Mount Snow EB-5 Snowmaking Project On Hold

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21 April 2016

Push to The Latest: No

SAM Magazine—West Dover, Vt., April 21, 2016—Until the department of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services releases the $52 million Mount Snow has raised through the EB-5 foreign investor program, the resort's West Lake and Carinthia Base Lodge projects are on hold.

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The resort broke ground on West Lake—a new 121 million gallon snowmaking water reservoir—in spring 2015 under the premise that the petitions from immigrant investors would be approved by the end of the summer, and funds would be released by the USCIS. However, the petitions still remain in the approval queue, and Mount Snow's parent company, Peak Resorts, has spent $12 million of its cash reserves on the project.

"Currently, the $52 million that has been raised is in escrow and is pending the investor petition approval by USCIS," said Mount Snow general manager Kelly Pawlak. "So until that is done it is going to stay in escrow. I'm confident that it will be released. And it is my understanding that there is a backlog. What that is due to, I'm not sure, it could be simply more projects than people to review."

Pawlak said the West Lake reservoir and dam are complete, but there is a lot of infrastructure still to be built before the resort can draw water for snowmaking. Without the EB-5 funds the work cannot continue. “We have not spent one penny of the investors' money," she added.

Dick Deutsch, Peak Resorts VP of business and real estate development, said the resort expected the funds would be released 13 to 14 months after the initial investor petition was submitted to the USCIS. The wait is pushing two years. “We are frustrated and disappointed because the federal government has not acted after 23 months on Mount Snow's petition,” said Deutsch.

Since January 2015, Peak Resorts' cash has dropped by nearly half, falling from just under $21 million to $11.5 million. The company's chief financial officer said the Mount Snow project, and the delay in EB-5 funding, has contributed to the cash flow crunch.