Harbor Resorts LLC, the Seattle company that bought the Schweitzer Mountain ski area last winter, plans to build 400 condominium units and some 45,000 square feet of commercial space in the ski resorts village over the next five to seven years.


Construction is expected to start in May on the first project in that expansion plan. Called White Pine Lodge, the estimated $6 million structure will include 46 condominium units, about 6,000 square feet of commercial space, and two floors of underground parking.


Spokane-based Lydig Construction Inc. will serve as the general contractor for that project, says Jay Lukan, vice president of real estate for Schweitzer Development Co., the real estate division of Schweitzer Mountain.


Harbor Resorts expansion plan for what it calls Schweitzer Village, the lodge and housing development located at the ski resort, calls for the construction of seven new buildings in coming years. Those buildings will have a combined value of $112 million when the condominium units are sold and the commercial space is leased to restaurants, bars, and retail shops, Lukan says. In addition, the buildings will add a total of about 400 covered parking stalls in the village, he says.


All of the amenities other ski resorts have, were trying to create here, he says. Harbor Resorts also owns and operates the Stevens Pass ski area near Skykomish, Wash., and Mission Ridge, near Wenatchee.


The $112 million price tag doesnt include improvements to the ski slopes themselves, Lukan adds. We will be spending millions of dollars on on-mountain improvements in addition to that, he says. Last week, Harbor Resorts announced one of those projects, the addition of a $3 million high-speed chair lift that will be in place for the 2000-2001 ski season.


Lukan says the new buildings will be added in what has been the ski resorts main parking lot. As the village spreads out, Schweitzer will develop new parking lots elsewhere on the mountain, in addition to expanding the resorts park-and-ride lot at the base of the mountain.


The White Pine Lodge will be built across the village plaza from the Selkirk Lodgeformerly called the Green Gables hoteland next to another mixed-use building called the Lazier Center.


The 75,000-square-foot White Pine Lodge will have four stories of residential space above ground-floor commercial space. In addition, it will have two floors of underground parking for about 60 cars, to be used by people who are staying in the condominiums.


Lukan says construction on that project should take about 10 months. White Pine Lodge is scheduled to open in the spring of 2001, he says.


Individual units within the condominium building will range from 600 square feet to about 1,100 square feet in size. Most of the units will have one or two bedrooms, although a three-bedroom unit also will be available.


The selling price for most of the units should range between $240,000 to $320,000, Lukan says. Harbor Resorts already is pre-selling the units, and hopes to have a majority of them sold before construction begins, he says.


Callison Architecture Inc., of Seattle, designed the building.