The Tahoe Regional Planning Agency’s governing board recently voted to approve phase 1 of the Homewood Mountain Resort Ski Area master plan.

Homewood is a 50-year old ski resort located on more than 1,200 acres on the west shore of Lake Tahoe that has been identified as a property in need of environmental redevelopment by TRPA. The vote allows the property owner, JMA Ventures, to begin redevelopment and construction of the $500-million project, which is scheduled to begin in 2014.

The project, being designed by John Hill of Hill Glazier Studio/HKS, Palo Alto, includes construction of a slope-side five-star hotel with up to 75 rooms; a wide variety of base area residences including condominiums, townhomes, and chalets; 13 workforce housing apartments; and a pedestrian oriented retail village.

The master plan also calls for extensive environmental improvements, such as land and stream environment zone (SEZ) restoration, use of renewable energy, and a wide-variety of alternative transportation to help lessen the use of automobiles by resort guests.

TRPA says projected economic impacts of the project include estimated annual visitor spending in the local community of $16 million to $20 million, approximately 180 new full-time positions and the creation of an estimated 500 construction jobs.