Click to enlarge: Afton Alps, Buck Hill (2), Mount Kato
Afton Alps Recreation Area, Hastings, Minnesota (2011)
Afton Alps is a large day ski area on the East side of the Twin Cities metropolitan area. Afton has extensive facilities including 18 chairlifts, four day lodges, a tubing hill as well as mountain biking and an eighteen-hole golf course. The need for the appraisal was precipitated by the death of founder Paul Augustine. Our appraisal was made for estate-tax purposes and included a detailed analysis of the income-and-expense history of the ski area.
Buck Hill Ski Area, Burnsville, Minnesota (2011, 2008, 2006, 2005)
Buck Hill is a busy day ski area located in the Minneapolis suburbs. Famed for its race program, Buck Hill had two of its alumni skiing for the US Ski Team on the World Cup circuit; including 2008, 2009 and 2010 World-Cup champion and Olympic gold medalist Lindsey Vonn. The appraisal was for an ownership restructuring. In addition to an estimate of market value as a going concern, the appraisal also included an analysis of the tubing operation, which was located on a valuable parcel of development land, to determine whether it was more financially advantageous to continue to operate the tubing hill or use the land for other purposes. In 2006 we prepared a new appraisal to include improvements that had been made to the ski area including new grooming and snowmaking equipment, a new quad chairlift that replaced an aging double chairlift and added additional ski terrain. The 2008 appraisal incorporated additional improvements made to the ski area. In 2011 we again appraised Buck Hill, this time for a lender for the purpose of refinancing.
Mount Kato Ski Area, Mankato, Minnesota (2011)
Mount Kato is a day ski area located just south of Mankato, Minnesota. Mount Kato serves southern Minnesota and northern Iowa. Although not blessed with a particularly impressive vertical, Mount Kato does have a variety of ski terrain on three different hill faces that is served by eight chairlifts, including five quads. The need for the appraisal was precipitated by the death of Paul Augustine, the president of the corporation that owns Mount Kato and two other ski areas. The appraisal included an income analysis as well as a comparison with two sales of similar Midwest ski areas.
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