MANCHESTER VILLAGE– The Equinox Resort has submitted a conceptual master plan to the state that details the addition of a new golf clubhouse with parking, 286 additional hotel rooms, 90 condo units, an expanded spa and an outdoor pool.
According to the resort’s legal counsel, Elizabeth Boepple of Lambert Coffin, no construction phase is anticipated with this application submittal, but rather, the plan envisions potential development for the future of the resort. Since the Equinox has been subject to Act 250 state-required environmental reviews beginning in the 1980s, previous conceptual master plans have been submitted for different spaces on the resort’s campus.
“At different times over the years, ownership has looked at the property and said we should file a new master plan application,” said Boepple in a phone interview. “There have been developments — for example, the ballroom — and pieces of property that have undergone changes. This is an acknowledgement that it’s time to take a comprehensive look.”
Though there is no specific driving force behind this most recent master plan application, said Boepple, Manchester Village officials have been involved in the project discussions.
Since the resort undertook major hotel room and public space renovations after it was purchased by HEI Property Management in 2007, Boepple noted that the resort has seen an increase in the demand for additional rooms.
Calls made to Equinox Resort General Manager Mark O’Neill were not returned by the time this article was filed.
Boepple emphasized that there is no anticipated construction and that there will be a thorough review process of the master plan by both the state-run Act 250 environmental commission and Manchester Village. A public hearing on the matter is scheduled for May 27, 2015 at 9 a.m. at the Manchester Court House, Probate Court, across from the Equinox Inn.
According to a report in the Rutland Herald, Bread Loaf Construction estimated that building the plan, which included condominiums on Union Street South and the 1811 House, would cost $28,487,500.
The proposal calls for renovations of the opera house on Union Street, the Herald reported. After it was built in 1868, the building hosted dances, theater and parties but it hasn’t been the site of a public event since 1912. In 1913, the building was bought by the Equinox which once used it as a boarding house for employees, although it has not been in active use for decades.
