I missed this a few weeks ago but apparently the $1 billion (yes, that's "b") indoor ski resort project that has been planned for Dawsonville is still on.
WSBTV had a story on Governor Perdue's trip to Dubai in November to check out the ski slope there. Apparently Perdue isn't convinced that Georgia can afford the huge tax breaks the developers want. Those developers claim 2000 jobs would be created.
We covered the project back in 2007 and here's a summary:
Though in the planning period for years, developers met with the Development Authority of Dawson County on Wednesday to formally propose their plan for a 2.1-million-square-foot facility that would include multiple hotels, residential housing, 800,000 square feet of retail space, and a 1-million-square-foot indoor ski resort. The Falls at Lanier Highland would be located on 400 acres between Ga. 400 and Ga. 53 at Dawson Forest Road, and is planned to incorporate an area of Lake Lanier. According to the developer's presentation, a natural waterfall on the property would be incorporated and expanded into the design, flowing from the top of the site, through a hotel lobby, and eventually into a relocation of Thompson Creek.
The developers aren't shy about the project and explain it this way on their website:
After two years of research and another two and a half years of searching for the right piece of property [we] settled on the 400 acres in Dawson County, Georgia. The proximity to the Blue Ridge Mountains, Lake Lanier, and nearly six million people within 100 miles of the site fit the bill for all the criteria required for a world class project.
The project will include the longest and highest indoor ski dome in the world. It will be 2,500 feet long and have a 300 foot vertical drop. The ski dome will be joined by four (4) hotels, 800,000 sq ft of retail space, thirty (30) restaurants, two full sized NHL hockey rinks and multiple residential components.
If this project really is back on it will be absolutely huge for the area. It will bring jobs but probably also a huge commitment from our government. Sonny is probably right to be thinking long and hard before agreeing to this, but he clearly is considering it ...
