Brighton Resort's owner buys Washington ski area

The parent company of Brighton Resort, which is celebrating its 75th anniversary this year, has acquired another ski area whose origins go back to the beginnings of the U.S. ski industry.

Florida-based CNL Lifestyle Properties Inc., a real estate investment trust, announced last week it had purchased Stevens Pass ski resort in the Cascade Mountains, 78 miles east of Seattle, for $20.5 million.

Stevens Pass opened in 1937, a year after Brighton, and receives an average annual snowfall of 450 inches. It was owned by Harbor Properties of Seattle.

The resort has a base village with three day lodges, 10 lifts capable of carrying nearly 16,000 riders per hour and 1,125 acres of skiable terrain, more than half of which is intermediate. It has a vertical drop of 1,800 feet and 17 miles of Nordic trails.

CNL has 23 ski and mountain lifestyle resorts in the U.S. and Canada. Besides Brighton, which CNL acquired in 2007, holdings include Crested Butte Mountain Resort in Colorado, Northstar-at-Tahoe in California, Cypress Mountain (a 2010 Winter Olympic venue) in West Vancouver, B.C., and Okemo Mountain Resort in Vermont.

The company's portfolio also includes 146 other golf courses, marinas and senior living and lifestyle properties.

Mike Gorrell