SAM Magazine—Dixville Notch, N.H., Feb. 12, 2014—The owners of the Balsams Grand Resort Hotel and the Balsams Wilderness Ski Area have engaged American Skiing Company founder Les Otten to help redevelop the hotel and resort, which have been closed for the past three years.

SAM Magazine—Dixville Notch, N.H., Feb. 12, 2014—The owners of the Balsams Grand Resort Hotel and the Balsams Wilderness Ski Area have engaged American Skiing Company founder Les Otten to help redevelop the hotel and resort, which have been closed for the past three years.

Otten, founder and former president of the American Skiing Company which at one time owned ski resorts in northern New England and the West, has established a new company, Dixville Notch LLC, to collaborate on the development project with Balsams View LLC, which has been set up by Balsams principals Dan Dagesse and Dan Hebert. Dagesse and Hebert purchased the Balsams in 2011.

Balsams plans to completely renovate and expand the Hampshire House portion of the hotel properties and refurbish the Dix House. The Hampshire House expansion, as envisioned at present, will add a new reception building, conference center, kitchen, spa, and indoor-outdoor pool. Cost is estimated at $35 million.

"The opportunities at the Balsams are significant,” Otten said. “There are few recreation sites in North America that have such strong potential for visitors over all seasons." Discussions at the moment, he said, are preliminary. "We are working together and combining our resources to look at creative ideas toward restoring the Balsams as a true world class resort," Otten said.

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