(East Burke, VT)- Q Burke Mountain Resort’s revitalization initiative ramped up last week with crews pouring the first concrete footings for a new 116-suite hotel. The project is part of the $500 million Northeast Kingdom Economic Development initiative being headed up by Jay Peak owners Ariel Quiros and Bill Stenger. Quiros and Stenger along with Governor Peter Shumlin, U.S. Congressman Peter Welch, and a host of resort and community members were on hand last month for the hotel’s groundbreaking. Since then crews from PeakCM, the firm managing the hotel’s construction, have been conducting site work and excavating the hotel’s foundation.

“What started out as a pile of blueprints two years ago has turned into a reality,” said Q Burke’s President and CEO Ary Quiros, Jr. “Things will start to move quickly now that concrete is being poured. Over the next few months visitors will begin to see the steel frame coming together and will be able to envision how the new facility will fit in with the flow of the mountain.”

The 180,000-square foot hotel and conference center is being built just below the Mid Burke lift. In addition to being able to accommodate over 500 guests, the building will have a restaurant and pub open to the public. The $105 million project, that will ultimately include a tennis and aquatics center, is expected to open in December 2015.

The mountain has seen numerous ownership groups over the past two decades with each promising to bring a new vitality and jobs to a region that has one of the highest unemployment rates in Vermont. Quiros and Stenger received approval this past spring to move forward with the project at Q Burke, and quickly began designing a multi-phase revitalization effort. This first phase is expected to create over 2,300 direct and indirect jobs. Future phases include the addition of more resort amenities and an expansion of the resort’s mountain bike offerings.