Snowmobile Circuit’s Season Finale Today At Peek’n Peak Resort Chautauqua County

By Robert Rizzuto rrizzuto@post-journal.com

A competitor with Rock Maple Racing hits the tabletop jump on the quarter-mile course Friday afternoon in preparation for the weekend races at Peek'n Peak Resort in Findley Lake. P-J photo by Robert Rizzuto

3/29/2008 - FINDLEY LAKE — Hundreds of snowmobile racers and spectators will converge on Peek'n Peak resort in Findley Lake this weekend for Rock Maple Racing's season finale.

The two-day event includes more than 300 heats, or competitions, and more than 150 pre-registered racers, according to Tara Saxton, Rock Maple Racing president.

''This weekend is the finale of our West Series,'' she said, ''and although 99 percent of the racers are pre-registered, we do have some open spots in a couple of divisions.''

Ms. Saxton explained that local snowmobilers who wish to race in either the Trail Division, which is for riders 18 or older, or the 120 Division, which is for children ages 4 to 10, are encouraged to arrive no later than 7:30 a.m. today to sign up.

The racing series will take place on a quarter-mile track that is complete with random jumps, a ''mine field,'' or series of small bumps, and a tabletop jump at the finish line, the president explained.

On Friday, some racers spent time learning the track while taking a few practice runs in order to get the feel for the terrain.

Women's Professional racer Paige Calderwood of Phoenix, N.Y. was among them.

''I'm excited about this weekend, this is the earliest I've ever been to the track,'' she said. ''Every weekend you want to win, but I'm looking to go out there and take the prize money on Sunday.''

She said that the prize in her division is $125, and although it may not seem like a lot, it helps pay for about two cans of gas for her snowmobile, enough to cover the expense of racing.

Pete Edwards, a three-year veteran, who said that he races in Semi-pro stock and open divisions, explained that he is looking to keep the momentum he's built this season going during this weekend.

''Right now, I'm in the top three with points (second and third in each division), and I'd like to keep it that way,'' Edwards said. ''It helps with sponsorships and the top two positions usually move up to pro.''

Edwards said that he loves racing because of the adrenaline rush he gets, but admits he couldn't do it every weekend without crew chief Dennis Murphy and mechanic Cory Vancassllee.

''Their had work behind the scenes is what allows me to get out here and do what I love,'' he added.

22-year-old professional racer Kenny Murphy said that he appreciates ''all the hard work'' the terrain workers do to prepare and maintain the track.

''They put a lot of time into it to make sure everything is perfect,'' Murphy said. ''This weekend, I'm looking to win everything.''

Ray Head, the president of the Snowmobile Clubs of Chautauqua County, said that the event was put together primarily by the staff at Peek'n Peak and the members of the Chautauqua Lake Snowmobile Club.

''It's so late in the season, there aren't many places in the county right now that would work so well for an event like this,'' Mr. Head said. ''It's just phenomenal that Peek'n Peak has opened up their resort even more to welcome us all here.''

As of midday on Friday, the parking lot in front of The Retreat lodge and pub building was filling with racing trailers, as well as a few curious spectators.

Yamaha's Snowmobile division was and will be present all weekend allowing waiver-signing spectators to demo brand-new snowmobiles from their 2008 line up.

''We will be policing it just to the point of making sure no one gets too crazy out there,'' a representative from Yamaha said. ''But we got some great sleds out here for people to try out and have fun with.''

Sherri Rater, marketing manager for The Peak said this is the first year the resort has hosted the Rock Maple Racing series. But as the resort has aimed to offer more options for area snowmobilers this season, she hopes to welcome the crew back again in the future.

''We are really excited about this weekend's events, and I think it's a great addition to Peek'n Peak schedule,'' Mrs. Rater said. ''It should be a lot of fun and that's what snowmobiling is all about.''

The gates open at 8 a.m. on Saturday and Sunday with races beginning at 9 a.m. Admission is $10 per person, but there is no charge for children under the age of 10.

