Weber State University, located in Ogden, Utah, has owned land at Powder Mountain for more than 30 years. But after its monthly Board of Trustees meeting on May 21, the university announced it will sell its land.
The land will be sold for $3.2 million, which is “well above market value,” according to Vice President of Administrative Services Mark Halverson. Weber State originally acquired the 3.46 acres of land via donations.
Throughout the past several decades, Weber State has debated how the land should be used. The University initially had plans to construct a science center or observatory on the land, but building regulations, light pollution, and other challenges prevented it. The university also faced declining valuations on the parcel in recent years, prompting Weber State to make a final decision.
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Ultimately, Weber State decided to sell the land to the Summit Mountain Holding Group, which manages Powder Mountain. The Utah-based real estate investing group has been developing luxury ski communities since it was founded in 2011. Its president, Brandi Hammon, signed a preliminary agreement for the purchase. Hammon is also the president of Powder Mountain itself.
The Summit Mountain Holding Group has significant backing from Netflix co-founder Reed Hastings. Under Hastings and the group, Powder Mountain operates with a unique public-private business model. Roughly 5,300 acres are available for public skiing, and 2,700 acres are limited to a private ski community of homeowners. Whether Powder Mountain’s newly acquired land will be for public skiing, private skiing, or will be developed has not yet been announced.
Weber State hopes to use the money to open a science field station on a 47-acre plot near Henry’s Lake, Idaho — 16 miles from Yellowstone National Park. The station will include research labs, classrooms, and dorms to allow students to research Yellowstone’s unique ecosystem. Purchasing the land will cost Weber State $980,000, and so far, $2.5 million has been raised for the construction of the research facilities.
The ski community has had a mostly negative reaction to the land sale. Many took to popular internet forums to voice their displeasure.
“Every piece of UT is being sold to the 1% at a wild rate,” one person wrote on a Reddit forum.
Despite disapproval from much of the ski community, Weber State and the Summit Mountain Holding Group will go along with the sale. This comes as Utah continues to be one of the fastest-growing states in the country, with Utah becoming a hotspot for wealthy people, according to Business Insider.
Weber State trustees unanimously voted to support the sale. It will now go to the Utah Board of Higher Education, where it awaits final approval.
