49 Degrees North Mountain Resort says it has adopted a wait and see stance on a proposed $1 billion real estate development there it had announced last year, based on the troubled economy.


The company still, however, plans to install a new chairlift and create several new ski runs at the resort, located about 50 miles north of Spokane.


Owner John Eminger had unveiled a master plan for the property that eventually could include more than 2,700 new homes and apartments, along with hotels, restaurants, grocery stores, retail outlets, and related infrastructure constructed over a period of 15 to 20 years.


Jason Wolther, marketing director for 49 Degrees North, says Eminger is being cautious about moving forward with development plans at this point.


We are being prudent businessmen, Wolther says. Before we dive into a multimillion-dollar development we want to be sure the area is doing well.


The company is moving forward with plans to construct a chair lift and develop eight or nine new ski runs, including a sale of 2.2 million board feet of timber on several hundred acres of terrain in the Angel Peak area on the western edge of the 2,400-acre ski area. The Angel Peak lift would extend about 5,200 feet and currently is planned to be built in time for the 2011 ski season, Wolther says.


Most of the ski area land is federally owned, and Eminger has a 40-year special-use permit to operate the ski area there. Eminger bought 49 Degrees North in 1996. Eminger says he owns another about 320 acres there, and plans called for the real estate development to occur on about 250 acres of that property.


A lift was installed a couple of years ago in the east basin, where the real estate development is planned, Wolther says. He says that ideally, the company would break ground next spring on the first phase of the project, a 30-unit lodge, but its not clear whether that will happen.