Mrs. Rater said that The Retreat lodge, which is adjacent to the racing track, will be open all day offering a variety of foods and beverages to warm up those participating in and enjoying the races.

For more information, contact Peek'n Peak's event planner, Susan Churchill, at 355-4141 ext. 2525.

 

For more information on Chautauqua Lake Real Estate & Living visit: www.chautauqualakehomes.com

 

Chautauqua Suites To Hold Fly Fishing Expo

By Jessica Wasmund jwasmund@post-journal.com

Author John Nagy poses with a fish. Submitted photo

3/27/2008 - MAYVILLE — For fly fishing fanatics in the region, the Chautauqua Suites & Expo Center will present a chance for fishermen, regardless of how experienced, to talk to the professionals.

Brent Galuppo, CEO and director of development for H.K. McConnom Company, organized the inaugural event. Two authors on the subject will hold a panel discussion at the center from 8 to 10 p.m. Friday to kick off the expo weekend. Refreshments will be served and there will be an opportunity to meet the pros.

Then on Saturday, the Chautauqua On The Lake Fly Fishing Expo will officially take place from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. A number of experts and artists in the fly fishing industry will be presenting throughout the day

"We're featuring this event as a learning experience," said Tom Bergstue, coordinator. "There's three colleges that are represented that are going to discuss ecology and the watershed, and what's going on with Chautauqua County's tributary streams and how we can better preserve them. There will be workshops by the Jamestown Audubon Society and the Roger Tory Peterson Institute."

One featured speaker Friday evening is Rick Kustich, who began fly fishing more than 30 years ago in Upstate New York. He has since traveled extensively to experience the finest fly fishing throughout North America. Kustich is the author of four books on fly fishing, including the acclaimed Fly Fishing for Great Lakes Steelhead, and has recently introduced his first DVD. Additionally, he has composed many articles with accompanying photography for national magazines, and serves as a regular contributor to two regional publications. During the offseason he provides seminars and schools along the Great Lakes, and resides in Grand Island, New York.

Author John Nagy has spent the last 20 years guiding groups along Lake Erie's tributary streams for steelhead and has written numerous articles on the unique style of fly fishing used to capture these fish. His popular guidebook, Steelhead Guide: Fly Fishing Techniques and Strategies for Lake Erie Steelhead, has recently been updated and expanded into a fourth edition. It has long been considered a bible for steelheader's chasing chrome on Lake Erie's tributary streams as well as very useful to steelhead fisherman in other areas of the Great Lakes.

''Anyone who is interested in the outdoors would be interested in attending this,'' Bergstue said. ''A number of different organizations will be on hand, including the Watershed Conservatory, Department of Environmental Conservation and Roger Tory Peterson workshop. A shopping shuttle will also be running down to the Red Brick Village shops, so if one family member isn't interested in staying at the expo all day they can go shopping for awhile instead.''

There will be a number of door prizes and raffles going on throughout the day, with funds going toward different charities.. While there is no admission fee to attend the expo, there is a $15 workshop fee for anyone interested in partaking in a class. For more information, call 296-7829.

 

For more information on Chautauqua Lake Real Estate & Living visit: www.chautauqualakehomes.com

 

Bemus Bay Condos Chautauqua Lake

Ornamental, Interior Work Underway At Bemus Bay Condos

By The Post-Journal Staff editorial@post-journal.com

A Victorian-era design, with Mansard trusses and a lakeside turret structure, adds character to the Bemus Bay condominiums under construction in Bemus Point.

3/16/2008 - BEMUS POINT — Structural work has been completed on the new 40-unit Bemus Bay condominium project and Victorian-era design ornamental trussing is being installed.

The two buildings being constructed, named Browning and Columbia for the hotels of the same names that stood on the site in the early 1900s, will each host 20 homes, all with views of Chautauqua Lake. The turret structures on the lakefront end of each building were incorporated into the design based on the architecture of the former hotels.

