Utah's little Switzerland will soon be home to more than just million-dollar homes, Swiss-style buildings and pricey sport utility vehicles.
In fact, Midway in Wasatch County is likely to attract the attention of Microsoft, Mercedes-Benz, Nike and Intel, if developers get their way, all thanks to a $90 million hotel and conference center now under construction known as Zermatt Resort & Spa.
State and local government officials are buzzing over the economic impact Zermatt could have in this quiet mountain setting.
On Thursday, Midway Mayor Bill Probst called the project "mind-boggling," referring to an estimated 450 new part- and full-time jobs projected at build-out, enough jobs to give the resort the distinction of being Wasatch County's largest private employer.
"It's just hitting everybody up there that it's actually coming," Probst said. "It's going to be good for Midway. We have a lot of money coming in. They've made estimates of $200,000 a year to $250,000 a year."
Zermatt is a big deal, Probst said, for a city with an annual budget of $1.1 million and 2,500 full-time residents.
Tom Whitaker, a Midway resident and investor in Zermatt, said the resort will be a good fit for the community.
"I would hate to think that we would do anything to destroy what we all love about Midway," Whitaker said. "Midway is so poor. We can't even fix the potholes in the roads, and this is going to go a long way to giving the city some revenue to do things that they haven't been able to do in the past."
Robert Fuller, developer and managing partner of Zermatt, estimates the center will generate $2.7 million annually in room and sales tax revenue to Wasatch County and the state of Utah. The resort is expected open in April 2006.
New Jersey-based Dolce International will manage the property, adding the resort to 27 other properties it oversees throughout North America and Europe.
In addition to 64,000 square feet of indoor and outdoor meeting space, Zermatt will include a 226-room hotel, a 17,000-square-foot spa and nine-hole executive golf course. Another 126 private condominiums also will be built on the 18-acre site.
Andrew Dolce, Dolce International's chief executive, said Zermatt's conference facility will be the largest of Dolce's managed properties. Midway was chosen because of its proximity to 90 holes of golf, world-class ski venues and a major airport.
While no bookings are yet being scheduled, Fuller said companies from as far away as Europe already are showing interest.
"We have inquiries coming in from all over the world," Fuller said. "We just had one from NASA yesterday that wanted to come with a training group."
Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. is touting the development as good for the state's economic revitalization, one of his administration's driving themes.
"This clearly plays into our strengths as a state," Huntsman said. "Zermatt will be introducing our state to so many senior executives who choose to have their conferences at Zermatt."
While Zermatt receives high praise, the resort will dramatically increase a supply in hotel rooms and conference space in the Wasatch Back, according to Britt Mathwich, general manager and president of the Homestead Resort, located across the street from Zermatt.
That could put added pressure on occupancy rates for resorts in Heber Valley. The Homestead Resort witnessed a roughly 48 percent occupancy rate in 2004, up from about 43 percent in 2003. During the mid-1990s, the Homestead averaged a 65 percent occupancy rate.
"Our summer business is still really strong. The winter business is really what has dropped our occupancy because Park City had a huge increase in supply prior to the Olympics," Mathwich said. "I guess the biggest thing that I'm hoping for is that Zermatt creates a critical mass in Midway for larger conferences, it creates more exposure that we have not been able to really bring to the area. If the sea is rising, all the ships rise, too."
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