Troubled Tamarack ski resort in Idaho to be run by receiver

BOISE, Idaho — An outside company can run the ailing Tamarack Resort, a judge has ruled, in a victory for Swiss bankers trying to recover a $273-million loan to the central Idaho vacation spot.

Tamarack opened in 2004, selling itself to baby boomers as a ski resort and all-season destination 90 miles north of Boise. When real estate markets soured, construction on the Village Plaza centerpiece stalled; tennis stars Steffi Graf and Andre Agassi bolted from a luxury hotel project; and two banks foreclosed on the conference center and employee housing.

The Swiss financial company Credit Suisse had demanded that a receiver step in to replace existing Tamarack management, including Chief Executive Officer Jean-Pierre Boespflug, out of fear that his $250,000 plan to winterize the unfinished Village Plaza and efforts to operate a successful ski season were inadequate to protect assets pledged as loan collateral.

Fourth District Judge Patrick Owen said Wednesday he will appoint a receiver and will issue an order outlining the scope of the receivership on Oct. 31.

After months of opposing receivership, Tamarack lawyers conceded it was necessary because resort owners were running short of cash. Still, they're fighting with Credit Suisse over details of the receiver's role, concerned that bankers could gain too much control.

A recent appraisal by Zurich-based Credit Suisse valued Tamarack at $234 million — nearly $40 million less than the resort owes after defaulting on the loan. Tamarack also faces more than $40 million in liens, including $22 million from contractors and $21 million from a company that included Agassi and Graf.

Owen's decision Wednesday to appoint a receiver helps clear the way for Credit Suisse to extend a $10 million loan, about $7 million for winterizing the Village Plaza and $3 million to prepare skiing facilities to open in December.

"If that ski hill doesn't open and operate, that will affect our collateral," said Elizabeth Walker, a Credit Suisse lawyer, adding a receiver alone is no guarantee Tamarack will survive its financial crisis. "Is there a possibility that a receiver would come in and say, 'This is so hopeless that nothing will work?' Yes. Then, the receiver would come to the court to recommend how the court would proceed."

Homeowners who have purchased property at Tamarack since it began sales in 2004 submitted 35 letters supporting the appointment of a receiver.

The resort hasn't paid more than $500,000 in property assessments it owes to the Tamarack Municipal Association for services such as snow removal.

"The biggest thing the receivership brings to me as a homeowner and to the Tamarack Municipal Association is its neutrality and its unemotional approach to this project," said Rod Walz, a homeowners representative. "My hope is, they will hire somebody to market the resort. It won't take much for them to pick up on the dream and the vision of what this resort can be."