MONTICELLO, NY? Although it is currently in the initial design planning stages, the announced redevelopment of the famed Concord Hotel in the Catskill Mountains has already caused a stir in the industry with a price tag of $500 million. The battered, worn hotel will receive a transfusion of $250 million for reconstruction that will reshape the property with a ?chateau on the lake? design premise that is expected to appeal largely to families. The complex was purchased a year ago by Louis Cappelli, a Westchester, NY developer. It is situated on 1,600 acres at Kiamesha Lake 90 miles north of New York City and is slated to become a year-round attraction. In all, the project will feature: a luxury hotel, conference center, timeshare units, resort housing, a golf village, Alpine-style winter sports area, spa ranch, wilderness park, entertainment center and winery. It is expected to create up to 8,000 construction and new permanent jobs in an area that has crumbled and is in much need of a resurgence as a destination. Master plans for the site are being designed by William Tabler Architects of New York City in coordination with Divney Tung Schwalbe, an engineering and environmental design firm based in White Plains, NY. Interiors of the hotel are being designed by New York City-based Hillier Group. Teams will labor to ensure that the property is constructed to complement and preserve the natural beauty of the Catskill area, said Marge Sneider vp/Concord Associates L.P. In fact, internal transportation systems are being considered to minimize the need for private automobile use within the site. ?We are definitely partial to the Adirondack style of architecture for the hotel,? said Sneider. It is anticipated that the hotel will be flagged with a national upscale brand, she said. ?We have already had several international flags approach us that are interested.? A final decision is expected to be made by June. The extent to which the hotel will be redesigned has not yet been finalized. Sources said that some parts of the original building may be retained, however, that is not definite. For example, the Empirial Room may be kept and fully restored, said Wendy Brown, senior vp/hospitality for Hillier. But according to Brown, the one sure thing you can expect from this property is ?that it will have a little of everything for everyone. Part of the plan is to expand the destination?s appeal to a younger and wider audience.? It is also crucial that the property have a year-round appeal, said Cappelli during the project?s announcement. ?It is important that the plan for the property not limit its use to the warm weather months. To provide the kind of economic vitality that is needed in the region and to justify the enormous investment that is required if we are to have true impact, the project must have year-round appeal,? he said. Right now, Hillier is collecting data on the Catskill market base to determine the best plan of action for its redesign, said Brown, who described what the group has come up with so far as ?a grand mountain lodge atmosphere that is warm and inviting.? The new hotel and convention center would utilize the site of the existing 1,200-room Concord Hotel which closed in 1999. The plans calls for a new full-service hotel with a 60,000-square-foot exhibition hall, extensive convention and meeting facilities, a dinner theater and entertainment lounge. Both a golf school and a tennis school featuring indoor and outdoor courts would be adjacent to the hotel, which overlooks Kiamesha Lake.
