Resurrection at Powder Ridge Slow But Steady

Summer can be a busy time at a ski area, especially one that's scheduled to reopen in November after having been shuttered for over half-a-decade.

That's the challenge facing Powder Ridge Mountain Park owner Sean Hayes, who purchased Middlefield's ski area last September for $700,000 and promised a "resurrection" of winter activity in central Connecticut.

And despite unforeseen roadblocks from mother nature and the predictable land use delays that come with buying a 225-acre property, Hayes maintains that he's on schedule to open Powder Ridge on Thanksgiving weekend, more than a year before a December 31, 2014 deadline imposed by the sales agreement approved at referendum last year.

"We did as much as we could really before the winter set in, then went on hold. We were hoping that we would hit the ground running in the spring but approvals are taking longer than we thought," Hayes said last week during a walk of the property.

"I'm behind, there's no doubt about it. "Can I catch up? Absolutely," he said.

Hayes' first priority has been to make sure the mountain is safe for the skiers and snowboarders he expects will make the ski area the state's premier winter sports destination.

Ski chairs have been rewelded, their rotted wooden seats replaced with durableTrex decking. Their sun-dulled red finish has been brought back to life with a fresh coat of flat black paint.

Next month, workers are scheduled to give the slopes' rusted, red ski towers a similar makeover. "We're painting them a muted grey so they don't stick out as much," said Hayes.

The ski lifts have so far passed all third-party inspections, he said, and a final state inspection is expected this summer. 

Except for a few finishing touches, the ski area's rental building is finished. Outside, there's a new roof, new windows and siding repairs have been made. Inside, there's new office space, a meeting room and shelves are filling up with skis and mountain bikes. 

Hayes said he's in the process of ordering about 900 new snowboards and skis to add to the equipment he's already purchased or discovered at the property.

Stoves, deep fryers and sinks sit waiting to be installed in the ski area's cafeteria, abandoned since 2006 when the previous owner ran into financial trouble.

"It's just waiting for them to say, 'Yes, we can put it all back together,'" Hayes said.

While Middlefield's planning and zoning commission recently agreed to allow Hayes to move forward with his plans to build a restaurant on the second floor of the building, it also put a 30-day deadline on him to produce a complete site plan for the property.

"I am encouraged by the action of the planning and zoning commission last week. A number of issues got ironed out," said Middlefield First Selectman Jon Brayshaw, who remains optimistic about the ski area's future nine months after selling it to Hayes.

"All of that stuff takes time," he said.

And money.

It's likely that Hayes is well on his way to spending the $2 million on improvements at the property required by the sales agreement. Those improvements include a new sprinkler system in the lodge and an entirely new set of transformers which must be installed before Connecticut Light and Power can restore electricity to the property, according to Hayes.

"We can open with just the rental building. If I can get the first floor, cafeteria, kitchen, first aid building, I'm good. Ideally, I would like the rooms and the restaurant open," he said.

While Hayes previously received permission from the town to dredge the ski area's man-made pond in order to double its capacity for snow making, the work was delayed until later this summer when the area has a chance to dry out.

On the mountain itself, crews have been busy trimming back years of unfettered growth, widening the ski area's 18 trails.

Oh, and there's Brownstone. The summer adventure park in Portland that Hayes operates opened last month and soon he'll have about 180 employees to deal with, not to mention thousands of visitors.

It's the success he hopes to deliver in Middlefield.

"We are slowly getting there. One step at a time," he said.