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Sunday, January 26, 2014

The Man Behind Wolf Mountain Purchase Revealed As Eden Resident Josh Richards

The Standard has been all over the Wolf Mountain story the last two days, following up on Fox 13's breaking story that we posted Thursday evening.

On Saturday, they published this JaNae Francis article:

Investors confirm purchase of Wolf Mountain ski area

From the Saturday article,
Reports had floated about the sale for several days. However, officials from the resort and the Prudential Utah Real Estate office in Eden, where media inquiries were directed, have not been available for comment this week.
Tessa Ann Harbertson has posted on a website run by Skyline Mountain Base, a group of local and European investors, confirmation that the group has purchased the resort.
"As some of you know, I have been extremely busy with a new 'project' for the last six months," she posted. "All of the long hours and hard work has (finally) come to fruition. Skyline Mountain Base investors have purchased Wolf Mountain for development (and all around awesome-ness).
The resort has struggled with financial issues in recent years. In June 2010, officials with the 3,000-acre ski area filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.
A statement at that time from the resort read: "Wolf Creek is exploring corporate restructuring and is in advanced discussions with a number of potential purchasers to sell nonstrategic portions of its operations and attract new ownership."   
 That new ownership apparently has become Skyline Mountain Base.

In a follow up article this morning, the principal is revealed as Ogden native and current Eden resident Josh Richards is "the man behind the Wolf Mountain deal."

Ogden native Richards is the man behind Wolf Mountain deal

In this morning's article, Francis writes:

Richards, who said he has been an entrepreneur all his life, starting as a boy who mowed lawns and then as a newspaper carrier for the Standard-Examiner for two years, said he has wanted to purchase Wolf Mountain for a long time.  
And Richards said he tried unsuccessfully to purchase the resort a decade ago.
But he said this time, he was more prepared, not only with more business sense, but with additional investors.
"We have a very good feeling about the mountain," he said.
The article continues with,
Richards is president and CEO of Caelum, which grew out of a multimillion-dollar company with a focus on environmentally friendly housing developments.
His organization also formed a partnership with The Sorep Group, European investors, to finance the ski area purchase.
Together, he said the two groups formed Skyline Mountain Base, the entity that purchased Wolf Mountain.
Richards said his and the investors' goal for Wolf Mountain is for the resort to position 
itself as offering a family friendly product at a fair price.
"We are steering in a very different direction than Powder Mountain and Snowbasin," he said, noting that the other Ogden Valley resorts are more like Audis or BMWs while Wolf Mountain is more along the lines of a Subaru or minivan.
But just because he wants the resort to be more for the everyday folk, doesn't mean he doesn't want it to be nice.
Richards said he plans many improvements, starting with his personal pet peeve, the restrooms. He said among the improvements will be lockers where visitors will be able to store their personal items.
Already since the purchase, Richards and his team have added ski rentals.
"Now we have the nicest rental fleet in the state from Tech Skis," he said. "People have rented our skis and taken them to other areas already."
And he wants to construct many environmentally friendly improvements on the resort's 400 acres of private property.

Richards wants to expand the lodge's offerings to include a year-round restaurant and other services, such as shops catering to local residents.
He believes one of his team members has secured a world-class pastry shop to re-locate there from France.
"We want to improve the experience at the resort," he said.

A search of Utah corporations shows this:
https://secure.utah.gov/bes/action/details?entity=8901583-0160#

Entity Number: 8901583-0160
Company Type: LLC - Domestic
Address: 1391 N 5900 E Eden, UT 84310
State of Origin:
Registered Agent: JOSHUA M RICHARDS
Registered Agent Address:
1391 N 5900 E
Eden, UT 84310

In the past year, out of three Ogden Valley resorts have changed ownership and all three seem to have aggressive development plans that will likely change the look and feel of Ogden Valley.

What say ye about the recent events?

