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Cockaigne project gets boost from IDA

OBSERVER File Photo Isaac Gratto and Adam Pirtz, two of the lead developers for the potential $3.5 million ski-resort project are hoping to restore Cockaigne Ski Resort.

OBSERVER Staff Report

It is not all downhill from here, but it is another step in the right direction in the rebirth of the Cockaigne ski facility in Cherry Creek.

Members of the Chautauqua County Industrial Development Agency board of directors on Tuesday approved a State Environmental Quality Review for Cockaigne Development LLC along with a payment in lieu of taxes for the project. Isaac Gratto and Adam Pirtz, two of the lead developers for the potential $3.5 million ski-resort project, were on hand for the meeting at the State University of New York at Fredonia incubator in Dunkirk.

“Our project is moving forward,” Gratto said after the approval. “Hopefully we will be closing on the property shortly.”

Gratto and Pirtz are aiming for reopening the redesigned facility during the 2018-19 season. Besides constructing a new lodge at the facility, the two are looking to build surface lifts for a tubing arena and a beginner arena.

Cockaigne opened in 1966 after a group of men purchased and constructed a four-season recreational area. The ski area operated for 45 years before a fire destroyed the Austrian Pavilion lodge on Jan. 24, 2011.

The ski area consists of more than 1,500 acres of land and features numerous trails of various difficulty levels.

Both Gratto and Pirtz have a history with the region’s ski industry and Cockaigne’s current owner, Jack Van Scoter. “It’s his legacy,” said Kevin Sanvidge, president and chief executive officer of the IDA, said of Van Scoter. “He hand chose these guys. … He’s happy with his legacy being carried on by these two young guys.”

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