Developer of MonteLago selling interests in resorts

Thursday, Aug. 12, 2004 | 10:59 a.m.

The Canadian company that developed the Lake Las Vegas' MonteLago Village is selling a majority ownership interest in nine commercial properties attached to resorts, including the Italian-themed village in Henderson.

Vancouver, British Columbia-based Intrawest Corp. made the $160 million deal with CNL Income Properties Inc., an Orlando, Fla., real estate investment trust (REIT). Under terms of the deal, CNL would have an 80 percent interest in the nine commercial developments and Intrawest would retain a 20 percent interest and continue its role as property and leasing manager.

The transaction is subject to the completion of normal closing procedures.

Intrawest officials indicated there would be no change in management strategies and that the number of employees would remain the same. The company is in the midst of a transition from a capital-intensive operation to a property management emphasis.

In addition to the MonteLago Village at Lake Las Vegas, the deal includes other properties familiar to residents of the West -- the Village at Squaw Valley USA in Lake Tahoe, Calif., and the Village at Mammoth Mountain in Mammoth Lakes, Calif. Other resorts in the deal are in British Columbia and Ontario in Canada and in the U.S. states of Colorado, West Virginia, Vermont and Florida.

Intrawest has developed commercial villages attached to resort properties, most of them at North American ski resorts. The tenant mix varies by resort, but most have a combination of restaurants, retail and office space.

The Village at MonteLago is part of a 50-acre resort that includes a 350-rooom Ritz-Carlton hotel, a 40,000-square-foot casino, 900 luxury condominiums, 125,000 square feet of retail space and 50,000 square feet of office space. But only the retail and office space are part of the Intrawest-CNL Income Properties deal.

The village, completed in 2003, includes 30 units in 11 buildings, with 14 retail outlets, 10 food and beverage establishments, three offices and three other commercial operations. The center is 86 percent occupied.

Located adjacent to a signature attraction of the area, a replica of Florence, Italy's Ponte Vecchio bridge, MonteLago is about a mile from the entrance to Lake Las Vegas, a 2,600-acre development that surrounds a 320-acre man-made desert lake developed by Transcontinental Properties, Santa Barbara, Calif.

R. Byron Carlock Jr., president of CNL Income Properties, said his company was attracted to the deal because the REIT will invest in "properties that play to demographic trends of the American lifestyle."

"A vibrance has emerged at MonteLago," Carlock said. "It's a nice luxury oasis with a healthy density, and we are an excellent landlord for premier and creditworthy operators."

Carlock said the deal is the first for that particular REIT, but that the CNL has four others that focus on big box retail, restaurant space, retirement properties and hospitality interests.