Denver businessman Donald Simpson spent his career developing apartment projects but dedicated much of his free time to extreme skiing.
Simpson is now combining his two passions in the creation of Revelstoke Mountain Resort, a ski resort in British Columbia’s Selkirk Range.
“I thought I was retired,” the 60-year-old said. “I wasn’t looking for a ski resort to develop, but then I was up skiing in Revelstoke and ran into this deal. It’s a great opportunity.”
Simpson and two Canadian partners plan to spend at least $1.3 billion to develop Revelstoke into a destination resort with 25 lifts, more than 100 ski runs and a base village featuring 5,000 residential units.
“This will truly be on the scale of an Aspen, Whistler or Vail,” he said. “Revelstoke is a household word among hard-core skiers; people know it.”
The resort’s first gondola and a quad chairlift – which cost $20 million to install – will open this fall. Construction is underway on two condominium- hotel buildings, which feature a total of 111 units.
When units at the two properties went up for sale in April, the developers recorded more than $58 million worth of contracts in a single day, said Simpson, with 56 percent of buyers coming from the U.S.
Michael Berry, head of the Lakewood-based National Ski Areas Association, called western Canada a prime spot for new resort development.
“It is a hot sector that is emerging,” he said. “It’s no surprise to me that there is a lot of enthusiasm for an additional significant destination resort there. I think they’ll get it done.”
Kelowna, the closest city to Revelstoke with a major airport, is about two hours away by car, meaning access could be an issue, according to Nate Fristoe, a director at RRC Associates, a Boulder research firm that does work for the ski industry.
“Kelowna is an airport that needs to grow significantly to service the resort base that is already there,” he said. “But overall, the British Columbia market is very healthy.”
Prices on the two condo buildings at the planned resort, which are scheduled to be completed by fall 2008, averaged about $650 per square foot.
Simpson is also chairman of Grand Peaks Properties, a 4-year-old Denver company that he runs with two of his sons, Luke and Nick. It owns about 5,000 apartment units in six Western states, including Colorado, with another 1,500 units in development.
The family has a nearly 60-year history in the apartment business. Simpson’s father, Harold Simpson, founded Simpson Housing Corp. in 1948. The company, now known as Simpson Housing Limited Partnership, has grown into one of the country’s largest privately held apartment developers and managers, with nearly 20,000 units in 34 states.
The Michigan Public Employees Retirement System bought a majority share in the company in 1995; last year, it sold about half that stake to the Alaska Permanent Fund Corp. for nearly $1 billion.
Simpson said building apartment complexes was good practice for creating a new destination ski resort.
“It’s still real-estate development,” he said. “It’s different, but a lot of the same tools are applicable.”
Revelstoke’s village is eventually slated to feature three hotels, up to 200,000 square feet of commercial space and an 18-hole golf course. Revelstoke also recently purchased Selkirk Tangiers Heli Skiing for about $5.5 million, which brings it to a total of 500,000 acres of groomed, Sno-Cat-accessible and heli ski terrain.
Staff writer Julie Dunn can be reached at 303-954-1592 or jdunn@denverpost.com.
BY THE NUMBERS
$1.3 billion
Planned minimum cost to develop British Columbia’s Revelstoke into a destination ski resort
25
Chairlifts planned for the resort; the facility’s first gondola and quad chairlift (a $20 million project) are to open this fall
500,000
Acres of ski terrain at Revelstoke on more than 100 runs
5,000
Residential units to be part of Revelstoke’s base village; construction has started on two condominium- hotel buildings with 111 units
1
18-hole golf course planned for the development
