Wanted: Investor for Jay resort

In attempts to raise cash for expansion, NewVida resort operators make a sales pitch

By Tim Rowland

Owners of the 9-month-old NewVida Preserve in Jay have put the property up for sale in what they described as a tactical move to attract capital necessary to build out the resort and generate new income. 

By dangling the property in front of monied hospitality investors that prowl upper-tier property listings for ideas, NewVida hopes to tease out the sort of financiers who don’t exist in the Adirondack Park.

“A sale isn’t our primary objective,” owner Rick Vidal wrote in a letter to members Monday explaining the move. “Listing the property publicly was the smartest strategy to reach the greatest number of hospitality experts to accelerate potential partnership options for the property.”

Since big industry pulled out of the Adirondacks a half-century ago, private capital has been hard to find. Perhaps the most glaring example is the $32 million Adirondack Gateway project in North Hudson that the Andrew Cuomo administration in 2017 anticipated as “a world-class tourism hub at a strategic location to attract new visitors to the Adirondack Park and drive economic growth in the North Country.”

The state put out a call for big investors, but no one bit. 

Vidal said the resort is currently “thriving,” but will need to scale up to ensure viability. An investor could possibly step in with cash, but more likely would want an ownership position, Vidal said. “Most of the bigger players do not invest, they buy,” he said.

The 1,140-acre preserve, formerly the Paleface Ski Center, is listed on LandVest/Christies for $12.9 million. The Mountain House mansion adjoining the resort is listed separately for $5.9 million.

Vidal and his husband Matt purchased the property in October 2022 for $6.5 million and made significant renovations, to include a fine-dining restaurant, bistro, bar, gym and wellness facilities. It caters to visitors and local residents who can become members, giving them use to the gym, dining and beverage discounts and access to 35 miles of hiking trails, including trails to the summit of Bassett Mountain, which adjoins about 600 acres of newly acquired state land known as Four Peaks.

In so doing, the owners hoped to break the mold of Adirondack resorts that depend on either a summer or winter crowd and then limp along the rest of the year.

Vidal said he envisions future development at the preserve requiring $12 million in private financing. But that sort of capital is elusive in the Adirondacks, particularly in the hospitality industry. Housing and hotel projects that have recently either failed to get off the ground or ended in bankruptcy have also given local investors pause, he said.

Listing the property “is the best way to get the most eyeballs,” Vidal said. “It doesn’t make sense not to play in that market.” Should no investors materialize, he said the plans would have to be reassessed.

More to Explore

At NewVida, amenities for both locals and visitors

In Wilmington, a new life for defunct ski center

NewVida’s website: https://www.newvidapreserve.com/

Plans to expand

To generate additional revenue, the owners would like to build 20 A-frame cabins along an old ski trail. According to a site plan narrative, the new lodging would attract “longer-term stays, and be situated in close proximity to the main lodge, where culinary, bar and wellness services are provided. They would consist of 1 to 2-bedroom sustainable A-frame cabins staggered up one of the original (and already cleared) ski runs, each with incredible views and providing the only ski in/out access in the High Peaks.”

Along with the new lodging would be a dedicated event space, catering services and a microbrewery that “would both facilitate larger onsite events, serve as a sustained demand driver to the community and provide the potential for distribution and revenue of branded products.

Without a dedicated event center for retreats, weddings and celebratory occasions, Vidal said it’s been challenging to tap into these lucrative revenue streams while simultaneously running the restaurant, bistro and craft bar.

A microbrewery “would both serve as a significant demand driver of tourism, increasing lodging occupancy and attracting other travelers and locals to NewVida,” the planning narrative states. “It would also allow us to establish a brand that we can distribute and monetize outside of the region and harness the opportunity to serve as a market leader in amplifying the Adirondack brand given it’s the largest park system in the lower 48 states.”