Brodie Sold

FlyingZ

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Albany Business Review
Nov 21, 2023

The former Brodie Mountain Ski Resort in the Berkshires sold for $995,000.
The 500-acre property in New Ashford, Massachusetts, was bought by Oifer Industries LLC of Florida, according to Mitch Muroff of Muroff Hospitality Group in Newton, Massachusetts

The deal closed Nov. 17.
The LLC incldues four partners, according to Todd Oifer of Lithia, Florida.
"We've got big plans for the property but we're not disclosing anything yet," Oifer said in a brief phone interview Tuesday. "There will be more to come in the near future."
Muroff secured the buyers on behalf of the seller, Silverleaf Resort LLC of Texas, a subsidiary of Holiday Inn Club Vacations Inc.

"They intend to slowly redevelop the property," Muroff said of the buyers.

Brodie Mountain is about 40 miles east of Albany International Airport and less than three miles from Jiminy Peak, a longtime, popular ski mountain in the Berkshires.
Downhill skiing ended at Brodie Mountain in 2002, followed several years later by the closure of a snow tubing park.

Although there are ski lifts, they are about 20 years old and there's a deed covenant that prohibits use for a period of time as a downhill ski course open to the public, Muroff said.
That prohibition came about after the owners of Jiminy Peak bought Brodie Mountain. Years later they sold to Holiday Inn Club Vacations/Silverleaf Resort as part of its purchase of a dozen ski resorts.
Holiday Inn Club Vacations had no plans to redevelop Brodie, Muroff said.

The deed restriction limited the marketability of the real estate when it was initially listed two years ago for $2.7 million. The price was then lowered to $1.9 million.

The property was described as "a prime residential development site or for snowboarding, cross country skiing, zipline, ATV, adventure park [or] glamping," according to the listing. There are dilapidated buildings that can be renovated and an unfinished 12-unit condo complex.

There's a row of wind turbines along the ridgeline of the mountain, but they aren't part of the 500 acres that sold.
A year ago there was a deal with a different buyer but it fell apart due to a lack of financing. The prospective buyer wound up forfeiting $100,000 when the closing didn't go through, Muroff said.
Muroff Hospitality Group represents independent and franchised hoteliers, restaurants, inn and resorts in the greater New York/New England.

ILOVE2SKI

Although there are ski lifts, they are about 20 years old and there's a deed covenant that prohibits use for a period of time as a downhill ski course open to the public, Muroff said.
That prohibition came about after the owners of Jiminy Peak bought Brodie Mountain. Years later they sold to Holiday Inn Club Vacations/Silverleaf Resort as part of its purchase of a dozen ski resorts.
Holiday Inn Club Vacations had no plans to redevelop Brodie, Muroff said.

The deed restriction limited the marketability of the real estate when it was initially listed two years ago for $2.7 million. The price was then lowered to $1.9 million.

So messed up for them to have done that. Can it be opened as a ski area now or does the deed restriction still stand?

newpylong

It stands up until they undo it, if it can be done.

DrJeff

ILOVE2SKI;c-62550 wrote
Although there are ski lifts, they are about 20 years old and there's a deed covenant that prohibits use for a period of time as a downhill ski course open to the public, Muroff said.
That prohibition came about after the owners of Jiminy Peak bought Brodie Mountain. Years later they sold to Holiday Inn Club Vacations/Silverleaf Resort as part of its purchase of a dozen ski resorts.
Holiday Inn Club Vacations had no plans to redevelop Brodie, Muroff said.

The deed restriction limited the marketability of the real estate when it was initially listed two years ago for $2.7 million. The price was then lowered to $1.9 million.
So messed up for them to have done that. Can it be opened as a ski area now or does the deed restriction still stand?

Semi obscure, deed restriction clauses added decades ago by parties that from a business entity standpoint may no longer exist, often don't hold up well if someone chooses to ignore them and some other party goes through the often arduous and costly (from an attorney fees standpoint) to challenge things.

Heck, the development I live in CT, which was built 45yrs ago or so, had a deed restriction that said that the exterior color of the house could only be "traditional New England colors (Dark Red, Dark Blue/gray, White, Tan) and the siding had to be wood..

