Les Otten
A Portland, Maine radio station just interviewed Les Otten, of Maine Energy Systems, Bethel, Maine. It is a hi tec wood pellet boiler company. I looked at their web-site as well. It sounds/looks like a good product. Then I looked at the Balsams Wilderness site. It’s now The Balsams Resort. The site is still active, and it mentions Otten here and there. Of course, there hasn’t been news about further development for some time.
Comments
From what I knew of it, it was a project that had its headquarters in Fantasyland.
"Though the defunct ski area has yet to open, the Balsams has recently began offering an upscale vacation rental. The seven-bedroom Hale House was featured on Travel+Leisure in December as one of the "seven best winter lodges" in the United States. The rental is listed as being $2,600 per night for up to eight people and comes with a private chef."
1/8/2021 Source NESI - scooped us again
Colebrook Chronicle
I like the duck story.
The guy worked at Sunday River during its growth period, says the employee motto was "do more for less"
Not many other ways to get the power capacity into the region that the build out will require, of course he was a proponent.
The power was to flow THROUGH Coos on a point to point DC current line that terminated in Franklin, NH at an AC conversion station. The AC was to then continue on another point to point line down into Deerfield, NH where it would ultimately enter the New England Grid for consumption in the population centers in Southern New England.
As far as the Northern Pass electrons were concerned, Coos county was a flyover state.
Otten agreed to provide testimony in favor of the project in exchange for $5M in financing for the Balsams. http://indepthnh.org/2017/10/07/les-otten-5m-balsams-loan-required-his-testimony-for-northern-pass/
So perhaps a better way to state it would be: "They gave him money, of course he was a proponent."
Which is an arrangement that is foundational to many enterprises... including prostitution.
Northern Pass had a projected 3 year build out period and spanned 9 years from project announcement to project abandonment.
Based on that, it's safe to say that a similar project, if announced today, would be looking at an in-service date no earlier than 2030.
No similar project has been announced today... and tomorrow ain't looking too good either.
Meanwhile, Otten will be 72 years old this year.
IOW: It's OK to buy green bananas but I'm not sure I'd recommend him booking a tee time for opening day at the new Balsams.
Construction of a new hotel at the defunct resort could start next year.
Friday, December 10, 2021, NewEnglandSkiIndustry.com
The Balsams, June 2020
Construction of the proposed Lake Gloriette House hotel could start next year, Balsams owner Les Otten told the Coos County Commissioners on Wednesday.
The financing would be provided by Provident Resources Group, the same company involved with the redevelopment of Big Squaw in Maine. Under the proposal, Coos County would need to "adopt a resolution evidencing their support of the project," but would not have a financial obligation, according to Otten. The commission could vote on a resolution as soon as next week.
According to the Colebrook Chronicle, Provident would sell tax-exempt bonds for a business entity it would create to own the new hotel, which could have a 2022 groundbreaking. Otten's group would retain operational control of the facility.
Primarily involved in educational and senior living developments, Provident Resources Group of Baton Rouge, Louisiana is working with Big Lake Development to procure funding for the once-estimated $75 million Big Squaw, Maine redevelopment. Though it does not have any ski development experience, it does claim to have facilitated the development of water parks. As of early December, the Big Squaw acquisition has not been completed and it is not known if the existing ski area will operate this year. Once sold, the Big Squaw ski area would be renamed and redeveloped.
According to Otten, "By having a partner like Provident, it gives us a head start on the housing we want to build in Colebrook at the golf couse."
It is not known what the timeline for the redevelopment of the Balsams ski area is at this point.
The northernmost chairlift served ski area in New Hampshire, the Balsams Wilderness operated from 1966 until 2011, when the Dixville Notch Balsams Grand Resort was shuttered. Daniel Dagesse and Daniel Hebert acquired the resort later that year. While equipment has been sold and some hotel related structures demolished, the ski lodge and triple chairlifts remain in place. Les Otten has been involved in the project since 2014, purchasing Dan Dagesse's stake in 2017. Annmarie Turcotte joined as a partner circa early 2021. Plans include 22 ski lifts serving 1,200 acres of skiable terrain. At present, vacation rentals are operated on the property.
Colebrook Chronicle
1. Someday, somehow, the Balsams resort will reopen on a large scale, in some fashion. Might be just a ski area, might be just a grand hotel, might be an AMC hostel...but eventually part of it or possibly all of it will become something, and people will go there.
2. It won't be Les Otten. He may ride in the parade, but it won't really be his doing. Most likely happen long after he's out of the picture.
When the cost of capital doubles, a lot of marginal/questionable projects suddenly become footnotes.
Whether actually a long way from anywhere or just perception, it seems so far from customer base as well as employee base. It would have to be over-the-top skiing as well as amenities to work.
Not saying there will be a repeat but there's a precedent.
Yes when I drove through on Saturday it struck me how non-remote it's become. People towing off-road thingies up and down Rt 3. To the east, Errol NH has actually become crowded on weekends. And it's getting more crowded elsewhere. The traffic in North Conway is pretty grim these days, and the parking lots are overflowing at Sunday River every winter. The average middle class vacation home buyer has been squeezed out of Sunday River. Dixville Notch is 15 miles closer than Jay Peak to my daughter's house in suburban Boston.
It may not be in my lifetime, but I'd bet the deed to the farm that something will happen there.
I agree, as someone who lives not too far away, those are the areas we try to avoid for significant parts of the year, due to how crowded they have become.
Employee base for a massive build out is certainly going to be a problem. They will need to rely on help from foreign visa workers. Same as any major resort, really. Not many major resorts with significant bed-base that can do it will local help only.
At 1:45 north of Lincoln and North Conway (on non-interstate), they are going to have to build something quite special to get folks to keep driving past other resorts. That drive north on Route 3 is a snooze-fest. It may be closer to Boston than Jay... but Jay gets the most snow in the northeast and is well-known for its glades, reason enough for the drive.
thesnowway.com
Well, most people coming from the Boston area would likely be taking Interstate 95 to Route 26 to get to the Balsams. Route 26 is a fast highway in pretty good shape almost the entire way there. The only place where you have to slow down significantly is around Bethel.
I guess it does look that way from downtown. I was doing the time from where I used to live on the north shore.
I never considered ME-26 from Boston. I checked Google Maps and it looks to be 20 minutes longer than I-93 to Rt3, but about equal time for the 128/95 interchange, and faster for points north and east of there. I would say "Boston area" would definitely go I-93, where going faster than the speed limit would yield much faster times than G Maps.
I used to live in Beverly/Salem. I have also been guilty of using the proverbial "Boston area" to cover locales outside of the actually metro. North Shore is definitely not Boston Area.
thesnowway.com
So when you lived in Beverly or Salem, if someone who lives out of state asked you where you were from, you wouldn't say the Boston area?
thesnowway.com
Source: Wiki
They would bring it to Maine to trade for salted fish, etc,