Belleayre Resort Developer Looks for Compromise

Rakov would not specify just how much the firm was willing to downsize the project. "We plan to come to the table with no pre-conditions."

"Our partners have consistently communicated that the Belleayre Resort's overall goal is to provide the region with a world-class resort destination that is both economically viable while protecting the natural assets of the area," he says. "We are willing to discuss plans that reduce the resort's size while still achieving that goal. After six years, we believe it is time the acrimonious atmosphere that has besieged this project, and the town, be put behind us."

The call for a sit-down with state, city and local agencies came after the Shandaken Town Board on April 3 passed a resolution that called for a "reasonable consensus" be reached among the interested parties in the project, which includes the towns of Shandaken (Ulster County) and Middletown (Delaware County), the New York City Department of Environmental Protection, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation and members of the environmental community.

The Belleayre Resort project calls for the development of a five-star 150-room hotel and spa called "the Big Indian" and 168 detached units in Shandaken and a 250-room three-and-a-half star hotel called "Wildacres" in Middletown with 183 detached units. An 18-hole golf course would be built at each site as well.

The development would be built on about 570 acres of the land parcel owned by Crossroads Ventures that totals nearly 2,000 acres. Rakov estimated the project would cost between $250 million to $300 million to complete and would create more than 540 full-time jobs and contribute $3.2 million a year to the local economy.