Skyline International Development Inc., an owner, operator and developer of resorts and destination communities, has entered into a binding agreement of purchase and sale and will be investing $20 million to acquire both retail and undeveloped residential land interests in and adjacent to the renowned Blue Mountain Village at the base of Blue Mountain Resort near Collingwood, Ont.
Under the retail portion of the agreement, Skyline will acquire 50 per cent of existing commercial retail space within the Blue Mountain Village from current owner Intrawest ULC. In addition, Skyline will manage the remaining 50 per cent of the Village’s retail space. Skyline will also acquire the land to build an additional 20,000 square feet of retail space to expand the Village retail. Skyline’s retail interest under agreement at Blue Mountain is currently generating $1.5 million of net operating income.
In the residential portion of the acquisition, Skyline will acquire all remaining developable land in and adjacent to the Village, planning to double the Village’s current residential and condo-hotel footprint. Skyline intends to develop over 1,200 residential and condo-hotel units, townhouses and single-family homes in the years ahead.
“With this acquisition, Skyline will become the largest owner of resort and destination communities in Ontario. Skyline will own properties in the province’s five fastest-growing hubs—Toronto, Collingwood, Midland, Huntsville and Barrie—which gives us over 7,000 future superior residential units and home sites and a strong strategic advantage for the foreseeable future,” said Skyline chairman and president Gil Blutrich. Founded in 1998 by Blutrich, Skyline has expanded rapidly, growing its asset base from $20 million (in 2000) to close to $300 million today with resort properties in Southern Ontario such as Deerhurst and Horseshoe Resorts.
Blue Mountain Resort averages more than 700,000 skier visits per year. The resort attracts an estimated 1.4 million visitors each year, while the surrounding Southern Georgian Bay area lures 9.1 million visitors and $1 billion in tourism-related revenue annually—much of which is derived from the six million residents of the Greater Toronto Area, a two-hour drive southeast.
The anticipated closing date for the acquisition is late February 2013.