Property values hinge on ski area

December 8, 2006

By Michael Rovito

Frontiersman

HATCHER PASS - Property owners who planned to make a profit off a proposed ski area in Hatcher Pass may face a loss after developer JL Properties pulled out of a deal with the Mat-Su Borough in October.

Mark Lee, a broker at Munford Real Estate, said a ski area in Hatcher Pass certainly would boost property values, much like real estate near ski resorts in Colorado or Utah.

But now that the project has hit a roadblock, buyers who were interested in property based on the speculation of a ski area might be hesitant to make a purchase.

&#8220When things don't go the way they're supposed to, you have to hold onto your investment,” Lee said. &#8220You pay your money and you take your chances.”

Perhaps the closest property owner to the proposed ski area is Motherlode Lodge proprietor Jill Reese.

The lodge, originally built in 1942, sits across from the Little Susitna River a few miles below Independence Mine.

Reese, who is trying to sell the lodge, said she has been working for a ski area in Hatcher Pass for 15 years, and is all for the development.

Reese also recognizes the affect a high-end ski area can have on real estate prices in any part of the country.

&#8220If the ski area was announced tomorrow, I would raise the price of the lodge,” Reese said.

Even so, the closest Reese came to selling her lodge was to a buyer looking for remote backcountry skiing opportunities, and who didn't care about a busy ski area.

She does, however, point to a commonly known fact among real estate agents. Reese, who is also a real estate broker, said the highest upside potential of any investment is right before it becomes a ski area.

But beyond money, Reese said the ski area is essential because it will give outdoor enthusiasts a safe place to play.

Just a few miles down the road from Motherlode, what could be called Hatcher Pass's lone gas station and convenience store, Turner's Corner, also stands to become one of the largest beneficiaries if a ski area ever becomes a reality.

But Jim Turner, a former assembly member and owner of Turner's Corner, said he isn't confident a ski area ever will be built.

&#8220I plan on nothing as far as the ski resort,” Turner said, adding that traffic heading to and from a ski area would significantly bolster business at his store.

The longtime Valley resident, who was on the Hatcher Pass ski area's ski patrol in 1972 before the old ski area closed, and who sank more than $35,000 of his own money into the new project in 1987, said his family moved to the Valley specifically for the Hatcher Pass ski area. The project has been in the works for almost 20 years.

&#8220A ski resort could only mean good things for the area,” Turner said.

But, after this latest blow to the project's completion, Turner said he is even more skeptical than before.

&#8220I'm so frustrated,” he said.

Contact Michael Rovito at 352-2252 or michael.rovito@frontiersman.com.