Alterra Mountain Co. on Thursday announced plans for one of the country’s largest-ever ski area expansions at its Deer Valley resort in Utah. And the ski expansion is quite literal. The new terrain will not be for snowboarders, who are unwelcome at Deer Valley. 

The plan calls for 16 new chairlifts, 135 runs across 3,700 new acres of ski terrain above a new village at the Utah resort. If all goes as projected, Deer Valley will more than double in size to 5,726 acres with 37 chairlifts by winter 2025, growing larger than Vail. It’s the largest U.S. resort expansion of new terrain in more than 40 years.

Alterra is partnering with the Extell Development Co., a luxury real estate developer that builds skyscrapers in New York City. Extell has been working on the project — formerly called Mayflower Mountain — since 2014. Extell founder Gary Barnett has acquired nearly 7,000 acres in the past decade and secured bond financing through Utah’s Military Installation Development Authority. 

In 2021 the authority trumpeted a deal with Barnett that delivered more than $250 million in bond financing to the $3.2 billion project, which will offer hotel discounts for active military and veterans.

The new development includes a village with 800 hotel rooms, 1,700 residential units, 250,000 square feet of commercial space and a 68,000-square-foot recreation center. The project could add 2,000 jobs to the region.