Big Plan + Small Town = Big Rumors

There have been a lot of stories, reports and rumors that have come up since QBurke Mountain Resorts purchased the resort
in the summer of 2012. Some right. Some wrong. Some pretty close. But one thing is for certain. Change is coming to Burke. Change to
the tune of up to $108 million in investments over the next several years. Change that is already evident to the skiers and riders
who’ve benefitted from the $1,000,000 in snowmaking upgrades added in the off-season. 

It’s no secret that Burke has long needed beds, so next up will be a new 116-room hotel.

Located in the meadow just below the Mid Burke Express, the new hotel and conference center will be the first of four new lodges–another at Mid Burke
and two at the Sherburne base area. Over the next few seasons, we’ll also be expanding the East Bowl ski area with new trails and a new lift to the summit, expanding the ski area with almost 60 acres of new trails and glades.

And then what? Indoor bike parks? Tennis and aquatic centers? An organic farm? Nothing is in stone yet. So don’t believe everything you hear.
When you see it on this site, you can be sure it’s going to happen.

A first look at the future.

Plans for the new hotel–technically just the hotel since they’re isn’t an old one to speak of–are quickly taking shape. Over the last several months the hotel has gone from an idea to a discussion to illustrations to renderings and is now in the final stages with architects. Ground-breaking will take place as soon as there is ground thawing in the Spring of 2013.

Built with Vermont hands, stone and wood, the new hotel and conference center will offer 116 rooms–from studios to 3-BR suites. Other amenities will include a new bar and restaurant, conference spaces and a fitness center. Outside of most rooms, a balcony will offer guests amazing views–some of the mountain, others of Willoughby Gap–so expect even more pictures of the constantly-photographed Gap on Flickr in the future.

Fans and past guests of Jay Peak will recognize the design as the yet-unnamed new hotel is based on the Tram Haus Lodge–two Tram Haus Lodges to be exact, connected with communal space where skiers and riders will go to plan or discuss their day on some of Vermont's best trails and glades. But based on doesn't mean identical. No, the new hotel will have the spirit of Burke running through it, from our racing heritage to our newer mountain biking traditions. This hotel will be a tribute to True North.

The front of the hotel.

The view from the mountain.

The new hotel will open Fall 2014. So start planning your early season 2014 ski trips now and be one of the first to experience the future of Burke Mountain. A future which will feel comfortably like the past, just a bit newer.

A growing community

Last spring, QBurke Mountain Resorts LLC purchased Burke Mountain. The group, headed by Jay Peak co-owner Ariel Quiros, includes recognizable Northern Vermont businessman Bill Stenger and is one piece in a $700 million initiative in the Northeast Kingdom.

For Burke skiers, riders, mountain bikers, hikers, neighbors and friends, it's great news in the form of up to $108 million in developments. But with big money, comes big worries about losing the mountain's uniqueness–the Burke spirit. A spirit that respects its natural history and racing heritage. Worries that Mr. Quiros himself addressed when he stated:

“I’m delighted to be involved in the Burke Mountain Resort community," 

Mr. Quiros said. “The mountain has been such an authentic part of the Vermont ski industry and to be able to guide it into the future is truly exciting for me and my ownership team. I believe so strongly in the environmental spirit of Vermont and want the Burke community to know how committed to environmental stewardship we are.” 

A bigger initiative

But the development QBurke Resorts is bringing to the mountain is only one piece in a regional puzzle that will bring thousands of permanent and construction jobs to the Northeast Kingdom in the coming years. Other projects include:

• $170 million for Jay Peak Resort for new lifts and trails and hotel complex, completed by 2015
• $104 million for AnC BIO in Newport, a 40-acre biomedical researchcampus overlooking Lake Memphremagog, completed by 2014
• $20 million for a Menck Window Systems plant, building energy-efficient wooden windows from a German companay, occupying 40,000 sq. ft. on the facilities, completed by 2014
• $100 million for the Newport Marina Hotel and Conference Center, a 150-unit hotel on Newport's Waterfront Plaza with restaurants, retail and conference facilities, completed by 2015
• $70 million for the Renaissance Block on Newport's Main Street, currently known as the Spates Block. It will be acquired, and new commercial and residential facilities will be built, completed by 2014
• $20 million for the Newport Airport in Coventry, expanding the terminal and hangar space, and building a bonded warehouse and Free Trade Zone facility, completed by 2015

The bulk of the funding for these projects will come from foreign investors as part of the federal EB5 program.