Alpine Meadows sale announced

Powdr Corp. has agreed to sell Alpine Meadows ski resort to JMA Ventures, the owner of Homewood Mountain Resort, according to Alpine Meadows officials.

The transaction is expected to be finalized in June, said Jody Churich, marketing director for Alpine Meadows, Boreal and Soda Springs ski resorts. The price of the sale has not been made public since Powdr Corp. is a private corporation.

Park City Utah-based Powdr Corp. will still own Boreal and Soda Springs resorts on Donner Summit, and those resorts' operation is expected to remain the same, said Churich.

The company has owned Alpine Meadows since 1994.

Churich would not disclose the company's reason for selling the resort, but said it had nothing to do with a relatively dry winter or Powdr's recent purchase of Killington and Pico resorts in Vermont.

Powdr Corp. officials had no comment.

The sale of the resort depends on the U.S. Forest Service approvals needed to operate the ski area, she said.

Joanne Roubique, Truckee District Ranger for the Tahoe National Forest, said that Forest Service permits for ski resort operation are fairly routine if the new owners show they have the capacity to run a ski area.

"Unless there is a problem that crops up, I don't think that there will be an issue," she said.

The ranger district has not yet received an official request to transfer the permit for the ski resort, she said. Nearly all of the Alpine Meadows ski resort property is owned by the U.S. Forest Service.

If completed, the sale will add to a growing list of Tahoe holdings for JMA Ventures, a company best known for their work in Ghirardelli Square in San Francisco.

The San Francisco-based company owns Homewood Mountain Resort, the Tahoe Inn near Crystal Bay and is planning a high-end hotel and restaurant along the Truckee River in downtown Truckee.

Bob Roberts, executive director of the California Ski Industry Association, said the sale is good for the industry.

"I think this is really positive," Roberts said. "JMA and Art Chapman are a real class act."

Chapman is president of JMA ventures.

The purchase of Alpine Meadows makes sense for the Northern California company who was eager to expand its Tahoe properties, Roberts said.

"When they bought Homewood, it was pretty clear that this was just their opening shot," he said.

The company has ambitious plans to build a village at the base of the Homewood ski area. Those plans are still being designed, and have yet to be submitted to the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency.

JMA Ventures

In less than a year, JMA Ventures has become a major player in Tahoe and Truckee area. Since buying Homewood Mountain Resort in June of last year, the company has added the Tahoe Inn, a planned hotel along the Truckee River to its holdings before closing in on Alpine Meadows ski resort.

The company is headed by President Art Chapman, a Truckee resident. Chapman has spearheaded aggressive plans to build a village at Homewood, add underground parking at the resort and turn the Tahoe Inn into workforce housing.

Chapman did not comment Tuesday on his plans for Alpine Meadows ski resort.

Powdr Corp.

Powdr Corp.'s holdings include Mount Bachelor in Oregon, Park City in Utah and Las Vegas Ski and Snowboard resort.

The company, run by John Cumming, recently agreed to purchase Killington and Pico ski resorts in Vermont from fading ski giant American Skiing Co.