Peek'n Peak's new owner got start at 16
Thursday, November 23, 2006
Henry J. Gomez
Plain Dealer Reporter
Paul Kiebler was 16 when he bought his first house: a $17,100 steal from a sher iff's sale. He only had $100 in his pocket."I ran and told my dad I needed to borrow 17 grand. He thought I was crazy."
So did Kiebler's girlfriend. She ended things that summer, when Kiebler spent more time fixing up the home than he did patching up his high school romance.
But Kiebler's time - and money - were well-spent. He sold the house for $43,200. Factoring in what he spent on improvements, Kiebler turned more than a $15,000 profit.
He rewarded himself with a Trans Am. From that summer on, "every summer I'd buy a house and fix it up. And that's how I paid my way through college."
Now 36, Kiebler is establishing himself further as a real estate developer.
Most of his deals since his teenage, house-flipping days have hinged on Pittsburgh-area apartment complexes. Kiebler's latest project is more of a risk. In January, his Chardon-based firm bought Peek'n Peak Resort and Conference Center in Findley Lake, N.Y.
According to Chautauqua County records, Kiebler Recreation LLC paid about $10.7 million for the property. Kiebler said that does not include equipment and other assets acquired from previous owner Norbert Cross.
The popular ski and golf getaway, which draws 65 percent of its business from Northeast Ohio, had lost money in each of the five years before Kiebler came along.
Much like that first home Kiebler bought 20 years ago, Peek'n Peak is a fixer-upper.
Rather than trim costs, Kiebler already has spent $8 million toward the $280 million he has budgeted for improvements over the next 10 years. He also is beefing up Peek'n Peak's marketing budget, from an annual average of about $230,000 to more than $1 million projected for this year.
Kiebler, to recoup his investment, must establish the resort as a year-round destination.
One of the two golf courses is in line for a major overhaul. In addition, a huge indoor water park, more hotel rooms, condos and conference facilities are planned.
It's an effort to break free of what Gard Skinner, publisher of the North Carolina-based Mountain Resort Magazine, calls typecasting as a ski resort.
"The joke was that when ski resorts started building golf courses, they weren't trying to boost profits - they were trying to lose less money," Skinner said. "But the summer months can become a very solid performer on your bottom line, on your revenue."
In a recent interview, Kiebler shared his expansion plans and his upbringing in real estate.
Q: Did you grow up in the Cleveland area?
A: Actually my family moved to Chardon three generations ago.
I grew up in Chardon. Went to Chardon High School, Chardon public schools. Went to The Ohio State University.
Q: How did you get involved in real estate?
A: My grandmother was a real estate broker. Grandpa left the family when my father was 3. Grandma decided she had to go to work, when women weren't supposed to work. And the only field that really would accept her was real estate, so she became a real estate broker . . . and she dragged my father around doing all the deals. He decided that maybe the brokerage business wasn't the way to support a family, so he became a real estate appraiser. He dragged me around, and I watched all these deals Dad was appraising and said, 'Hey, I can do that.'
Q: So, you followed in your father's footsteps, into appraisals?
A: I actually was a real estate appraiser for about 10 years. My father started Kiebler, Smith & Co. in April 1972. I bought it in 1996. It took me about three years before deciding [to leave the appraisals business]. In 2001, I started Kiebler Properties [which focuses on development].
Q: What interested you about Peek'n Peak?
A: I had a business associate who was trying to put a deal together. The Peak has three main business ventures. One is ski, one is golf and the other is the development of condominiums.
They came to me and said, 'All right, Paul, this guy here is an expert in ski: He's going to buy the ski slopes. The guy over here is an expert in golf: He's going to buy the golf. And we'll sell you all the condos.' I spent probably three, four days with them and just realized very quickly they never were going to get their deal done, so I cut bait and went on.
But while I was up there, I just fell in love with the place. I stayed in touch with the general manager. Their deal blew up, and I asked, 'Is it still for sale?'
Q: Where are you so far in the expansion? What changes might guests notice this winter?
A: We've almost doubled our ski-able acreage. The first thing they're going to notice when they pull up is an additional 14 ski slopes cut into the resort. The other thing they're going to notice is that we just spent $2 million to buy a new snow-making system.
Q: Are you a ski bum yourself?
A: I skied a lot in high school. Then I started working. I got real busy and didn't ski as much. But over the last couple of years, I skied every opportunity I got.
Q: What's your target for improving the resort's financial performance?
A: Last year, the resort actually showed the first profit in probably five or six years. It wasn't much, but it showed a profit. And this year, we're certainly projecting some money. The 2004 marketing budget was $230,000. We're going to spend $1.2 million this year.
Q: How does this project compare to other investments you have made?
A: It's certainly bigger than anything we've done in the past. Once you break down the individual components of Peek'n Peak [ski, golf, condos] and look at them as separate business ventures, the size isn't overwhelming. But if you look at the entire project - you know, 1,100 acres, 10-year project - it's certainly the biggest we've ever been involved in.
To reach this Plain Dealer reporter:
hgomez@plaind.com, 216-999-5405
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