,000 loan and filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.
In 1986, the name changed to Ski Río, and Liberty Federal Savings & Loan Association of Ratón brought it out of bankruptcy for 15 cents on a dollar. Operators went in big for the new sport of snowboarding, including one of the first half-pipes around.
But in 1988, Liberty Federal went under, and Resolution Trust Corp. ran the ski area until it was closed in 1990, citing losses and a slew of lawsuits, bad debts and broken contracts.
“Funny, but the feds were the best operator,” said Atkins. “Budgets were made, pay checks were paid. Things ran smoothly.”
After several abortive attempts by purchasers, San Remo Vacation Club of Tierra Verde, Fla., bought it for $1.125 million in 1992 — but failed to open for skiing. A year later, Texas investor David Hendricks purchased Ski Río, and ran it for four consecutive years. In 1995-96, good snow attracted more than 70,000 skier-visits.
However, Hendricks foreclosed the resort in 1996, and Jon Lau of JNC Corp. in Texas bought it for $2.9 million.
Despite some good years and a number of improvements, Lau failed to make a go of it, and the area closed for good in January 2000.
For a ski area once known by local ski bums as Ski Free-o, a future as a skiing, snowmobiling and snowboarding playground now seems to be, at the very least, possible.
“I don’t know what they plan to do,” said Lukes, “but at least we’ve removed all of the past.” |
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-Brad
ColoradoSkiHistory.com |
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mnagpie58
Beginner
Joined: 27 Apr 2008
Posts: 2
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| Posted: Sun Apr 27, 2008 9:54 am Post subject: I own some land near Ski Rio, NM |
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Hi Brad, have you heard any more about Ski Rio? I own a small place on the highway near the PO in Amalia that I want to sell, and would like to be able to offer it to them as I think they should be buying up the whole valley, like the Horsefly said (land boom in Amalia/Cositlla).
wishful thinking??
thank you, maggi rankin |
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brad
Admin Staff
Joined: 24 Jul 2003
Posts: 1838
Location: Denver, CO
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| Posted: Sun Apr 27, 2008 8:46 pm Post subject: |
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Hi Maggi,
I would like to tell you the place will reopen, however, there are no public plans to.
Best of Luck,
Brad
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-Brad
ColoradoSkiHistory.com
Last edited by brad on Mon Sep 28, 2009 12:15 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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mnagpie58
Beginner
Joined: 27 Apr 2008
Posts: 2
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| Posted: Mon Apr 28, 2008 8:42 am Post subject: ski rio |
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thanks Brad, why would they buy it if not to open it...they had more snow earlier than Taos did this year, and it stayed and stayed.
please let me know (if you can) if you hear anything more about it. Do you know of any phone #s for them?
thanks again, maggi |
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FLSkier
Advanced
Joined: 01 May 2008
Posts: 86
Location: South Florida
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| Posted: Sat May 03, 2008 11:29 pm Post subject: |
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| brad wrote: | yea, that article is interesting...we'll see how it pans out. I have a few contacts down there. I'm going to give this a month or two and try to get the whole story.
I think it's highly unlikely that Rio will even open for next ski season assuming these new owners are serious about reopening. There are some major obstacles to overcome including getting the lifts up to spec (the Riblet double is in very poor condition), fixing the snowmaking system (easier said than done), and rebuilding the base lodge or complete the silvertree restaurant and use that.
I sure hope the place reopens...I get more emails about what's going on at RIO than any other lost ski area on this website. |
You're probably right about that. It's going to be a pain to get all of it running that quickly. |
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