By james art 
The place of the former Eleni lodge returns to the market after the sale fell when Davis’s fire approached the property in the fall.
This time the owner is more preferable to whom to sell.
The property on the highway of the Rose Mountain between Renault and Rose-Sski Taho Mountains consists of the remains of the ski lodge, several outbuildings, an assortment of historical agricultural equipment and a preserved chimney in the center of all this.
What is the story of the Elenite Lodge?
The Rosemount Lodge opened on December 20, 1957 with a restaurant, cocktail lounge, casino, cafe and guest rooms, according to Renault’s evening, and became a popular point for stopping between nearby ski areas and Renault.
Former Bay Area concert promoter Gary Schmidt bought the property in the 1970s and brought music acts, including Elvin Bishop, Tommy Tutone, Bo Didley and John Li Hooker. Schmidt changed the name of Sundance Lodge and then the deer lodge.
In 2017, the roof of the main building collapsed from heavy snowfall and it was demolished in 2019.
The property went to the market in 2020 for $ 3.2 million. Schmidt hoped he could be saved, saying that there were “artifacts” that could be reused during its reconstruction or renewal.
The property is never sold. Real estate broker John Krolik told RGJ that they were days since the deal was made last year when Davis’s fire hit in September. Krolik said he came to hundreds of yards from the lodge, which was in the evacuation zone.
Following the fire of Davis and later the Kalahan fire in November, buyers are scared, Krolik said. They were not sure if they would receive insurance coverage for construction and the final construction of their development.
Last year, thousands of insurance policies in Nevada were canceled due to fire risks. Krolik said he believed that developers did not want to take the risk, but said the insurance was only a short -term anxiety and the benefits of the project would exceed the risks.
“(The deal) fell apart when this fire happened. We were literally within days of placing a pen on paper, “Krolik said. “We are already in the limbs to find out how the insurance industry will roll over in this region.”
Tannenbaum, deer plots have the potential for a joint project, says Agent
Krolik said the Elenite Lodge property had previously been mentioned with the former Tannenbaum ski site across the Mount Rose Highway, which Schmidt also owns. The list included $ 9.5 for $ 12 million – $ 4.5 million for the Elenite Lodge property and $ 7.5 million for the old ski site.
As the property sits between Renault and Lake Tahoe and Galena Forest, Krolik said, he believes that international developers have the opportunity to make a tourist project for relaxation, which is distributed in both properties.
Schmidt told RGJ that he was thinking of selling the two properties separately. Tannenbaum’s ski site is out of the market right now, but he said that depending on the project, he would be ready to review. But he believes that the deer lodge can sell and become something nice in itself.
“This is such a potential fantastic project, but people come in where the eyes are more than their stomachs,” Schmidt said. “They think of this grand project and this is good if they can support it, but they must have funding. They must have experience to do this.”
Krolik and Schmidt said they have received many offers from developers and even residents who want to buy the land to build a house – but Schmidt is cautious about who receives it. He wants the property to be for commercial entertainment use.
For now, the remnants of the deer lodge will remain where they are. The Washoe County Code said there were no active cases of implementation or complaints about the property.
After the roof collapsed, the Washoe County announced that it had carried out asbestos removal, removal of building materials and debris and provided the site and that there were no other notifications for encoding the application of further cleaning or destruction.
“There is no essential part of the building,” Schmidt said. “There were living quarters that were not at all damaged by the collapsed roof, so this was not removed and there were many ancient materials.”
Currently, these antiques and artifacts are all that remains of the deer lodge – as well as the iconic sign in the front. Krolik said they had received offers for the weathered old sign.
“I want to see someone enter there and end the place,” Krolik said.
Jaedyn Young covers the local government for Reno Gazette-Journal. Its salaries are 100% funded by donations and grants; If you want to see more stories like this, please consider donating in Rgj.com/donateS Send your ideas and feedback to Jaedyn to jyoung@rgj.comS