Friends of Mount Sunapee

It has been eleven years since Okemo Mountain, Inc. leased the ski area located within Mount Sunapee State Park from the State of New Hampshire. Since then, the lease has been transferred to Sunapee Difference LLC to Triple Peaks LLC and, finally in December 2008, to CNL Lifestyle Properties based in Florida. Okemo has also used the lease as collateral interest to secure loans for improvements at Mount Sunapee and Okemo Mountain and for refinancing related to Triple Peaks’ acquisition of Crested Butte Mountain Resort.

For a timeline of the lease transfers, see Timeline of Okemo Lease Transfers at Mount Sunapee 

Who exactly is CNL Lifestyle Properties?

CNL is an investment trust, formed under federal law, that purchases developed real property and holds it as an appreciable asset. CNL purchases properties such as water parks, marinas, merchandise marts, golf courses and ski and mountain attractions and then immediately enters into a “lease back” agreement with a professional resort (i.e. Triple Peaks LLC) or facility management company.

By federal law CNL is not allowed to be involved in the so-called “day to day operations” of its properties, nor is it allowed to own undeveloped property for future development. Therefore, the roughly 700 acres of undeveloped land in Goshen owned by Okemo remain in the hands of an Okemo-controlled entity (Sunapee Land Holdings LLC, Newbury).

CNL paid $19 million for the Sunapee lease and assets, as a part of a larger $133 million deal for all of Okemo’s assets in Colorado and Vermont, according to SEC filings. CNL is now the official owner of the lease and all the fixed assets of the ski area. It is responsible for making the annual lease payments to the state.

CNL and Okemo, in a 20 year “lease back” agreement with options of renewal for another 20 years, keeps Okemo in charge of the day-to-day operations of the ski area. In recent SEC filings, CNL reported that the Initial Annualized Base Rent to be received from Okemo will be $1.724 million. One can assume this rent will rise over time with inflation.

Future investment in infrastructure at the ski area will likely be funded by CNL, putting it in an important position for planning future projects within the lease area. The character and intensity of development within Mount Sunapee State Park, as we have seen, can have far reaching impacts affecting the park’s culture and traditional values.

FOMS continues to monitor the movements of CNL and Okemo as this relationship unfolds, particularly regarding the continued threat of expansion and development onto undeveloped land still owned by Okemo in Goshen as well as development within the park.

For more information about CNL and its role in the ski industry, visit these websites:

CNL Lifestyle Properties

CNL Lifestyle Properties: Triple Peaks Portfolio

Because CNL is a regulated financial instrument and subject to SEC disclosure laws, many details about the relationship between CNL and Okemo are available. You can search the SEC database EDGAR for “CNL Lifestyle Properties” and find quarterly reports, financial statements and more.