Companies vie for Hermitage Club snow guns

Posted Sunday, October 27, 2019 7:42 pm

BURLINGTON — Three companies are now competing for 41 snow guns and related equipment from the hills of the bankrupt Hermitage Club on Haystack Mountain in Wilmington.

Raymond Obuchowski, Chapter 7 trustee for the bankruptcy case, filed documents with the court stating that Alterra Mountain Company U.S. Inc. offered $310,000 and Seven Springs Mountain Resort Inc. offered $315,000. The companies had provided higher bids than the initial $287,000 submitted earlier this month by a subsidiary of the neighboring Mount Snow ski resort's parent company Vail Resorts Inc., which set off the sale process.

The United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Vermont had been notified of Seven Springs' offer Thursday. Notice of Alterra's came Friday, the deadline for submissions.

Seven Springs is an all-season resort in Pennsylvania. Headquartered in Colorado, Alterra's portfolio includes mountains in America and Canada including Stratton Mountain Resort, which is about 20 miles away from Mount Snow in West Dover.

Having at least one other qualified bid triggered an auction, which will occur at 10 a.m. Tuesday at the United States Bankruptcy Court in Burlington. Bids will go up by $10,000 until a successful bidder is determined.

New Jersey-based Lakeland Bank is owed more than $730,730 for a loan the Hermitage received to buy the snowmaking equipment that included 41 snow guns. The bank has been given special approval to move forward with selling the equipment.

Under an agreement, Lakeland Bank will provide $20,000 and 10 percent of any proceeds in excess of $365,000 to Hermitage Inn Real Estate Holding Company LLC "to be used for costs of administration and payment of valid claims." The bank also will pay Berkshire Bank $10,000 for any lien dispute between the two banks "relating to the accessories and related equipment, and for the assistance of the Receiver, through the property management, for the showing of the collateral for sale ..."

Berkshire Bank foreclosed Hermitage properties, including the private ski resort at Haystack, last year after the group failed to make payments on more than $17 million in loans. A receiver appointed by the state civil court to preserve those properties has been helping through the bankruptcy process in which Hermitage assets are anticipated to be sold.

Reach staff writer Chris Mays at cmays@reformer.com, at @CMaysBR on Twitter and 802-254-2311, ext. 273.