A new luxury lodge—a green chateau of sorts—is set to open at Heavenly Village in South Lake Tahoe as part of a $420 million redevelopment plan.

At the base of the Heavenly Mountain Resort near the California state line, the Chateau at Heavenly Village, operated by RockResorts International is expected to open in 2009 with two luxury condominium hotels, a convention center, spa, restaurants and shops. The project is designed to be pedestrian friendly so guests can arrive, park their car and not use their vehicle again until they depart.

The development’s two condominium hotels will have 477 rooms ranging from studios to four-bedroom units, plus underground parking, a village green with outdoor seating and fire pits, access to pools and a private beach. Developers are also proposing a pedestrian overpass across Highway 50, so skiers can easily access the Heavenly Gondola.

The Chateau at Heavenly Village is just the latest in a slew of recent announcements from developers building so-called green communities. The Lake Tahoe Development Company will register the development with the U.S. Green Building Council for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification to verify that the buildingís construction is environmentally responsible. It will use local wood timbers, stone, glass and other natural materials in the construction.

Projects in Tahoe pick up, despite real estate slow down

Getting new developments approved in the Lake Tahoe area is always a tough and lengthy process because of environmental restrictions governing building in the region. But in recent years there have been a handful of new projects geared towards vacation homeowners including the Village at Northstar in Truckee, north of Lake Tahoe. Several destination clubs, including Quintess, Lusso Collection , Exclusive Resorts, and Ultimate Resort also have homes in the Lake Tahoe area, and there are shared ownership options from Marriott and Storied Places, which has Tonopolo in Tahoe Vista. South of Lake Tahoe, at the Kirkwood ski resort, another private residence club, Expedition Lodge, is also in the works. It is selling one-eighth shares of three and four bedroom units with ski-in/ski-out access to the slopes.

But developers in the area are clearly now facing a tougher real estate sales market, though planning for such projects likely started in the height of the boom times. The Chateau at Heavenly Village is unique in offering a condo hotel product in the area, but the recent real estate turndown (both sales volume and prices overall have dipped in South Lake Tahoe) coupled with the condo hotel concept falling out of favor with buyers, it remains to be seen how sales of this project will play out.

Since there isn’t much new construction in the area, the project with its pedestrian friendly layout and the fact that is backed by a big named developer with several successful projects under its belt is encouraging. Also Lake Tahoe’s status as a national ski destination is still rising. While the region is still primarily a drive-to destination for San Francisco Bay Area residents, Reno airport, about an hour drive away from Heavenly has direct flights from several cities including Chicago, Dallas, and Seattle among others.