''It is exciting to see the charming character of the building design become reality,'' said Lee Chilcote, Bemus Point Investments LLC co-developer. ''The historic appearance and quaint feel of the Bemus Bay Condos will be appreciated by the village and the homeowners for years and years to come.''

Co-developer Paul Goldberg noted that interior framing is complete in both buildings, and mechanical and electrical work is nearing completion.

''Dry wall installation has already begun on the upper floors,'' he said. ''We are making very good progress and achieving our very aggressive construction schedule.''

According to general contractor GPS Construction Services LLC of Buffalo, between 50 to 70 workers are at the site each day to keep the project moving forward.

Each of the homes at Bemus Bay, www.bemusbaycondos.com, includes a private boat slip on Chautauqua Lake as well as secured entry, handicapped access, elevator service, a garage and reserved parking spaces.

Four different floor plans with three bedrooms and two or three baths include air conditioning, granite countertops, master suites with whirlpool baths and easy access to the courtyard's heated swimming pool.

 

For more information on Chautauqua Lake Real Estate & Living visit; www.chautauqualakehomes.com

 

Ellicottville, NY

Havens | Ellicottville, N.Y.

A Laid-Back Village With Lots of Snow and Comfort

Doug Benz for The New York Times

MAIN DRAW Skiers relax at HoliMont, one of two resorts that are attracting families to Ellicottville, south of Buffalo.

 

By ROBERT STRAUSS

Published: March 14, 2008

 

WHEN Greg Dekdebrun was a teenager, his mother used to drive him to the Greyhound station in Buffalo on Friday nights in winter and put him on the bus for the 45-minute trip to Ellicottville, where his father, who owned three ski shops in Buffalo, had opened a small shop in the nascent ski resort.

Ellicottville, N.Y.

Three for Sale

"This was the 1960s, not all that long ago, and it was just a little weekend village here," said Mr. Dekdebrun, who now owns that shop. "I would come down here and sleep on a bench in the ski shop, then do the rentals Saturday morning, then walk out to the slopes myself and ski in the afternoon. My family would come down Sunday.

"It was that kind of place. In some ways, it still is."

Ellicottville may have only two ski areas — HoliMont and Holiday Valley — and a five-block downtown, but it is venerated by its partisans like Mr. Dekdebrun. In the last few years, many of those partisans have come from Ontario, particularly east of Toronto, to buy second homes.

Kieron Hayes, who lives outside Toronto, started coming to Ellicottville five years ago. It's just two hours from his home, even counting delays at the border, and has better ski conditions.

"It is warmer and less windy than Collingwood," he said, referring to a ski area north of Toronto, "and the lift lines are more efficient."

Then came the rise in the Canadian dollar, which gave Mr. Hayes a reason to look at properties. He hasn't found the right place yet, but that's his goal.

"We have a baby, so we're looking at coming here for at least 15 or 20 years," he said. "So buying makes a lot of sense, With the economy down in the States and the dollar so good here, there will be no better time than this to get a place here."

Brian McFadden, executive director of the Ellicottville Chamber of Commerce, estimates that 30 to 40 percent of new buyers of second homes in Ellicottville are Canadian.

"They have always been coming here to ski, but now they are buyers," he said. "We used to be just for people from Western New York, close-in Ontario and out maybe to Pittsburgh and Cleveland's suburbs. Now, people come from a little farther, out to almost Indiana."

Gail and Steve Grillo didn't want to have a long drive to get away from their hectic lives. They live in Bradford, Pa., about 40 miles south of Ellicottville.

"We have friends who have places in the Adirondacks, and it seems to be a chore just to get there," Ms. Grillo said. "My husband and I work really hard, and we know we can get in a car and go an hour and be in someplace where we have no mail and only a cellphone."

They bought a small town house in Ellicottville for less than $100,000 in 1993, when their sons were young. Last year, with their sons in their early 20s, and their town house having more than doubled in value, they moved up to a new $400,000, three-bedroom, four-bath house within a few blocks of downtown.

