State regulators reviewing $500M North Tahoe project

Plans for a $500 million resort development on Lake Tahoe's north shore were outlined Wednesday as the Nevada Gaming Control Board reviewed one of the key people involved in the venture.

The Boulder Bay LLC development plan for the old Tahoe Biltmore Lodge at Crystal Bay was reviewed as the Control Board recommended Heather Lynn Bacon to participate in Biltmore operations while regulators review her pending casino licensing application.

Bacon, represented by attorney Scott Scherer, has an extensive business background but it doesn't include gambling industry expertise. She said the advance participation at the Biltmore will help to provide that.

Control Board members agreed with the plan but cautioned Bacon, daughter of Boulder Bay owner Roger Wittenberg, to remain in an observer role while the panel considers her application for licensing as head of the company that will operate the gambling at the Biltmore site.

The board's parent state Gaming Commission will have final say on Bacon's "observer" status request April 17.

Boulder Bay LLC wants to build an upscale destination resort on about 14 acres that would include 200 hotel rooms and nearly 180 fractional-ownership or whole-ownership condominiums. Also planned are a "village" area with restaurants and shops, a 10,000-square-foot casino, "pocket" parks, and family entertainment centers.

The proposed development, now being reviewed by the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency, has been described by Wittenberg as the kind of project that Tahoe planners have foreseen for years. Tourism officials have said the upgrade would benefit the entire north shore.

But at a recent forum, people living in the Crystal Bay area expressed concern about the size of the venture, potential traffic problems that it might cause, and other impacts on the scenic community overlooking Lake Tahoe.

Lake Tahoe-based Boulder Bay LLC purchased the Tahoe Biltmore and some adjacent properties, include the vacant site of the old Mariner Hotel, in 2007. Boulder Bay is a partnership between Wittenberg's International Supply Consortium, Shoreline Capital and Scott Cos.