The Balsams Grand Resort Hotel is a grand
hotel
A hotel is an establishment that provides paid lodging on a short-term basis. Facilities provided inside a hotel room may range from a modest-quality mattress in a small room to large suites with bigger, higher-quality beds, a dresser, a ref ...
and
ski resort
A ski resort is a resort developed for skiing, snowboarding, and other winter sports. In Europe, most ski resorts are towns or villages in or adjacent to a ski area – a mountainous area with pistes (ski trails) and a ski lift system. In North ...
located in
Dixville Notch Dixville may refer to:
* Dixville, New Hampshire, United States
* Dixville, Quebec, Canada
* Dixville, Liberia
{{Disambig ...
in
New Hampshire
New Hampshire is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec to the north. ...
,
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territo ...
. The resort grounds cover and feature of
cross-country ski trails, an
alpine ski area with 16 trails, five
glade areas and a terrain park. There is also a nine-hole
golf course
A golf course is the grounds on which the sport of golf is played. It consists of a series of holes, each consisting of a tee box, a fairway, the rough and other hazards, and a green with a cylindrical hole in the ground, known as a "cup". T ...
and an 18-hole championship course called "Panorama" which was designed by
Donald Ross.
History
Located along the old Coös Trail (now
Route 26) through Dixville Notch, it first opened just after the
Civil War
A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country).
The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policie ...
as the Dix House, a 25-room summer
inn
Inns are generally establishments or buildings where travelers can seek lodging, and usually, food and drink. Inns are typically located in the country or along a highway; before the advent of motorized transportation they also provided accommo ...
established by George Parsons. In 1895, it was purchased by
Henry S. Hale, a
Philadelphia
Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Since ...
inventor
An invention is a unique or novel device, method, composition, idea or process. An invention may be an improvement upon a machine, product, or process for increasing efficiency or lowering cost. It may also be an entirely new concept. If an i ...
and
industrialist
A business magnate, also known as a tycoon, is a person who has achieved immense wealth through the ownership of multiple lines of enterprise. The term characteristically refers to a powerful entrepreneur or investor who controls, through pers ...
who had been a regular guest. He renamed it "The Balsams", and over time enlarged and augmented the facilities. In 1918, Hale completed the Hampshire House, the towering wing which doubled the resort's capacity to 400 guests.
The Ballot Room of The Balsams is where
Dixville Notch Dixville may refer to:
* Dixville, New Hampshire, United States
* Dixville, Quebec, Canada
* Dixville, Liberia
{{Disambig ...
's presidential primary votes are
cast just after midnight on the day of the
New Hampshire primaries since the 1960s. These votes cast by Dixville Notch residents are among the first to be cast, counted, and reported nationally.
Current operations
The Balsams closed to the public after being purchased by new owners for $2.3 million in December 2011, and remains closed as of January 2021 as its owners continue to seek financing for their redevelopment and expansion efforts.
In 2014, former American Skiing Company head Les Otten joined the Balsams redevelopment effort. Included in Otten's current plan is a massive expansion of the ski area to around 1,000 acres and the addition of multiple lifts, including a year-round gondola to the summit and a lift connection across Route 26 to the hotel complex. The expanded ski area would be quadruple its current size and be one of the largest ski areas in the Northeast. Plans also call for the renovation of the main hotel buildings, the Dix and Hampshire houses, as well as a new hotel wing, and renovations to the golf course clubhouse. The plans also call for the conversion of a portion of the existing buildings from hotel rooms to condominiums as well as the potential construction of additional condominium units.
Otten has stated that the project to redevelop the hotel and resort would cost an estimated $170 million. After years of effort by the owners of the property, New Hampshire Governor
Chris Sununu
Christopher Thomas Sununu ( ; born November 5, 1974) is an American politician and engineer who has served as the 82nd governor of New Hampshire since 2017. A member of the Republican Party, Sununu was a member of the New Hampshire Executive Co ...
signed the so-called "Balsams Bill" into law in May 2019, allowing the
Coös County Commissioners to create a
tax increment financing Tax increment financing (TIF) is a public financing method that is used as a subsidy for redevelopment, infrastructure, and other community-improvement projects in many countries, including the United States. The original intent of a TIF program is ...
district around the Balsams.
Otten seeks to sell $28 million of bonds under the municipal finance structure in order to begin the redevelopment. In 2021, Provident Resources Group, a national nonprofit, agreed to finance the construction of the new hotel. The development team later announced the addition of Goldman Sachs to advance the financing of the project. This led to a surge in real-estate interest, with over 500 pre-sale commitments totaling $30 million by June 2022.
See also
*
References
External links
Balsams Grand Resort- Official site
Balsams Wilderness Ski Area History- NewEnglandSkiHistory.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Balsams Grand Resort Hotel
Buildings and structures in Coös County, New Hampshire
Hotels in New Hampshire
Defunct ski areas and resorts in New Hampshire
Golf clubs and courses in New Hampshire
Golf clubs and courses designed by Donald Ross
Hotel buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in New Hampshire
Tourist attractions in Coös County, New Hampshire
National Register of Historic Places in Coös County, New Hampshire
Event venues on the National Register of Historic Places in New Hampshire