When we asked back in March if
North American
ownership of European resorts would be for the
best, the answer was a resounding no.
Surprisingly, that
You the Jury vote hasn't stopped rumours turning into
action and yesterday it was announced that the Intrawest
Corporation is to build a signature village in Les
Arcs.
Through its partnership
with Compagnie des Alpes (``CDA''), Intrawest, the
largest ski company in the world in terms of skier
visits (10.2 million in 1999/2000), will develop a
pedestrian-only village.
Gary Raymond, executive
vice president clarified the plans: ``By partnering
with CDA, we have entered Europe in a low risk way
and allowed ourselves the time to study the markets
and opportunities to determine the best first step.
As we suspected when we first partnered with CDA,
applying our village development expertise is the
best way to start our expansion into this market.''
What this means
to you and I is that there will be a new village at
Les Arcs with 550,000 square feet of development including
800 residential units, a European spa, outdoor slope-side
pools, outdoor plazas and 50,000 square feet of commercial
space including restaurants, cafes and retail stores.
The official press
release is rather flowery and certainly over-optimistic
when it claims that the village 'will be the first
to open and last to close in the area' (Tignes? Val
Thorens?). It also notes that the village will be
designed in partnership with Diener Guirard & Associates
of 'Paris, France'. Apparently they are well known
for their work in Val Morel and Belle Plagne, so the
purists can rest easy...