"At night in the winter, you can see all the lights twinkling from downtown from several levels," Ms. Grillo said, "and the ski slope is just out back."

 

The Scene

 

Dina DiPasquale's parents had a second home in Ellicottville in the 1970s, when she was a child, but when it came time for college, she wanted to stray a bit farther from her home in Buffalo.

"I went out to Colorado, basically to ski," she said. But by 1988, she wanted to be closer to her family. "I didn't want to be in Buffalo, so Ellicottville made sense."

She first became a ski instructor, then opened a catering business. Now she owns Dina's, a chic restaurant along Washington Street, the main drag.

"It is an easy place to live," she said. "Everyone knows everyone else, and everyone wants to help each other out."

Ellicottville has become more of a year-round outdoor destination, but its ski slopes are still the main draws. HoliMont is a private ski resort that has 1,500 members who ply 52 runs that are served by nine lifts.

Holiday Valley is similar in size, and sits about two miles south. Since it is in the southern part of the lake-effect region near Buffalo, Ellicottville almost always gets a lot of snow; it has gotten about 140 inches so far this season.

In the last decade, though, Ellicottville has tried to do more when there's no snow on the ground. The walls in Mr. McFadden's office are covered with posters for events like March Mardi Gras Weekend, a jazz festival and the September Rock 'n' Oldies Weekend.

"There is plenty of opportunity to come here, and we find more than enough to do," said Louis Condotta, a construction manager who lives with his wife, Christine, and their two daughters outside Toronto. The Condottas bought a three-bedroom, one-and-a-half-bath condo a mile outside the village two years ago for $130,000.

 

I had been skiing here for 22 years, so I knew I liked it, and we had a baby, so we knew we were good for coming here for at least 15 more years," he said. "There are parks all over the place, and we can walk to the village to get a quick bite to eat"

 

 

Map 

PROs

Ellicottville is accessible, less than an hour from Buffalo, and within three hours of Pittsburgh, Cleveland and Toronto.

Also, housing prices are low compared with those in similar villages in the Adirondacks, Catskills, Berkshires or Poconos.

 

Cons

The village is small. And while it has one of everything, there is not much variety when it comes to eating and shopping. The skiing is good and varied, but it isn't Vail or Aspen.

 

The Real Estate Market

Given the great number of Canadians drawn to Ellicottville, real estate prices have continued to rise. But by the standards of Eastern New York, prices are still reasonable.

Joany Klopp Bund, of Holiday Valley Realty, said a one-bedroom condominium can be bought for as little as $110,000, and that even high-end, three-bedroom condos near the ski resorts will only cost in the $400,000-to-$500,000 range.

"This is a place people go for comfort, for family, not for luxury," she said. "They want a view of the valley or the slopes. They want a place to entertain a bit, but nothing fancy."

Most three- or four-bedroom houses, the average size for second homes here, will go for $300,000 to $400,000, usually on half-acre lots, local real estate agents say. Even in the most desirable areas, near the ski slopes, houses with a view and four or five bedrooms will still only cost $500,000 to $800,000.

The few houses that are for sale at $1 million or more are spectacular, said Cathleen Pritchard of Century 21 Town & Country.

"Someone bought an old chalet on a beautiful lot for $545,000, tore it down and built a 7,000-square-foot log home with seven bedrooms and five baths," she said. "That might be $1.5 million."

 

LAY OF THE LAND

 

POPULATION 1,862, according to a 2006 estimate by the Census Bureau.

 

SIZE 45 square miles.

 

WHO'S BUYING More and more Canadians, who have long gone there to ski. Historically, most second-home buyers were from Western New York and Pennsylvania, but now people from Ohio and eastern Indiana are arriving.

 

GETTING THERE Ellicottville is about a 45-minute drive south of Buffalo, on Route 219. Interstate 86 passes near the town to the south. It is also possible to fly into Buffalo Niagara International Airport and make the drive.

