The Hyatt Regency Lake Tahoe (775.832.1234; www.laketahoe.hyatt.com) finished a $700,000 renovation of its Lakeside Ballroom and Lone Eagle Grille. The property is now undergoing a $20 million renovation of the Spa Terrace Conference Center, Sierra Cafe and its 422 rooms and suites. The work is scheduled for completion in May.
Homewood Mountain Ski Resort (530.525.2992; www.skihomewood.com) on Lake Tahoe’s West Shore received approval from the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency to begin redevelopment of the historic ski resort. The $500 million proposal includes a luxury hotel, housing, retail space and ice skating rink. Construction on the first phase of the project is expected to start in 2014.
The proposed Boulder Bay resort (www.boulderbayresort.com) at Crystal Bay on the North Shore received approval from the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency in April 2011 to move ahead with construction. Plans call for the transformation of the existing Tahoe Biltmore casino hotel into a 275-room hotel with a spa and 10,000-square-foot casino. However, the start and completion dates of construction of the project are yet to be determined.
In February, Colorado-based Vail Resorts (970.476.5601; www.vail.com) announced the aquisition of the Kirkwood ski resort, 30 miles southwest of South Lake Tahoe, giving Vail ownership of three major Tahoe areas. Heavenly at South Shore and Northstar at North Shore are the other two. Vail said it plans to make improvements at Kirkwood.
A proposed plan to relocate Highway 50 at South Shore would open up more opportunities for events and festivals along casino row at the California-Nevada border. The Tahoe Transportation District (775.589.5500; www.tahoetransportation.org) approved plans to relocate the federal highway to a strip along Lake Parkway Boulevard behind Harrah’s and the MontBleu Resort. The existing roadway through the casino core would become more pedestrian-friendly with a landscaped median, expanded sidewalks for outdoor restaurants, dedicated bike lanes and pedestrian areas. The earliest construction start would be summer 2015.
