The Walls Came Tumbling Down....

The City of South Lake Tahoe issued a press release last week, inviting the public to a 9 a.m. ceremony on Monday morning to witness the long awaited removal of the fence at The Chateau Project near Stateline. Apparently the contractors on the project, SMC Contracting, had a different time frame in mind because when dignitaries, the press and the public showed up, the fence was already down.

The concrete barriers were all that remained along Highway 50, with some metal fencing and barriers remaining on the Stateline Avenue side.

Nonetheless, it was a big moment for the South Lake Tahoe community to see the wall down, unveiling a wood enhanced 9,000 square foot building that is expected to open to retail and restaurants in June.

The fence came down so the sidewalk and streetscaping can begin. Today they were installing the pipes that will heat the sidewalks to keep them free of ice in the winter.

"It's a great day for Tahoe to have the Chateau project unveiled and opened up so the public can see what's behind the fence," said SLT City Councilwoman Angela Swanson. "This sets the tone for economic revitalization."

Kimberly Templeton, Hard Rock Cafe Lake Tahoe's Sales Manager was on hand to see the future neighborhood unveiled (Hard Rock Cafe is across the street from The Chateau, inside Harvey's). "I'm really excited about opening up the area to more foot traffic and have more for our visitors to do," Templeton said. "It looks beautiful and I'm really excited about all of the improvements in our community."

The company leasing all of the space hasn't released names of the new tenants yet, but negotiations are reportedly being finalized.

Video Two Can be viewed here: City Councilwomen Angela Swanson and JoAnn Connor with Fire Chief Jeff Meston.

(the videos attached here aren't the best quality due to the wind, we're sorry)