new state Olympic Regional Development Authority President and CEO Mike Pratt (Enterprise photo — Antonio Olivero)

LAKE PLACID — Including a new gondola at Belleayre Ski Center in the Catskills, new state Olympic Regional Development Authority President and CEO Mike Pratt outlined upcoming capital project work to be undertaken at the state authority’s three ski centers.

ORDA is going into its fourth season operating the Catskill-area ski center, and at last week’s authority board meeting, Pratt said the new gondola and renovations to Belleayre’s beginner and main lodges would improve traffic flow and enable the center to host year-round activities.

“It’s still an awkward facility in that it has two different elevations of lodges,” Pratt said.

The gondola will operate from the ski center’s base to the mountain summit, and Pratt said the authority planned to finance part of its investment. In the three years since ORDA took over ownership of Belleayre, the authority has built a new rental shop, replaced an entire grooming fleet, added a conveyer lift and installed new kitchens.

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Whiteface

In Wilmington, Pratt said the authority has had permits to complete its latest batch of capital project work since 2006. ORDA’s biggest planned improvement at Whiteface is at the Bear Den Lodge, a facility for children’s and beginners programs that Pratt described as being undersized in the past.

Pratt said ORDA plans to use this summer to build a large, two-story addition at the Bear Den Lodge. He said the first floor will be ready for use next winter, with the authority completing work next summer.

ORDA also plans to raise the roof line at the Cloudspin Lounge this summer in order to open up more space, sunlight and visibility. Pratt said renovations at the lounge would also address several outstanding code issues, including putting in a new elevator, adhering to Americans with Disabilities Act requirements and improving traffic flow.

In all, Pratt said snowmaking and lifts remain ORDA’s top priorities, with building and parking issues after that.

“We definitely need more lodging at the base and lodge for the visiting public,” board member Jill Broderick said. “I just want to be cognizant of the fact that we don’t want to turn our ski areas — we don’t want to lose the authenticity of our Adirondack experience.”

Pratt replied to Broderick’s comment by claiming the authority has chosen its architectural approach wisely, in the style of Adirondack great camps with green roofs and natural colors.

Pratt added that Belleayre’ unit management plan was approved last year and Gore and Whiteface’s UMPs would be going through the same public process in the near future.

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Gore

At Gore Mountain Ski Center in North Creek, 212 seats. Expansion plans also include a restaurant, raising and tilting the structure’s roof-line, and constructing an addition on the left side of the structure for bathrooms. The lodge will also feature a lobby and expanded kitchen area.

“That’s quite an aggressive plan,” Pratt said, “but we are already through the construction documents and looking at bidding phase right now.”

The authority is also planning a contemporary renovation of its base lodge. Pratt described its structure as having a 1960s architectural style, found in a lot of airports.

“(We are) trying to make it more ‘Adirondack,’ more space,” he said.

ORDA also plans to finish insulating Gore’s summit-warming lodge, a 1966 barn made of southern yellow pine with a big, heavy timber construction. Pratt described the facility, where the ski center’s gondolas were originally stored, as having “beautiful” V-joint ceilings and a sound structure. Pratt said as part of insulating the entire building, ORDA will install six waterless composting toilets.

“That’s an exciting project for us,” Pratt said, “and there aren’t going to be too many people who are going to miss the outhouses that are going to be shut down to open up this building.”

The authority is also planning two small additions at its Base Lodge and Northwoods Lodge, with an expanded children’s area and rental shop area. Pratt added that ORDA has had the Adirondack Park Agency and state Department of Environmental Conservation permits to complete this work since 1995.