 

WHILE YOU'RE LOOKING Bush Bed and Breakfast (5286 Route 353, Little Valley; 716-938-6106; www.bushbedandbreakfast.com), near Route 242, has rooms with Victorian period furniture for $75 to $125 a night in ski season, and for $60 to $100 in the off-season.

 

For more information on Chautauqua Lake Real Estate & Living visit: www.chautauqualakehomes.com

 

Double Tree Hotel Development In North Harmony, Chautauqua Lake

Supervisor Provides Answers About Double Tree Hotel Development In North Harmony

By Sally P. Carlson editorial@post-journal.com

Sally P. Carlson is a supervisor for the town of North Harmony.

3/9/2008 - To date, the town of North Harmony has not received a project application. We are at the very beginning of the process. The developer, John McGraw, for the Bootey Bay Doubletree Hotel Project, has requested that the town of North Harmony take lead agency status. In New York state, the procedure is established under S.E.Q.R. or State Environmental Quality Review. We have sent out letters to all concerned agencies to determine if they have an interest in being lead agent. To date, only the NYS DEC has expressed an interest in being co-lead agent.

The developer has requested that a new resort district be created with a minimum lot size of approximately 10 acres ''to ensure that large tracts of land are required ... to ensure proper buffing and screening from neighboring properties.'' The area in question has been zoned for hotels since 1989. The issue is height and in the R6 zone, the 10 stories would be considered under a special use permit if the R6 district is created. The request for the change in zoning has been sent to the Planning Board for review and recommendation. It will then come back to the town board to make the decision. Additionally a public hearing will be held on the proposed change. This hearing will be advertised in The Post-Journal and posted on the Web site, townofnorthharmony.com.

If this project proceeds, there will be public hearings and everyone will have an opportunity for input. Scoping sessions, if held by the town, will not be held until at least April so that our non-resident property owners will have the same opportunity as residents for input. If the NYS DEC is lead agent, they may hold scoping sessions, but are not required legally to do so.

Rather than just requesting a business reduction, the developer has suggested installing a sewer line from Ashville Bay to Stow for payment in lieu of taxes for a limited period of time. To make the project viable he has suggested putting condos on the top three floors. The condos would be privately owned and taxed as would the property the developer has purchased. Only the hotel would be tax exempt.

The sewer line would be large enough to accommodate not only the hotel, but the residences between 394 and the lake from Ashville Bay to where the sewer ends in the town of Chautauqua (If an agreement is developed with the town of Chautauqua) The Chautauqua County Industrial Development Board is the agency that would have the authority to grant tax exemption to the project as a tourist destination. They could grant sales tax exemption on building materials for the new construction and mortgage tax exemption too.

I believe that the town has an obligation to be open-minded and objective in reviewing the possibilities of this as an opportunity for sewers, perhaps water, additional tax base and jobs, sales tax and bed tax, rather that simply dismission this business out of hand. I understand that there are some who want no more development along the lake, but I do feel that perhaps some of the development must come in our area since we are adjacent to an interstate highway with an easy on-off access. I think to expect nothing to happen in our town is unrealistic and if we can improve the quality of the lake, I believe we have a duty to investigate those possibilities

 

For more information on Chautauqua Lake Real Estate & Living visit: www.chautauqualakehomes.com

 

How to Judge if a Teardown Will Pay Off

Daily Real Estate News  |  March 3, 2008

 

When does buying a house and tearing it down make economic sense?

Builders have a guide for estimating whether a teardown will pay off. Generally, the cost of the land must be one-third of the cost of the final sales price of the house.

For instance, if the old home and the land it is on can be acquired for $400,000 and the new house can be sold for $1.2 million, then the builder can spend $600,000 or $200 per square foot on a 3,000 square foot home and still cover miscellaneous expenses and make a profit.

