NEW YORK? On the heels of opening the financial district?s first luxury property here? The Regent Wall Street? Regent International Hotels has gone across country for another first. The five-star hotel brand will break ground this spring in Park City, Utah for Club Regent, its signature entry into the luxury vacation ownership market. The $125 million project will occupy 4.5 acres within The Canyons, a 7,000-acre year-round resort situated against the Rocky Mountains. Private Residence Club Associates, LLC of Park City will develop Club Regent, The Canyons with phase one expected to be completed in time for the state?s hosting of the 2002 Winter Olympics. Estimated cost for phase one, which will offer members two-, three-, and four-bedroom and penthouse condominiums, will come in at approximately $38 million, according to David Disick, president of the development group. Build out is expected at 86 residences. Regent International, a brand of Minnesota-based Carlson Hospitality Worldwide, will umbrella the new concept along with Carlson Vacation Ownership, Inc. (CVO), which was carved out in December 1998 as part of the company?s growth strategy. ?Club Regent actually resembles an upscale country club, which is owned by its members, that offers: a second or third home that features high physical quality and services like a Regent Hotel; the ability to spend several weeks or more each year in their chosen recreational destination and; freedom from all the typical headaches of ownership, maintenance, upkeep and security,? said Paul Hanley, president of Regent International Hotels. Membership will give buyers? no purchase prices were disclosed? a deeded 1/17th vacation home ownership for a guaranteed minimum of three weeks per year: one summer, one winter and one spring or fall, plus on a space available basis. Hanley said pricing at Park City was still being determined but ballparked a two-bedroom unit interval in the ?$80,000-$150,000 range.? While incremental weeks may be purchased, initial buys will be no less than three?in some cases four?weeks. This differs in approach from most other vacation ownership and timeshare programs, which generally allow purchase of one-week intervals. According to Amy Isom, vp/development & operations-CVO, a timeshare purchase is often based on the ability to exchange the interval within a network of other locations. ?For Club Regent the focus is not on time, but on exclusive membership. It is purchased as a lifestyle solution,? she said, adding it?s for people faced with ?time poverty,? rather than economic constraints, who want to buy a membership when they can use it. ?And they?re not buying for exchange. They are buying in Park City because Park City is where they want to be,? said Isom. Disick said the project would start selling via refundable reservations and within two months, ?as we make our various timeshare filings and they go effective, we will be able to go to binding contract. We will sell throughout the building process and we expect to break ground in May or June.? Disick noted the target market would sight purchasers with net worth of $1 million or greater, and would market in conjunction CVO and Regent. ?We?re also working on incentive programs, but nothing?s cast in stone yet,? he said. Service will be highly personalized, added Disick, and member preferences will be tracked vis-a-vis golf, skiing, dining and other lifestyle choices. Information on birthdays, children?s names and other social information also will be cataloged, to facilitate sending greeting cards, for example. A sliding-scale maintenance fee will be imposed on members, dependent upon the size of the unit they purchase. While he would not disclose numbers, Disick said ?The maintenance fee for the people we?re directing this to and what their expectations are, is much less of an issue than it usually is.? Hanley said he saw ?a real market? for Regent?s entry into vacation ownership at this juncture. ?The dem
