Application Filed For Resort Complex By Cle Elum River

An application for development of a $350 million resort complex southeast of this old mining town has been filed with the Kittitas County Planning Department.

The complex, including golf courses, hotels, condominiums, chalet houses and vacation homes, would be developed over a 20-year period on 7,400 acres along the Cle Elum River, according to a statement issued Thursday by Trendwest Resorts Inc.

The company, which operates 18 resorts in five Western states, Mexico and British Columbia, is owned by JeldWen of Inc. of Klamath Falls, Ore., which bought the land from Plum Creek Timber Co. for $15 million in October.

Trendwest officials have discussed the project with members of the Sierra Club and Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation and representatives of the state Fish and Wildlife Department, the statement said.

The first phase, to be completed by the end of the decade, includes 100 hotel rooms, 50 condominium units, 27 chalets and 19 homes along a golf course. Work could begin as early as a year from now.

No name has been chosen for the resort.