East Burke, Vermont — After years of uncertainty, the future of the embattled Burke Mountain has started to become clearer. Last week, the North Star Monthly reported that federal receiver Michael Goldberg, who oversees Burke Mountain, is in talks with an interested buyer, and they expect a major development in the next sixty days. However, another interested party has emerged.
Seven Days Vermont reports that Todd Firestone and Mark Greenberg, both of which have homes in Vermont, are offering $10 million to purchase Burke Mountain. The group has taken on the name Green Mountain Ski Partners, LLC. Some of their ideas include lift improvements, snowmaking upgrades, and renovating the lodge to make it a more customer-friendly layout. However, Michael Goldberg isn’t responding to their requests.
“I would think he’d have a responsibility to call or write me or Todd and say, ‘Let’s get together.’ Right now I feel like I’m negotiating with a ghost,” Mark Greenberg told Seven Days Vermont.
Firestone has spent most of his working career on Wall Street, and has a kid who studies at Burke Mountain Academy. His family operates Wisconsin Resorts, Inc. This under-the-radar ski resort management group owns Alpine Valley Resort in Michigan, Alpine Valley Resort in Wisconsin, Bittersweet Resort in Michigan, Mt. Holly Resort in Michigan, Pine Knob in Michigan, and Searchmont Resort in Ontario. If they were able to acquire Burke, the plan would be for one of the managers at Wisconsin Resorts, Inc. would go manage Burke. For Greenberg, all of his children went to or are planning to attend Stratton Mountain School, and have raced at Burke.
In response, Firestone and Greenberg are hosting a community forum on March 7th at 5:30 p.m. The event will be held in the Burke Community Building in Burke, Vermont. For people that can’t make it to the Burke Community Building, they can watch via Zoom.
Update 3/7 9:00 p.m.: Federal receiver Michael Goldberg issued a public statement, saying that this party was on the verge of buying the ski resort in 2023-24, but the group wanted to buy it at a lower cost than initially offered. He’s asking the community for patience as the deal with the other group he’s been working with finalizes. You can read his complete statement here.
Image Credits: Burke Mountain
