Wintergreen Resort in Nelson County is facing a mountain of debt and an uncertain financial future due largely to this unseasonable warm winter. The resort insists it's doing everything it can to get back on course, but some property owners are worried their futures are on a downward slope.
Property owner Priscilla Stone retired to Wintergreen with her husband in 2005. Since then, she says she's come to worry about how financial performance on the mountain could ultimately affect her home value.
"My trust level of the management at Wintergreen is not very high. And that disturbs me," Stone said.
She might have reason for concern. Warm temperatures this ski season are melting profits on the mountain, with a total projected budget shortfall of about $4.5 million. If the resort fails to return profitability and declares bankruptcy, property values at the resort could plummet. It's a prospect that is deeply troubling to neighbors like Stone.
"What we need is to know that this property is going to be somewhat there for us when we need to make another change," she said.
Sunny Halleck is another concerned property owner. As property owners, she and Stone elected not to join Wintergreen Partners Inc. (WPI) -- the member owned organization that oversees Wintergreen. As non-member residents, they have no voice in the decision making process. But what concerns them is that they also have no idea what will come down the mountain next. Halleck is optimistic management will find a new way of doing business.
"I'm hoping at this point something different will be tried," she said.
She and Stone say perching the resort's financial stability on a volatile ski climate is cause for concern.
"It's not viable here in Virginia as a money maker," Halleck said. "You can't count on it."
"I'm uncomfortable with a bottom line that is arrived at through a very precarious condition such as skiing in a southern state," Stone said.
But as the resort works to keep the snow pumping this winter, all these neighbors have is hope. And Stone is hoping for more transparency.
"It serves everybody. In my view, transparency serves everybody," she said. "It's trust building rather than trust diminishing."
The resort met with WPI members Tuesday afternoon to discuss future financial plans. One member we spoke to said the immediate goal is to return the resort to financial stability as soon as possible. The resort will then likely focus on reassessing its long term plans for profitability.
Members were recently asked to pay 2013 dues earlier than expected to generate working capital for the resort. It also plans to offer a $6 million private debt offering to members next month.
