SAM Magazine—Wildwood, Mo., Dec. 13, 2016—Any EB-5 program turmoil, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services backlogs, questions, and delays are, for now, in the rearview mirror for Peak Resorts and its flagship property, Mount Snow, Vt. Earlier today, the USCIS approved the first I-526 petition submitted by an investor in Mount Snow's EB-5 offering, immediately releasing the $52 million of investor funds that have been sitting idle in escrow for more than two years, delaying some projects and forcing Peak to find alternate funding sources.

USCIS approval of an I-526 petition is the first step in the process under which an immigrant who invests in an EB-5 program can become a permanent resident of the United States, and was the final step needed to release funds from escrow.

"We are exceptionally pleased that the EB-5 project funds can now be released from escrow so that we can continue project development,” said Timothy D. Boyd, president and chief executive officer of Peak Resorts.

The company began construction in February 2015 on the West Lake Water Project—the first of two separate projects included in the offering—with the expectation that funds it had already raised would be released in short order. Subsequently, the USCIS delayed releasing the funds from escrow, forcing Peak to invest more than $15 million of its own for the excavation of a 120-million gallon snowmaking water reservoir and other infrastructure. The company will now be reimbursed for that spending, and the rest of the project, including three pump houses and related infrastructure, are expected to be “substantially completed prior to the 2017-18 ski season,” according to a release from the company.

Boyd added, “Once completed, the West Lake project will allow Mount Snow to start each ski season with as much as 50 percent of its terrain open. It will also provide enough water to eventually cover 100 percent of our trails with snowmaking.”

The second project included in the offering is the Carinthia Ski Lodge Project, the centerpiece of which is a new three-story, 36,000-square-foot base lodge that will replace an existing 50-year-old lodge at the base of the Carinthia mountain face of Mount Snow. It will be more than four times the size of the existing lodge and will house several food outlets, a rental shop, retail and convenience store, and other skier services. Substantial completion is now expected before the 2018-19 ski season.

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