| Agassi's Idaho Resort |
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Page 4 of 5 Sitting there in Idaho, feeling uplifted, I realize we’re both older, balder, and more prudent than the last time I saw Agassi in person—pestering him for an autograph at Atlanta’s AT&T Challenge in 1994. But his fixed gaze and purposeful, pigeon-toed gait are the same. And, perhaps most tellingly, he holds a rolled-up blueprint with a cocked wrist, like it’s a tennis racket. Since opening in 2004 next to the tiny town of Donnelly, 100 miles north of Boise, Tamarack Resort has grown steadily, accruing a reported $515.8 million in property sales. Agassi’s Fairmont Tamarack hotel—scheduled to break ground this spring on the resort’s cherry-picked lot—should ramp up cash flow considerably. Some $350 million is being invested in the hotel, split between Agassi Graf Development and the real estate investment company Echo Partners LLC. It’s a clear risk: The only town in Idaho currently known to most of Tamarack’s target demographic is Sun Valley, yet Agassi is sinking much of his career tennis winnings into a relatively obscure ski village some 250 miles, as the jet flies, to the northwest. Judging by the mere seven hours it took to sell out the first batch of units last March, for a total of $140 million, it’s a cleverly calculated gamble. Matt Leinart, quarterback of the Arizona Cardinals, and Eric Dane from ABC’s “Grey’s Anatomy,” were among the first 125 buyers, and a handful of other celebrities seeking to avoid the paparazzi who subsist on big-name resorts are rumored to be close behind. If all 376 planned units (306 hotel, condo, and penthouse units in the main hotel at Belvedere Ridge and 70 more private homes on a ski-in, ski-out mid-mountain site called Whitewater) sell as planned, at just under $2 million for a middle-of-the-pack, 1,600-square-foot home, Agassi and his associates will generate upwards of $600 million. And Idaho will have its first palace. “We conceived it as a grand country estate,” says Boulder, Colorado, architect Eduardo Illanes, “a sort of shimmering castle, similar to the great resorts in Chamonix and Switzerland.” Illanes was chosen by Agassi Graf and Echo Partners for both the sophisticated work he’s done at small-scale western resorts like Copper, Keystone, and Winter Park and his commitment to sustainability as well as luxury. Seemingly unfazed by this big picture, Agassi intends to enjoy himself every day. After picking up snowboarding in January 2007, he chartered NetJets into nearby McCall, Idaho, to hit the slopes some two dozen times. Initially, he just wanted to keep up with his kids, both of whom jumped on skis shortly after learning to walk. Now, of course, Daddy intends to master the sport—which has resulted in more than a few blooper-worthy wipeouts. But he doesn’t mind. Once again, it’s all about the process. “Tomorrow is going to be an even better day,” he reminds me back at the penthouse as I peer out the window. |
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