Raging Buffalo snowboard park expanding, getting new lodge
The Raging Buffalo Snowboard Park in Algonquin will undergo a major face-lift that will feature a new lodge and expanded snowboard hill.
It may also include year-round operations for the first time and a new operator of the for-profit portion of the facility in the Buffalo Park Forest Preserve.
Forest preserve district commissioners - who also serve as county board members - viewed plans for the new lodge Thursday. The upgrades come via a deal made with the county.
The county's transportation division needed a spot to dispose of excess soil created by the Longmeadow Parkway project. That soil will become part of an expanded snowboard hill. In trade for the dump site, the county will pay up to $500,000 for the construction of a new lodge.
The current lodge has been around since the 1950s.
"It's a pretty old lodge," said Jerry Culp, who is overseeing the project for the forest preserve district. "It needs quite a bit of work. A lot of the fascia and soffits are rotting. We had to take a hard look at what we are doing with the building."
Culp said the new construction will create a larger area for snowboarding and an area for tubing. The new hill will rise about 30 feet higher than the existing hill. A lined, asphalt parking lot will replace the existing gravel area. Renderings of the new lodge include a plethora of windows to view the entire hill. There will also be a new, free sledding area for the public.
Commissioner Maggie Auger, who represents the area where the park is located, said the project is overdue.
"This is an exciting project," she said. "This is a well-used forest preserve. And we really need a real parking lot there. It's kind of a mess."
Construction is set to begin next summer. The future management of the upgraded facility is not yet certain. A private company has a lease agreement with the district to run the snowboard operation.
The district's executive director, Monica Meyers, told commissioners she envisions a one-year extension of the lease with the current company. The district would then seek a new operator through a competitive process.
"The current vendor is interested in continuing, but we want to get some competition in," Meyers said.
Commissioners said they would like to see expanded, year-round use of the facility to follow the upgrades. Meyers said staff will include language about ideas and plans for year-round operation when seeking proposals from the exiting and potential new operators. Meyers said she's seen facilities in Wisconsin use tracks in the warm months to allow for year-round tubing.