A new Utah ski village is inching closer to beginning construction. The Standard-Examiner reports that a rezone of what could become part of the Nordic Village at Nordic Valley Ski Resort was approved by the Weber County commissioners last week. This is one of the first steps in the tedious process though, as water, roads, and sewer lines will also need to be debated and approved by the county.
The developers, Skyline Mountain Base, LLC, said that they were satisfied with getting past this hurdle, but noted that it’s only one of the first steps in the long process. They also said that they want to hear from the public in order to address concerns and modify the plans if needed.
The Nordic Village would be 510 acres, but would still leave 88% of the land undeveloped. There would be multiple residential development areas: One part would be next to the current base area, and a single-family chalet development would be constructed near the Nordic Express terrain pod and next to the Crockett lift and The Glades trail.
There would be 550 residential units and over 38,000 square feet of commercial space. Some of the additions would include multi-family residential units, townhomes, single-family chalets, commercial spaces, a pond with a boat house, and an outdoor amphitheater. The timeline to complete the project would take fifteen to twenty years.
The push for a village and housing around Nordic Valley has faced opposition from locals for a variety of reasons. The construction of a village would bring rising noise levels to the area and would change the aesthetic of the relatively small ski resort. Water shortages are also a rising concern in the Western United States, which makes locals reluctant about large developments. The water for the project would come from a variety of sources, which include the streams around Nordic Valley.
On the other hand, Nordic Valley is a growing ski resort, and infrastructure improvements are needed to help them keep up with the rapidly modernizing competitors in the state.
Nordic Valley has gone through a lot of change in recent years. During the 2020-21 season, they expanded onto a new peak, which is serviced by a high-speed six-pack chairlift. Today, the terrain pod features a variety of easy, intermediate, advanced, and expert runs and glades.
Over this past offseason, Nordic Valley continued to make rapid improvements. They sculpted out five new glade runs around the Nordic Express, converted their old ski patrol room into a beer bar, and increased their snowmaking capacity. Utah is seeing a rapidly evolving ski industry, but I believe that Nordic Valley will continue to be one of the most interesting ski resorts to follow in the years to come.
Image Credits: Nordic Village, Nordic Valley
