- Winter Highlights
Press Release
Bear Valley Mountain Resort Purchased By Dundee Realty USA
Local investors to partner in area improvements, property development
San Jose, CA - Dundee Realty USA, LLC, a subsidiary of Toronto based Dundee Realty Corporation, has purchased the Bear Valley Mountain Resort in Northern California and entered into a business partnership with local landowners and investors to improve and develop the ski area and the village of Bear Valley. Chuck Toeniskoetter and Dan Breeding, founders of Toeniskoetter & Breeding Inc, of San Jose, as well as Steve Hallgrimson, have been investing in Bear Valley since 1987. Joining them in the working partnership are Kevin Compton and Doug MacKenzie, well known venture capitalists in Silicon Valley.
Bear Valley is located in the Stanislaus National Forest, approximately 180 miles due east of San Jose in the central Sierra Nevada Mountain Range of California. Situated between Lake Tahoe and Yosemite, Bear Valley is the closest major ski area to Silicon Valley and the Central Valley. The area boasts 1,280 acres of mostly intermediate and advanced, open bowl skiing. Eleven lifts serve 67 trails with a vertical drop of 1,900 feet. Built in the 1960s, the ski area has a down-to-earth atmosphere in a traditional mountain sense.
The immediate and long-term plans for Bear Valley are similar to Dundee’s handling of Arapahoe Basin in Summit County, Colorado. Since Dundee acquired that ski area in 1997, it has made improvements in lifts, snowmaking and buildings, which resulted in a significant increase in annual skiers. One of the first major changes proposed for the area will be a lift that connects the Bear Valley Village with the mountain resort facilities. Guests and residents in the Village will be able to access the downhill, cross-country and snowmobiling areas easily from the Village Center.
In addition to the upgrading of ski and recreation facilities, the other component to the plan is the careful development of residential and commercial properties in the Village. The land was zoned accordingly under the Master Plan of 1978 and has been waiting for the right circumstances and the right people ever since. Chuck Toeniskoetter, whose family has enjoyed the area for years, stated, “What makes this work is a common vision to improve the ski area in concert with the development in the Village and to make Bear Valley a true destination point for families and individuals who want to enjoy the best of the California outdoors. The first and very important aspect of this will be construction of the lift from the Valley floor in the Village to the ski area.”
“Dundee Realty is very excited at the prospect to own and manage Bear Valley,” stated Greg Finch, Executive Vice President, Dundee Realty USA. We see the ski area benefiting from future planned improvements much like Arapahoe Basin did when we bought it. We believe we have the capital, a plan and the people in place to continue to improve and grow the operation. Although the ski area does have approved expansion plans, our first order will be to re-organize and re-fit the existing organization and facilities. We are looking forward to working with the existing staff which has shown a real commitment to Bear Valley over the past many years. Jim Gentling who has been General Manager of Arapahoe Basin for 8 years will relocate and take the reins “
For more information on Bear Valley ski area, visit www.bearvalley.com.
Dundee Realty USA, LLC (www.dundeedevelopments.com) is a subsidiary of Dundee Realty Corporation, a land and housing company, operating across Canada and based in Toronto. In turn it is majority owned by Dundee Corporation a publicly traded company on the Toronto Stock Exchange.
Bear Valley Mountain Resort is operated under special use permit on the Stanislaus National Forest
