Boise, ID – An Idaho state court judge has ruled that a receiver will operate Tamarack Resort this winter, replacing existing management at the financially beleaguered ski and snowboard resort in the central Idaho town of Donnelly, north of Boise.
Idaho Fourth Judicial District Court Judge Patrick H. Owen ruled Thursday in favor of lender Credit Suisse, who feared that current management’s plan to winterize the incomplete resort village and fund the ski area operations this winter were inadequate to protect the company’s loan collateral. Judge Owen indicated that he would appoint a receiver when he issues an order Oct. 31. Credit Suisse had asked that San Diego-based receiver Douglas Wilson Cos. be allowed to step in to replace the ski resort’s current management.
Attorneys for Tamarack’s majority owner, Jean-Pierre Boespflug, at first argued that a resort winterization plan costing $250,000 would be adequate to protect the partially finished village from harsh winter weather. By the time of Wednesday’s hearing, however, Tamarack’s lawyers had reduced their argument to trying to limit the scope of the receiver’s influence on winter operations. Boespflug is hurrying to find an investor by month’s end to cover $273 million on what was originally a $250 million loan from Credit Suisse, but has so far been unsuccessful. A recent appraisal by Credit Suisse values the property at $234 million, some $39 million less than Tamarack owes after defaulting on the loan.
Tamarack opened in 2004 to much fanfare as the first ski and snowboard resort built from the ground up in the U.S. in many years. After an initial building boom property sales fell flat. Andre Agassi and Steffi Graf pulled out of a luxury hotel project when market conditions declined, and two banks foreclosed on an employee housing project and conference center at the resort.
Credit Suisse’s attorneys acknowledge that operation of the ski lifts this winter is necessary to maintain the value of their collateral. The company is therefore prepared to make an additional $10 million loan to winterize the village construction and operate the ski area this winter following the appointment of a receiver.