MAMMOTH LAKES — The first stage of Mammoth's transformation from dowdy ski town to swanky year-round resort will debut this winter with the grand opening of a new town center dense with luxury condominiums, high-end stores and tony restaurants.
This portion of a planned billion-dollar make-over is what its Canadian developer, Intrawest, says is the much-awaited realization of Mammoth's potential.
But many residents, planners and people in neighboring towns fear that Mammoth's face lift will forever alter the visage of the Owens Valley, bringing in welcome tourist dollars but also tourism's related ills: traffic snarls, housing shortages, a higher cost of living and greater demand for already scarce water.
The town's setting at the head of the valley, deep in a cleft of the Sierra between Mt. Whitney and Yosemite National Park, has always beguiled visitors. Many residents are concerned about maintaining the delicate balance between a secure economic future and preservation of the Old West grandeur that has made the Owens Valley one of California's scenic treasures.
Until recently, geography and history had discouraged the growth that is marching up the Sierra's more accessible western flank. The Owens Valley is cloistered between two mountain ranges. More than 90% of the land in the middle is owned by the government. Much of the valley's water has been piped south since Los Angeles grabbed the rights to it in the early 1900s.
The scarcity of private land and water has bid up the price of living here, but that has hardly diminished the appeal for those who can afford it. Intrawest's condominiums go for $300,000 and up, and the company says it is selling them as fast as it can build them.
By the time the remake is complete in 10 years, the town of Mammoth Lakes, population 7,400, is expected to have grown 50%. And in Bishop, 40 miles to the southeast, housing prices are already soaring. In nearby hamlets such as Crowley Lake and Toms Place, new homes for prospective Mammoth employees are sprouting on the hillsides.
The way town officials see it, construction of Mammoth's world-class ski amenities would not be complete without the final piece of the puzzle: an improved regional airport to ferry visitors to the slopes and shops.
The project to widen the airport's runway to accommodate Boeing 757s could cost more than $40 million. Officials envision four flights a day bringing 33,000 visitors each winter. A lawsuit challenging the expansion is making its way through U.S. District Court.
