New Lake Tahoe lodge praised as boon to economy, environment

By Associated Press

Sunday, June 25, 2017 | 5:49 p.m.

STATELINE — More than two decades after developers first faced a series of stringent regulations, a $100 million lodge has opened on the south shore of Lake Tahoe to rave reviews from politicians, business leaders and environmentalists.

Completion of the 154-room Edgewood Tahoe Lodge on the edge of the golf course that hosts a nationally televised celebrity golf tournament was contingent on protecting wetlands and limiting storm water runoff harmful to the lake's famed clarity, the Tahoe Daily Tribune (http://tinyurl.com/y8nxjp2z) reported.

"It's going to employ 240 local residents and give them incredible and meaningful jobs," Nevada Gov. Brian Sandoval said at the lodge's grand opening earlier this week. Just as important, he said, "is pairing redevelopment with conservation."

"There's some conservation as a result of this project that wouldn't have happened otherwise. It's going to help preserve and protect the lake," Sandoval said.

The 169,000-square-foot lodge has a spa and salon, a 200-seat bistro and bar, a ballroom, an adventure center, kids camp, high-end shops and a lakefront swimming pool. Its so-called Great Room features a wall of windows so guests can enjoy the view of the new pool and lake.

"What you see here today is the culmination of a vision that was formed 25 years ago when Brooks Park and (general manager) Bobby King thought it would be a good idea for golfers to have a place to stay after they completed their round of golf," said John McLaughlin, president and CEO for Edgewood Companies.

Park, a major property owner and cattle rancher in northern Nevada, built Edgewood Tahoe Golf Course in 1968. He died in 2001.

Joanne Marchetta, executive director of the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency, said the project incorporates a series environmental restoration projects on the 4,200-acre (1,700-acre) Edgewood Creek watershed, which feeds directly into the lake — and includes the golf course itself.

"It's the environmental benefits that really outshine here. We have enhanced wetlands, new fish and wildlife habitat, and improved storm-water systems," Marchetta said. "The restoration of the golf course is actually improving more than 53,000 square feet of stream environment zone. These are the kinds of new wetlands that filter polluted storm-water runoff before it enters the lake."

South Lake Tahoe Mayor Austin Sass noted that the new lodge is a boon for the entire South Shore, both in Nevada and California.

"The South Shore of Lake Tahoe is enjoying a rebirth. Coupled with what has happened within the city and Douglas County, we have seen over three-quarters of a billion dollars in capital investment over the last five years with the completion of this lodge," Sass said.

The planning agency spent four years reviewing plans for the lodge before issuing a series of permits necessary to launch construction in 2012.

It's part of an overall effort that began in the 1990s to filter runoff entering the lake primarily from casino parking lots. Untreated runoff is believed to be a significant factor in Lake Tahoe's declining clarity.