JAY, Vt. -
Jay Peak Resort has no plans of taking things slow as they continue to expand. The District 7 Environmental Commission has given conceptual approval for the resort to build two additional hotels and five ski lifts. Resort president Bill Stenger believes the additions will give vacationers everything they're looking for.
"The visitor experience is the most important thing," Stenger said.
"It's gotta be a high quality, diversified experience and everything we offer has to be superior quality."
The extra facilities will allow Jay Peak Resort to accommodate an additional 2,000 visitors during skiing season. The construction could bring extra jobs to the resort too. Stenger estimates 500 jobs will be added. He says that, along with the new water park, the resort will become the kind of place any family can go anytime.
"We think what Jay Peak is and becoming is a world-class facility that will have four season recreation for people from all over the north east," Stenger said.
The road that will potentially bring more visitors to the resort will take them right past community shops like Jay Country Store. Manager Jeff Dezotell believes that the resort has brought big business to his door step.
"There's definitely been a spillover," Dezotell said.
"We've had to staff up a little bit here to support the additional demand."
Dezotell started managing the store last fall. He married his wife in this community 38 years ago then moved all across the state of Vermont before coming back to Jay to take this job. He says he can tell the difference the resort has made as it's continued to grow.
"It's night and day," Dezotell said.
"I mean Jay was a ghost town in the summertime pretty much. Just local people."
Construction on the new project won't begin until 2013 but the difference between the 4,500 and 6,500 visitors the resort could potentially bring to Jay is night and day for community stores like this one.
