Red Mountain Resort, one of North America’s oldest ski resorts, will soon be home to two new residential communities for families interested in all-seasons recreation in the Monashee Mountains range.

A six-storey condo, The Daly, and a cluster of townhomes called The Glades are being developed by Red Mountain Ventures LP in partnership with Vancouver developers David and Christopher Evans.

Together, they comprise 204 new residences at the resort.

The 4,200-acre resort in Rossland, B.C. holds 3,850 acres of skiable land, as well as a condo complex, hostel, hotel and an under-construction residential project named The Crescent. 

In addition to skiing, the resort is open year-round for hiking, mountain biking, kayaking and flyfishing.

Howard Katkov, the chairman and CEO of RED Mountain Resort, said in an interview with RENX Homes the two projects are aimed at promoting a vibrant community and families looking to plant roots for generations.

“People who are buying our real estate are less speculators and more people who want to buy this as a lifestyle purchase. They recognize this is a place for their families, where they can have a legacy, a place for their families to get together for years or decades,” Katkov said.

From mining to skiing

The Red Mountains area, situated within the Monashee Mountains range, was first exploited as a gold mine in the late 19th century, then later recognized for its excellent skiing and hiking.

Katkov said Red Mountain Resort’s founding in 1948 makes it the oldest ski resort in Western Canada, and the third-oldest in North America. It is also the ninth-largest mountain resort in North America.

His limited partnership was formed in 2003 and purchased the ski resort in June 2004. It assembled a master plan to increase the number of housing units from approximately 400 upon acquisition to 1,400.

Katkov likes to tell others, “I’m one of the oldest start-ups out there,” as his company nears 20 years operating a ski resort that is seeing steady growth.

The first residential project, completed in 2007, was the 67-unit Slalom Creek condo offering two- and three-bedroom housing.

After a reprieve from housing projects which followed the 2008 recession, Katkov returned to resort housing development with The Crescent, a 120-unit condo that is expected to be finished in late 2024.

To complement The Crescent, both The Daly and The Glades are being co-developed by Red Mountain Ventures and the Evans brothers. This is Red Mountain Ventures’ first real estate partnership.

The Daly and The Glades

The Daly will be located at the centre of the resort's base, close to The Crescent and the 106-room The Josie hotel.

The six-storey condo is planned to feature one-, two- and three-bedroom units starting in the low $500,000s for one-bedroom units and high $600,000s for the multi-bedroom condos. The suites are expected to range from 500 square feet to 1,100 square feet — larger than units at The Crescent.

“We had so many people with children who wanted The Crescent, but they needed a couple of bedrooms for the children. So, The Daly was a response to the demand that couldn’t be fulfilled with The Crescent,” the Red Mountain Ventures CEO said.

All units at The Daly will have balconies, ski storage, electric vehicle chargers and bike storage.

An outdoors pool and spa combined with an indoors amenity room featuring a gym and sauna are planned for The Daly, along with a 3,500-square-foot commercial space on the first floor for a restaurant or retail component.

The Glades is an 84-unit townhome cluster of three-, four- and five-bedroom offerings with garages and large decks starting at approximately $900,000. Floor plans at The Glades range from 1,600 square feet to 2,200 square feet.

The retail sales value of both projects will total over $150 million, according to Katkov.

Residents and visitors will be able to source basic necessities from Rossland, with also offers a variety of retail and service options such as breweries, chocolate stores, bakeries, wine stores and charcuteries.

Both projects are to go to the market in December, with plans to finish the show suite by January 2024. The objective is to reach a pre-sale target of 65 to 70 per cent and break ground in May 2024.

Katkov expects construction for The Daly and The Glades to take between 22 to 27 months. The use of prefabricated walls and floors for The Daly may speed up construction, he added.

Family-oriented buyers

Katkov said the new projects are likely to attract a similar demographic as previous developments.

Two-thirds of buyers for The Crescent are Americans, mostly from the West Coast, lured by the favourable exchange rates between the U.S. and Canadian dollars. This may also entice more American buyers for The Daly and The Glades, Katkov said.

Canadian interest in The Crescent has come mainly from buyers in the Lower Mainland of B.C., Calgary and Ontario.

Around half of The Crescent’s buyers are families with at least two children, 20 per cent to 30 per cent are older Gen X’ers and baby boomers, with millennials rounding out the mix

“The beauty is our voice reaches out to those three age brackets. We’re not this extremely fancy place that you’re going to go to be seen.” Katkov said.

The overall trend is families who want to own a home in a mountain community.

“What people love, who just kind of visit us, is they really get to engage with people who get to live there full-time. People who live and ski at this mountain are proud to show strangers around,” Katkov said.

If pre-sales are successful, Red Mountain Ventures has two more real estate projects in the wings.