Thursday, January 23, 2014

BREAKING: Ben Winslow of Fox 13 News confirming that Wolf Mountain has been sold

Wolf Mountain ski resort sold

Posted on: 4:38 pm, January 23, 2014, by 
The Wolf Creek Resort.
The Wolf Creek Resort.
EDEN, Utah — The Wolf Mountain ski resort, once under a cloud of bankruptcy, has been sold to an investment group, FOX 13 News has confirmed.
Skyline Mountain Base, a group of local and European investors, purchased the resort in a deal confirmed Thursday. The purchase amount was not disclosed.
A representative for the resort told FOX 13 News the group had a 10-year plan that included some expansion. In a statement, Skyline Mountain Base said no changes were immediate, except staying open longer (and on Sundays).
“Few changes to the mountain will be noticeable this season; our focus will be creating a plan for a family oriented, world class year around resort. The resort will continue to operate as Wolf Mountain until sometime in the near future,” the group said. “We look forward to the continued support and participation of our local community and guests.”
The resort went into bankruptcy in 2010, and parts of it were put up for auction. The ski resort itself failed to sell at that auction.
Eventually, court filings indicate the resort emerged from bankruptcy. Skyline Mountain Base said it purchased the resort from America First Credit Union.

Wednesday, January 22, 2014

IMPORTANT MEETING TODAY: Community Asked to Participate in Charrettes Designed to Help Shape Ogden Valley’s Future

The students and professors are coming!  Utah State University Department of Landscape Architecture and Environmental Planning have already started work on their creative ideas for the future look and feel of Ogden Valley.  They call it a design charrette.  

Professors and student team leaders for the 15 projects will meet with Ogden Valley residents on Wednesday, January22, 2014 from 3:30 to 6:30 p.m. in the Weber County, Ogden Valley Branch Library in Huntsville.

Each team is assigned one of the 15 topics listed below.  They need your involvement and ideas.  Please help set the direction for the future of Ogden Valley

1.What makes Ogden Valley unique and special? How can the valley maintain this unique specialness?
2.What makes each community unique and special? How can each community maintain its specialness?
3.Discover potential and future opportunities for the Ogden Valley Region
4.Future alternatives for Pineview Reservoir and its waterfront
5.Future alternatives for Huntsville City’s annexation property
6.Where are future and existing village and neighborhood centerswhat should
they be and how should they be developed
7.Pineview Reservoir - land use, new development, waterfront protection, water
quality protection.
8.Development and open space preservation - cluster techniques, TDR’s, new
communities, where, how, etc.
9.Property ownership and property rights - should there be guidelines, committees, controls? How? Examples?
10.Agriculture - can and should it be a part of the valley? How? What conservation tools should be used?
11.Wildlife - habitat and conservation - How can conservation work on private lands?
12.Resorts - what is their contribution, what is their relationship to the valley, and
what relationship should they have?
13.Moderate Income Housing - where, how, what should it look like? Part of neighborhoods?
14.Huntsville - what should it be and how should it grow?
15.Snowbasin’s Pineview’s waterfront property - what should/could it become?

Wednesday, January 15, 2014

Summit and Harley and Bucks welcome Hip Hop Poet Sekou Andrews Thursday

Summit and Harley and Bucks are teaming up again Thursday night, January 16, 2013 to welcome Hip Hop Poet legend Sekou Andrews.

According to a recent Standard Examiner article, Andrews has performed for President Barack Obama, Oprah Winfrey, Hillary Clinton, Maya Angelou, Larry King, Norman Lear, Sean "P-Diddy" Combs, and Coretta Scott King and family.


According to Craig Bonham, Harley & Buck's owner and chef, dinner reservations are required because of the venue's limited space. The buffet serves from 5 to 8 p.m. and adults eat for $15, children for $9. Sekou Andrews is expected to take the stage at 7:30 p.m. For more information or to make a reservation, call 801-745-2060.
Following an Italian-style buffet at Harley & Buck's, an upscale Eden eatery at 3900 N. Wolf Creek Drive, Andrews will dish up a taste of "Poetic Voice." 
"I'm creating it as I go, out of thin air," Andrews said of his innovative work during a recent phone interview from his home near Los Angeles.
A decade ago, Andrews delivered poems at business conferences to break up the otherwise "cerebral, brain-numbing content." 
"I was asking why art is the break from the content, and not the vehicle to deliver the content," Andrews said. "That was my aha moment."
To read the Standard article in its entirety and view a video clip, click here.