GILFORD — The Gunstock Area Commission unveiled their long awaited expansion plans for Gunstock Mountain Resort Friday to a group of investors and shareholders. Jake McGroubles, a Gilford resident who was allowed to watch the meeting from outside, described the plans as “ambitious to say the least.”
Gunstock Commission Chair Doug Lambert announced the mountain intends to use sand to add 1,500 additional vertical feet to the summit, accessible via gondola.
To help accommodate these new heights, the resort will build a pair of 36 story hotel and casino towers on top of Belknap Mountain, functioning as a secondary base area to the expanded summit.
“This has been a long time coming, and we’re so happy to share our vision for the future of this mountain,” said Mandy Highpeaks, a newly hired spokesperson for the Gunstock Area Commission, who is definitely not associated with Vail Resorts. “We understand that Gunstock is a community mountain shared and loved by both locals and out-of-staters, and we were very cognizant of those factors while coming up with these plans, but we also want people to note here, that change is not only inevitable, but also a good thing.”
With a flourish of her wrist, Highpeaks removed a cloth from a massive poster board depicting an artist’s rendition of the mountain’s future development. The front rows of the crowd, mostly consisting of investors from the Boston area and Rihad, clapped wildly at the announcement. The $19 million expansion to the main lodge garnered extra applause. The future Lodge+ complex will have nearly 100 additional luxury suites, a swimming pool, indoor tennis court and an expanded dining area. Plans also called for the first ever Burger King “ski-thru” along the already existing cross-country trail.
“We know this means a lot more traffic,” said Gunstock Commission Vice Chair Jade Wood after announcing that she is due to have triplets this August, “so we’re adding a pair of parking garages and we're expanding Panorama Drive into a four-lane bypass.”
In addition to the Lakeview Hotel Casino Complex, the entire area to the right of the Tiger lift will be developed into a mountain-spanning condominium complex, with budget units starting as low as $1.5 million.
“We do understand concerns that we’re losing some skiable area with this expansion,” Highpeaks acknowledged, “But that’s a distorted view. We’re not ‘losing eight trails and the tubing area,' but trading them for a vibrant, progressive and beautiful community that will exploit— I mean, enrich Belknap County for generations.”
(1) comment
Oh God. That poor little mountain is already so crowded its impossible from about 10:30 on. Parking is tough of busy days. What on earth! A Casino! Gilford and Laconia will be overrun with traffic. Is this an April fools joke?
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