Maple Valley in Southern Vermont Sold

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31 May 2018

Push to The Latest: No

SAM Magazine—Dummerston, Vt., May 25, 2018—Maple Valley Ski Area, just outside of Brattleboro in southern Vermont, has sat idle for 18 years. This week, a Connecticut-based “member managed” HN maplevalleysold 52518 company purchased the 375-acre property for $745,000 from another Connecticut-based company that has owned it for several years.

The Vermont Secretary of State's Office lists the new owner as Sugar Mountain Holdings, a “member managed” company based in Weatouge, Conn. Keane Aures, listed as a “member,” is the only person mentioned in the listing. According to the Brattleboro Reformer, Aures is the senior counsel in the Hartford office of the law firm of Gordon & Rees. Aures specializes in construction law.

Zeke Goodband, the chairman of the Dummerston Select Board, told the Reformer, “This is good news. I used to take my kids there and drop them off for a whole day of skiing into the evening. Like everyone, I am interested and anxious to find out what the next life of Maple Valley will be. I hope for the best and hope it will be something that will benefit the community and the surrounding towns."

No plans have been revealed for what Sugar Mountain intends to do with the property. The new owners may have an uphill battle if plans call for reopening the ski area. The previous owner proposed a four-season resort at the property in 2011, with skiing, mountain biking, hiking, paint ball, foliage viewing, archery camps, antique car shows, dances, and movies. The Dummerston Development Review Board ruled the application didn’t have enough detail for it to make a decision.

When a revised application was presented in 2013, the ski area’s neighbors spoke out against it. "This isn't a business community anymore," neighbor Judy Placey said at the time. "This is a residential community. People live in these houses. And these lights affect us, and this noise affects us." Other neighbors were also opposed for similar reasons, but there is also support from community members who see it as an opportunity to drive the local economy.