Home owners who are contemplating buying a teardown and commissioning a custom-built home should keep this formula in mind as they consider whether the proposition is realistic, experts say.

Source: ThinkGlink.com, Ilyce Glink (03/01/08)

 

For more information on Chautauqua Lake Real Estate & Living visit: www.chautauqualakehomes.com

 

Chautauqua Lake Management Commission

CLMC Decision Expected Today

By Dennis Phillips dphillips@post-journal.com

3/6/2008 - MAYVILLE — Whether to use herbicides on Chautauqua Lake is not a choice the Chautauqua Lake Management Commission has taken lightly.

However, it is a decision the group will most likely make today.

In January, the commission formed a herbicide recommendation committee to investigate and study the past use of herbicides and their effect on the lake. Last month, the committee met for a special meeting to make a decision on the committee's recommendations, but delayed taking action because not all members of the commission had a chance to discuss the possible use of herbicides with their respective boards. The commission is made up of several organizations that all have a vested interest in the quality of Chautauqua Lake.

Now, today in Mayville when the commission meets for its regular monthly meeting, the group will consider herbicide committee recommendations.

''The committee has done a great job in putting together information on past herbicide use and the potential of using herbicides,'' said Bill Evans, CLMC chairman. ''The commission has had a couple of months to review the recommendations. Hopefully, we'll take some action (today).''

Evans said if the herbicide committee recommendations are accepted by the board, the use of herbicides in the lake this year will be just to test certain areas and the chemicals' effect on weeds in the lake.

''We'll have to go through a permit process with the (Department of Environmental Control). After that is complete, the most herbicides will be used is to test one or two areas in the lake to make sure they are suitable,'' he said. ''Then we could go through the permit process and have a true application in 2009.''

Evans said it is important for people to keep in mind that herbicides have been used in the lake 35 times since 1955 and that, if herbicides are applied to the lake, it will only be in troublesome, heavily weeded areas.

''The only place we would apply it is in the real nuisance areas like Burtis Bay,'' he said. ''Only four to five places is where herbicides would be used. We're not going to apply it throughout Chautauqua Lake.''

 

For more information on Chautauqua Lake Real Estate & Living visit: www.chautauqualakehomes.com

 

23rd Rotary Club of Jamestown Annual Community Auction

Rotary Auction 2008

What: 23rd Rotary Club of Jamestown Annual Community Auction Where: Radisson in Jamestown When: The doors open at 6 p.m. Friday. The live auction will begin at 7 p.m. Admission is free, and hors d'ouevres and a cash bar will be available. The proceeds of the event, including both live and silent auction items, help support local community projects.

 

3/2/2008 - The 23rd Rotary Club of Jamestown Annual Community Auction will be held on Friday at the Radisson in Jamestown. Doors will open at 6 p.m.

While viewing live and silent auction items, attendees will be able to enjoy snacks and hors d'oeuvres prepared by culinary arts students from Job Corps Academy in Cassadaga with food donations from Sysco Foods. There will be a cash bar. Admission is free.

Chuck Ludwig, auctioneer , will begin the live auction at 7 p.m. As in the past, there will be many items to auction.

These include: an acrylic painting by local artist Gayle Choate Johnson, donated by Gordy Black; a 2002 Chevy Impala to be raffled off, donated by Shults Auto Group; Jamestown Savings Bank Ice Arena room rental plus wrap sandwich and beverage in the upper room for up to 250 people; a weekend rental of skid steer or excavator, donated by Southern Tier Supply; blue acoustic guitar, donated by Chautauqua Music; four Bills tickets for a home game, donated by Jim and Sue Abdella; a hand-blown footed glass bowl made by Nathan Sandberg, donated by Steve and Pat Sandberg; a week of camping at Camp Chautauqua, donated by Camp Chautauqua; a one-hour balloon ride, donated by Sky Sail Balloon; a one-night stay with breakfast for two, donated by Cherry Creek Inn; tax or financial work, donated by Moore and Myott; a restored antique trunk, donated by Skid Proctor ; an evening of cocktails on Chautauqua Lake for up to eight people, including boat tour and hors d'oeuvres, donated by Dan and Vicki Black; and much more.

