League to Save Lake Tahoe supports new hotel project in Tahoe City

A prime piece of real estate in Tahoe City that was originally built in 1957 for housing during the 1960 Olympics has never lived up to its potential, and is now proposed for destruction to make way for a 118-room hotel.

Sold at the end of 2013, the property known as the Hendrickson Building located at the west end of Tahoe City at 255 North Lake Blvd. is being transformed into the Tahoe City Lodge.

"The Tahoe City Lodge will reflect the character and values of the region and serve as a catalyst for environmental, economic and community revitalization,' developers have said. "Our vision is to create an exceptionally high quality, sustainably built and operated Lodge."

Kila Tahoe, LLC purchased the property from the Hendrickson sons after the passing of their father who built the property which is currently home to several businesses though much of the property is vacant. January, 2017 is the tentative final approval date for the Tahoe City Lodge to move forward.

In addition to tourist units, Kila Tahoe is bringing in a ground-floor restaurant and lobby area, and a rooftop terrace with a swimming pool and bar. The project also includes improvements on the Tahoe City Golf Course that will address golf course enhancements, clubhouse expansion and relocation, shared-use parking, and stream environment zone (SEZ) restoration on 1.7 acres of impaired SEZ lands.

“Given its location, its environmental benefits and the collaborative process that surrounded its development, the Tahoe City Lodge proposal stands as a model for how developers should proceed at Lake Tahoe,” said Darcie Goodman Collins, PhD, the League’s executive director. “This is the type of Lake-friendly project we envisioned for Tahoe when the League supported the Regional Plan Update in 2012.”

“We love Tahoe and are excited to be designing a project that will serve not just the local community, but will also benefit the Lake. With our partners and the local community, we are making history with the first new lodging project in Tahoe City in 50 years,” said Samir Tuma, Managing Member, Kila Tahoe, LLC.

Additional Lake-friendly features of the Tahoe City Lodge project will include parking arrangements to minimize the amount of paved surface area, traffic-demand management steps such as transit passes for staff members and amenities designed to encourage guests and staff to ride bicycles instead of driving, such as changing facilities for staff who commute by bicycle, high quality bicycle parking facilities and a bike program designed to provide guests with easy access to bikes.

“We are hopeful this becomes the new norm, where we’ll see more Tahoe projects that will include components to drive environmental restoration and reduce pollution that threatens the Lake,” said Darcie Goodman Collins, PhD, the League’s executive director. “Kila Tahoe is demonstrating that both Tahoe’s economy and our environment can benefit from redevelopment.”

Upcoming meetings on the project:

Placer County Board of Supervisors (BOS) update
October 25, 2016

Placer County North Tahoe Regional Advisory Council (NTRAC)
November 10, 2016

Tentative TRPA Governing Board or RPIC briefing
November 16, 2016

Placer County Planning Commission
November 17, 2016

Placer County Board of Supervisors (approval)
Tuesday, December 6, 2016

TRPA Advisory Planning Commission
Wednesday, December 7, 2016

TRPA Regional Plan Implementation Committee (RPIC)
Wednesday, December 14, 2016

TRPA Governing Board (approval)
January 25, 2017, A.M.