New restaurant and concert venue proposed for Heavenly Village

The owners of Heavenly Village Cinemas want to turn an empty third floor space on the property into a restaurant and bar with an entertainment venue with stadium style seating for 110 people. But, in order to do so, they need to buy some extra commercial floor area (CFA) from the City of South Lake Tahoe.

During the June 16 City Council meeting, the owners of the cinema, Trans-Sierra Inc, will make a request to buy the needed 5,122 square feet from the City at a cost of $100,000. The vacant space was constructed as unconditioned shell space and approved by the Building and Planning Departments of the City. Since the space was never designated or formalized, TRPA code calls for Trans-Sierra's need to get CFA allocation before being approved.

Under the proposal, 3,662 square feet of CFA will come from the Stateline/Ski Run Community Plan and 1,460 square feet of CFA will come from the City's Community Plan Recharge Pool.

The $100,000 offered comes out to just $20 per square foot of CFA, well below the current market value. City staff said in their letter to City Manager Nancy Kerry that South Lake Tahoe will receive benefits from the project including increased revenue in the parking garage. They said this venue will be an additional attraction in the city limits and will capitalize on the walkable tourist-oriented area at the Heavenly Village. Direct benefits would be more jobs and more sales tax.