A complete list of auction items can be reviewed at www.rotaryjamestown.org/JamestownRotary/Auction. The list is updated as donations are received. Participants can pay by cash, check or credit card.

There will be a raffle drawing for a first prize of a $3,000 voucher for a dream vacation that can be used at Disney, Carnival Cruise Line or through Apple Vacations provided in part by Pastimes Travel or a cash gift of $2,000. Second prize will be a $500 cash gift courtesy of the Jamestown Rotary Club.

Raffle tickets are available from Rotary members or at the auction. Ticket holders need not be present to win. Brenda Salemme, last year's winner, had this to say about her trip: ''The Rotary Auction dream vacation prize helped us afford our ultimate dream vacation. My husband, daughter and I went on a week-long cruise in Hawaii. We had not been to the Hawaiian Islands before and decided a cruise would give us a chance to see them all. We made memories that will last a lifetime ... we even swam with dolphins, which was one of the most incredible things I had ever done. Becky from Pastimes was wonderful to work with — she really went the extra mile, including opening on a Saturday morning to meet us, returned our calls and e-mails promptly, and helped us make good choices.''

Rotary, an international service organization, donates money and labor for international humanitarian projects such as digging portable water wells in third-world countries, the Polio Plus worldwide eradication of polio, the promotion of world peace and understanding through youth exchange programs and sponsorship of International Peace Scholarship.

 

For more information on Chautauqua Lake Real Estate & Living visit: www.chautauqualakehomes.com

 

Bemus Bay Condos Chautauqua Lake

With structural work complete, Victorian-era ornamental trussing is being installed at the 40-unit Bemus Bay condominium project on the Chautauqua Lake shoreline.

 

 

Bemus Point, NY (PRWEB) March 2, 2008 -- Structural work has been completed on the new 40-unit Bemus Bay condominium project at this Chautauqua Lake community and the Victorian-era design ornamental trussing is being installed.

 

The two buildings being constructed, named Browning and Columbia for the hotels of the same names that stood on the site in the early 1900s, will each host 20 homes, all with stunning views of Chautauqua Lake. The turret structures on the lakefront end of each building were incorporated into the design, also based on the architecture of the former hotels.

 

"It is exciting to see the charming character of the building design become reality," said Bemus Point Investments LLC co-developer Lee Chilcote. "The historic appearance and quaint feel of the Bemus Bay Condos will be appreciated by the village and the homeowners for years and years to come."

 

Co-developer Paul Goldberg noted that interior framing is complete in both buildings, and mechanical and electrical work is nearing completion. "Dry wall installation has already begun on the upper floors," he said. "We are making very good progress and achieving our very aggressive construction schedule."

 

According to general contractor GPS construction Services LLC of Buffalo, NY, anywhere from 50 to 70 workers are on site each day to keep the project moving forward.

Located just 1½ hours from Buffalo, 2¼ hours from Cleveland, 2½ hours from Pittsburgh and 3 hours from Toronto, Chilcote noted the Chautauqua Lake region offers relaxation and recreation year around with boating and sailing, fishing and hunting, golf courses, several winter ski resorts, a casino, many farm wineries and a wide array of cultural events and attractions all nearby.

 

The world renowned Chautauqua Institution is just a short trip away by car or boat.

Each of the homes at Bemus Bay, www.bemusbaycondos.com, includes a private boat slip on Chautauqua Lake as well as secured entry, handicapped access, elevator service, a garage and reserved parking spaces.

 

Four different floor plans with three bedrooms and two or three baths include air conditioning, granite countertops, master suites with whirlpool baths and easy access to the courtyard's heated swimming pool.

 

For more information on Chautauqua Lake Real Estate & Living visit: www.chautauqualakehomes.com