Click to enlarge: Bromley (2), Sugarbush (2)
Bromley Mountain Resort, Vermont (2000)
Bromley is a family-oriented ski resort located in Peru, Vermont. Bromley operates partially on National Forest lands for which they have a Special Use Permit. The permit specifies that the fee for use of this land should be based upon the proportion of ski lift capacity located on the Forest land. Bromley, however, has no lifts on National Forest land so the fee formula does not work. Alternatively, the fee can be established through an appraisal of the market value of the land under permit. Closser Associates was retained by the Forest Service to appraise the land under permit at Bromley. The land included both ski terrain and land in the base area used for wastewater treatment.
The assignment included market research on sales of ski-area lands throughout the Northeast U.S. The second phase of the assignment was a market study of ski-area land leases. We researched ski-area land leases throughout the Northeast and the Midwest and provided the Forest Service with an analysis of current types of leases and market trends.
Sugarbush Resort, Vermont (2008)
Sugarbush is a major destination ski resort located in the Green Mountains of Vermont in the Town of Warren. We appraised Sugarbush for the Town of Warren for tax-assessment purposes. This assignment was made more complex due to the fact that about one-third of the resort was in the Town of Fayston and was not included in the appraisal. The appraisal included some 1,550 acres of fee owned land plus over 1,700 acres of Forest Service land subject to a Special Use Permit. The mountain has a skiable vertical of over 2,400 feet and nine chairlifts (including three high-speed quad lifts) in Warren. Also included was a golf course, a recreation facility with indoor tennis courts and a hotel. The resort also operated its own wastewater treatment utility and had numerous buildings and extensive infrastructure.
The scope of work included all three approaches with emphasis on the income approach. Allocation of income and expenses for each operating department between the towns of Warren and Fayston was a significant challenge. We also researched sales of seven Eastern destination ski resorts, visited the resorts and interviewed principals regarding the sales.
102 W. Washington St. Suite 224 
Marquette, Michigan 49855 (906)228-9133 bclosser@closserassociates.com