Something’s brewing at Wintergreen.
The Nelson County ski resort has struggled financially in recent years, and a recent tax debacle only raised more questions about its future stability. The Hook offers a good recap of the situation: When Wintergreen moved to put a 1,422-acre parcel in 2008, it valued the mountaintop land at $11.5 million and collected 40 percent of that in tax credits.
After the fact, the state decided to look more closely at the deal, and in 2011, it had the land assessed at a mere $3.6 million. The resort challenged the new assessment and settled with the state last month, and while Wintergreen CFO Robert Sullivan called the outcome "favorable," nobody’s talking numbers.
But clearly, Wintergreen isn’t out of the woods. Sullivan said the resort took a big hit because of warm temperatures last winter, and has hired on a financial consulting firm to hammer out a plan to move forward.
Sullivan said in a press release issued this week that the different "strategic options" on the table include a total or partial sale of the resort, a new partnership with another entity, a "recapitalization of Wintergreen Report’s balance sheet," or a combination of approaches.
Whatever’s coming down the pipe, it’s happening soon.
"The management and Board of Wintergreen Resort are encouraged that a transaction will be closed in the coming months to provide the Resort greater financial security and capacity for growth in the future," Sullivan said in the release.
In the meantime, he said, the resort is keeping up a marketing push, and has no plans to pull the plug on its spring events lineup, including Mother’s Day and Memorial Day weekend happenings. Check out www.wintergreenresort.com for more details.
