Brandywine Ski Resort will be getting a new $5 million lodge to replace three existing buildings, according to owner Peak Resorts.
Construction could begin in March, with an opening planned for November.
“We have seen the way a similar building has served our guests in New Hampshire and know that it is going to be a significant improvement for our customers,” Peak Resorts Chief Operating Officer Jesse Boyd said in a statement.
The 48,000-square-foot lodge would be built on the site of the current base lodge in Boston Township.
But first, the buildings will be used by Northfield Fire Department officials for a two-week training exercise.
After the existing facilities meet the wrecking ball, concrete foundations will be removed, the existing terrain will be regraded, and the new building will go up. Brandywine will keep all the work local, although a contractor has not yet been chosen, spokesman Steve Mackle said.
Mackle said unlike the beautiful high ceilings, wood beams and fireplaces of Peak’s other Summit County attraction — the nearby Boston Mills ski resort — Brandywine buildings are simply functional.
The main lodge “basically looks like a cafeteria,” Mackle said.
The complex is also inefficient, with lift ticket windows, ski patrol office, food and bar services, and rental services spread among the three buildings.
The new single lodge “will make it easier for guests to relax, and to get in and get out on the hill much easier,” Mackle said.
In the new facility, lift tickets, a 10,000-square foot rental facility, restrooms and a retail shop will be on the first floor. A cafeteria, bar and seating area twice as large as current capacity will be on the second floor.
The second floor will also feature a panorama of the ski resort through large glass windows, while a large patio and sundeck accessible from both floors will extend the length of the building.
“For Peak Resorts to make this major commitment with a new state-of-the-art base lodge shows how much it values this resort and the guests who have been so loyal to it for decades,” Boston Mills/Brandywine General Manager Vinnie Lewis said.
Brandywine also announced Summit Season Pass sales will be offered Feb. 21 through April 30.
The pass offers unlimited skiing and riding at Brandywine and Boston Mills for the remainder of this season and all of next season. The first 500 people to purchase a Summit Season Pass will be invited to the Grand Opening celebration of the new main base lodge in November.
For more information, visit the resorts’ website at www.bmbw.com.
Paula Schleis can be reached at 330-996-3741 or pschleis@thebeaconjournal.com. Follow her on Twitter at http://twitter.com/paulaschleis.