Former Telemark golf course part of proposed $193 million development in northwestern Wisconsin | Business News

After years of proposals and uncertainty, answers may have been found for the remote property of a once-renowned resort in northwestern Wisconsin.

Resorts of the Northwoods has announced a two-phase, $193 million development project designed to bring more year-round housing and visitors to the Cable area in southwestern Bayfield County. The 496-acre, $92.6 million first phase of the development would be constructed on the now-closed golf course of the former Telemark Resort and include hotels, private and vacation homes, villas, condominiums, workforce housing and a free-standing pub featuring regional cuisine from local and national chefs and live entertainment.

A $100 million, 200-acre second phase, located nine miles to the southeast on Clear Lake in Sawyer County, would add another resort and residential units.

The announcements comes 17 months after the American Birkebeiner Ski Foundation (ABSF) purchased just over 800 acres of the former Telemark property. Just over 500 acres are now in conservancy, but work is underway to create a recreational village on the remaining property, which is the start each year of the American Birkebeiner race that ends in Hayward.

The beleaguered lodge, along with its towering fireplace in the lobby, was removed last summer. Officials say they will likely know in the coming months if World Cup cross-country skiing races will return to the area in 2024.

Resorts of the Northwoods (RNW) and its investors plan to close on the former golf course property on Aug. 31 and the Clear Lake tract of land on Oct. 31.

“We spent two years studying this and we didn’t do it all on our own,” said Jim Kelley, RNW’s chair and CEO. “Housing is very badly needed up here. We’re going to be putting in a variety. These will be year-round and vacation rentals and as we bring this together it is really going to expand the other places of business in the area.”

Consultants on the project include nationally regarded Hotel R&D and Whitestar Advisors along with Leo A. Daly for architectural and design work. Local entities include the Northwest Regional Planning Commission, UW-Superior Small Business Development Center, the Entrepreneur Fund in Duluth, Minnesota, and the Bayfield County Economic Development Corp.

Kelley has spent more than 35 years working in executive roles in business-to-business marketing, advertising and for luxury hotels and resorts such as Regent Hotels, Ritz-Carlton worldwide, Mandarin Oriental and the St. Regis Monarch Beach Resort and Spa. Kelley, working with James Bolen, former executive director of the Cable Area Chamber of Commerce and longtime manager of Lake Owen Resort, had tried to purchase the Telemark Resort lodge property for a $41 million redevelopment in 2020.

The project called for demolishing the lodge, constructing a 250-room hotel and restoring and reopening the downhill ski slopes and a chalet. The plans, however, never materialized.

Bolen believes his company’s new proposal with its remote location — 164 miles northeast of the Twin Cities and 340 miles northwest of Madison — will make the development attractive to people from around the country.

“We have devoted a lot of time in putting together a comprehensive plan that was assembled and vetted by an impressive team of experts to ensure our success and the sustainability of our project,” Bolen said. “Destination resorts like Resorts of the Northwoods maintain the highest occupancy and rates in the hospitality industry. The region is perfect for this project and this project will be great for the region.”

The development of the Telemark property goes back to the 1940s, when Tony Wise and H.B. Hewitt returned from World War II and used a $15,000 GI loan to buy a hill and create a ski resort that opened in December 1947.

A chair lift was added in 1964 to supplement the rope tows and, over the years, more improvements would come, such as townhouses and a network of cross-country ski trails. When the $6 million lodge opened in December 1972, it included fine dining, a nightclub, indoor and outdoor swimming pools, and outdoor tennis courts.

Starting in the mid-1980s, the resort opened and closed and had been sold several times. The lodge, with antiquated accommodations, had fallen into disrepair and closed in 2013. The ski hill has been closed for nearly 25 years.

But the property has been tied to the American Birkebeiner since the cross-country skiing race’s inception in 1973. At that time the race began in Hayward and ended at the lodge at Telemark. The initial 50-kilometer race drew 35 skiers, but over the years the event mushroomed into what is now three races that draw thousands of skiers from around the world. In 1978, Wise, who had founded the Birkebeiner, was the lead organizer and host for the first-ever World Cup race.

But in 2021, the American Birkebeiner Ski Foundation purchased much of the former Telemark property. It has spent $2.6 million on land and legal fees and to remove the lodge but sold 218 acres on the western end of the property for $678,000 to Landmark Conservancy, which created the Telemark Forest Preserve.

A conservation easement held by Landmark on 286 adjacent acres owned by the ABSF has created the Mt. Telemark Conservancy that will protect the land for recreation. Another 294 acres is being used to create the Mt. Telemark Village.

The project, which could cost up to $8 million, could include ski and mountain bike trails, a paved 5k roller skiing track, lookout tower, sledding hills, a biathlon range and a Nordic center building that would hold a museum, fitness center, locker rooms, restaurant and a gathering space with a fireplace.

The project by RNW, located to the immediate east, would enhance the project, said Ben Popp, executive director of the ABSF, based in Hayward.

“We’re in the business of getting people outside and active. Additional housing close to the opportunities we’re creating at Mt. Telemark Village will help us achieve that goal,” Popp said. “The developers have ensured us that access to the old Kortelopet trail that runs through the golf course property will remain accessible for skiing, biking and running.“

The first phase of the RNW plan, built among ponds, a trout stream and trails, will begin “with two entirely different resorts and residential subdivisions.” One resort area would be designed for families and include a hotel and longer-term rental villas. The second resort area would hold a boutique hotel with villas aimed at attracting the “luxury-seeking, high-end traveler,” according to the developers.

Another 300 acres is earmarked for residential housing that would include private and vacation residences, villas, condos, and workforce housing not just for RNW employees but for the region as well.

“We need, as a board, to support this proposal and help any way we can,” Brett Rondeau, a Bayfield County supervisor and local businessman, said in a statement. “I think this is a once in our lifetime deal for this county and the project we have all been waiting for through our decadeslong efforts.”

The project is estimated to generate $16 million in local spending for food, lodging and other expenditures for construction workers as well as monies spent with several local businesses who source construction materials and supplies. Another $4 million will be invested in roads, sewer, stormwater systems, electrical and broadband infrastructure, according to RNW.

Like the project by the ABSF, the RNW’s plans will help bring visitors to the area throughout the year, not just in the winter.

“Our project lessens the seasonality of the region’s current economic model and provides a more consistent year-round demand, not just for our product but for many regional businesses,” Bolen said. “The increase in tax revenue from the project is significant and will help municipal budgets, keep taxes lower for area residents and provide needed income for local schools.”