New phase of construction to begin at The Chateau

Soon, memories of "The Hole" will be replaced with the vision of new retail, restaurants and condominiums as the next phase of construction begins in South Lake Tahoe.

The Chateau at the Village will continue its growth to the corner of Friday Avenue and Highway 50.

Lew Feldman, the attorney representing the Chateau, asked for an additional 6,307 square feet of coverage for the project at Tuesday's South Lake Tahoe City Council meeting. The parent company of the Chateau is Owens Realty Mortgage, Inc. of Walnut Creek with its wholly-owned subsidiary Tahoe Stateline Ventures, LLC the local arm.

The project, approved by the SLT Planning Commission on April 30, 2105, includes 123 rentable tourist accommodation units (TAUs), 27,057 square feet of new mixed-used commercial floor area (CFA), pedestrian sidewalk and plazas, landscaping and at grade parking lot. All the TAUs for the project came from motels sold and demolished in the original plan for the spot. In addition, the applicant has 11,720 square feet of CFA also banked on site and 1,450 square feet of existing CFA associated with the existing Pedego retail building resulting in shortfall of 6,307 square feet.

The Council unanimously voted to approve giving the project the additional space, 5,000 sq ft was previously approved in 2013 and needed to be released from the Stateline/Ski Run CFA pool. The remaining 1,307 sq ft will be coming from the Community Plan Recharge pool of CFA.

Pedego Lake Tahoe Electric Bikes is in the process of opening a new shop at the Chateau since their former building will be torn down for the newest phase.

Feldman said building permits were going to be applied for once the Council approved the extra CFA footage. Building is expected to start in August, 2015 so they can get a good start before winter. The new three story building will house bottom floor retail and food and beverage options with a two-story condominium complex above. The condos will be sold to individual owners who will have the ability to rent them out.

One person at Tuesday's meeting was against approval of the transfer of the CFA. Rick Edwards owned the now demolished Driftwood Lodge and Rainbow Lodge which were in the original "Hole" area, said he wants to be reimbursed for his property's TAUs before any further action on the area is allowed.

There is no active litigation involving the City on the TAUs.

"Government shouldn't be used to settle litigation," said Councilman Tom Davis. "We can't make up for the sins of the past."

The newest phase is estimated to take 18 months to complete. Once construction is completed, Tahoe Stateline Ventures will begin to market the spaces.