Well that developer is long since gone, and the majority of the 40 or so houses in my development are no longer sided with wood nor sporting a "traditional New England color" and nobody has faced and legal issues even though there are a few complete crumudgeons who are about the same vintage as a Wooly Mammoth, who have basically controlled my towns Planning and Zoning Committee for over a quarter century who don't balk at filing a suit against something they don't care for, even if it gets thrown out in the legal system.

Guessing if the owner wants to try it as a ski resort again, and it's properly zoned for that, it can happen. If zoning needs to be changed, then it might be about can the owners get the New Ashford P&Z board to approve the change

lotsoskiing

So, purchase price aside, assume all permits in place: What would it cost to get Brodie back in action? Lifts and buildings seem beyond repair, and I imagine the snowmaking system also. $100 million? Just curious as I digest turkey...

joshua_segal

lotsoskiing;c-62554 wroteSo, purchase price aside, assume all permits in place: What would it cost to get Brodie back in action? Lifts and buildings seem beyond repair, and I imagine the snowmaking system also. $100 million? Just curious as I digest turkey...

Saddleback is much bigger and they did it for much less than $100M.

newpylong

Saddleback had functioning snowmaking and base facilities. Brodie has been left to nature for 20 years and is nothing but a hill now.

Tough to put a number on it but yes it would be a from scratch build essentially, something more like Crotched rebirth. Trailside 3PH for the fan guns may still be salvageable, I know they were at least keeping the lines clear.

obienick

Crotched had a double they could cobble together with parts from a double they scrapped and they had the steal of a lifetime getting used fairly young Riblet lifts from and abandoned VA ski area.

Brodie doesn’t have any of that in their bag.

At least Brodie can open with only needing two chairs but in today’s market one has to be a HSQ or HSS.

newpylong

Yep.

Here was a plan I put together a long time for a lift replacement and trail reconfiguration.

ski_it

Saddleback has a much higher elevation & latitude.
At $1910/acre looks like a no brainer for whatever they do with it.

So none of the brainiskiacs will throw out any numbers??
Ok this ski_idiot will.
3 lifts $12 mil, $8 mil & $400,000 includes some modernizing of trail system
Snowmaking system $15 mil
Snowmaking operating expenses $1.5 mil annually
Base lodge $30 mil
Summit lodge $15 mil - needed for summer weddings
Insurance $2 mil annually
Snow grooming equipment $4 mil
Employees & operating budget $2 mil annually

That all adds up to...about $90 mil . So lotsoskiing at $100 mil is the winner

Then they will want to build more condos with amenities at the same time.

z1000307470

If $100 million is the number then ORDA could get Brodie open for $200 million.

newpylong

ski_it;c-62640 wroteSaddleback has a much higher elevation & latitude.
At $1910/acre looks like a no brainer for whatever they do with it.

So none of the brainiskiacs will throw out any numbers??
Ok this ski_idiot will.
3 lifts $12 mil, $8 mil & $400,000 includes some modernizing of trail system
Snowmaking system $15 mil
Snowmaking operating expenses $1.5 mil annually
Base lodge $30 mil
Summit lodge $15 mil - needed for summer weddings
Insurance $2 mil annually
Snow grooming equipment $4 mil
Employees & operating budget $2 mil annually

That all adds up to...about $90 mil . So lotsoskiing at $100 mil is the winner

Then they will want to build more condos with amenities at the same time.

From a high level I wouldn't think you would be far off.

ski_it

z1000307470;c-62642 wroteIf $100 million is the number then ORDA could get Brodie open for $200 million.

Unfortunately they are just over the border for that to happen.

ski_it

newpylong;c-62657 wrote From a high level I wouldn't think you would be far off.

Wowser, so are you are saying I finally learned something after reading SJ for years?

High level? I know. Who else in their right mind would bankroll a brand new 30 mil lodge at a run down ski area? I suppose a new Leprechaun Lounge would be not PC either. But I'm thinking, Bank.

In the current GMap view the trails look very cleared. IDK what year it is from but it shows the turbines too.

marcski

Deed restrictions, such as the one here, usually have a set time built in. 20 years seems like it should have taken care of it. It sounds similar to the one Mt. Snow had for Haystack when they first sold the area. IIRC, that one had a 10 year duration.