Powderhorn Resort will pump $5 million into a new chairlift, snowmaking and summer operations for 2016, marking the largest upgrade in at least 20 years for the Grand Mesa ski area.

Ski industry veteran Andy Daly and Denver’s Gart retail clan — brothers Ken, Tom and John — bought the struggling 1,600-acre ski area in 2011 for a mere $1.4 million. The deal included 600 acres of undeveloped real estate at the base of the 48-year-old ski area.

A new high-speed quad chairlift will replace the tired, Take Four fixed-grip that climbs from Powderhorn’s base village.

“I think this will give us the opportunity to win back a lot of customers because they can get a lot more skiing in,” said Ken Gart.

The new owners plan to upgrade snowmaking systems and develop mountain-bike operations — with trails and with bike carriers on the new lift — to expand summer options at the resort, which is 45 minutes east of Grand Junction.

The Grand Mesa and the Grand Valley thrive in the summer, with myriad mountain bike trails, the Colorado River, food and wine tours, and thousands of acres of public land, including the Colorado National Monument. The development of lift-served mountain-bike trails will only grow the area’s reputation as biking destination and add yet another attraction to lure summer visitors, Mesa County Administrator Frank Whidden said.

“I would classify Powderhorn as an anchor attraction,” Whidden said. “This is a definitely a big deal for us. We are really happy to see them making that kind of investment. Almost every family here with kids certainly spends time at Powderhorn.”

Gart said Powderhorn has tremendous support from Grand Junction. A local bank is financing the capital improvement plan and Grand Junction’s Leitner-Poma is building the new chairlift.

“I think we are fortunate in that we have patient capital. We invested knowing it was a long-term investment,” Gart said. “And now to be able to put this loan together to do this new high-speed chair with Leitner-Poma and a local bank, it indicates the big support we have in the local community.”

There are no plans to replace the quiet West End double-chair on the west side of the ski area, Gart said.

“We recognize the heritage and the culture and the history that has made Powderhorn successful today, and we don’t want to turn it into something different,” Gart said. “We want to celebrate that heritage.”

At a gathering of ski industry leaders last week, resort veteran Bill Jensen divided ski areas into winners and losers with a perspective that pinned 150 of the country’s 470 ski areas as withering and another 150 struggling to survive.

Gart knows his hill, in Jensen’s classification, is not among the top performers. But the fact that his team owns the base area land without heavy debt and the promise of real estate development at the resort bode well for Powderhorn, he said.

“I think we can make it a successful operating business and make money there and also develop the real estate into a community,” Gart said. “So it’s an attractive long-term investment.”

Jason Blevins: 303-954-1374, jblevins@denverpost.com or twitter.com/jasonblevins