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A small Colorado mountain town of about 1,500 people has announced plans to purchase a popular ski resort currently under corporate ownership.

The town of Nederland that it will be buying the 680-acre Eldora Mountain Resort from Powdr Corp, a privately held company based in Park City, Utah.

“Hello, Nederland!” the town wrote in a . “We are buying Eldora!”

The prospect of a town purchasing a ski resort of Eldora’s size is a rare occurrence in the ski industry, which has been dominated in recent years by corporate consolidation headed by multi-resort giants Vail Resorts and Alterra Mountain Company.

Powdr, a self-described “Adventure Lifestyle Company,” owns seven other ski resorts, including Copper Mountain in Colorado, the Woodward action sports franchise, and heli skiing and rafting operations.

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“We are grateful for the opportunity to have stewarded Eldora for the past decade, and are confident that the Town of Nederland will carry forward the high-quality guest experience and employee culture that has made Eldora a beloved resort,” Powdr CEO Justin Sibley said in a statement.

Nederland officials began talks with Powdr last fall before entering a confidentiality agreement with the corporation in January and signing a non-binding “term sheet” on July 8, according to the news release.

Describing the term sheet as a “high-level ‘rulebook’ both sides will follow” while negotiating a final purchase agreement, Nederland said in its release that “if all goes smoothly,” it could purchase the ski resort as soon as October.

“There are many treasures that make the town of Nederland and the peak-to-peak region a unique and incredible place to live. Eldora is one of those treasures,” Nederland Mayor Billy Giblin said in a statement. “Our vision is to build on Eldora’s legacy and create a community-driven, sustainable, and year-round destination that supports local jobs, outdoor industries, and infrastructure development.”

How will Nederland purchase Eldora?

The town of Nederland said in the news release that it will issue municipal bonds backed by the resort’s earnings to purchase the ski resort, while also exploring possible grants and “private-sector dollars” to help lower the total debt.

While the town did not disclose the total purchase price, it said in the release that Eldora’s earnings are profitable enough to service the debt. The release said that over the past several months, the Nederland Board of Trustees has authorized contracts with legal, financial and environmental teams and consulted experts to ensure “the purchase makes sense” and to “mitigate the risks associated with the acquisition.”

In the coming weeks, the Nederland Board of Trustees will vote on a bond resolution approving a “not-to-exceed ceiling amount” disclosing the maximum debt that the town can assume, though the actual cost may be lower, according to the news release.

“The revenue bonds will not be backed by local tax dollars,” the town wrote in its release. “This avoids risk to the taxpayers.”

Powdr has “opened its books” to Nederland town officials, underwriters and financial advisers so that they can “fine tune” projections, according to the news release. The town said the financial models show that within the first couple years, it can build a reserve of $10 million that will be set aside in a “Mountain Recreation Enterprise Fund” to pay debt obligations during poor snow years.

Nederland plans to pay the debt off within 10 years or sooner, at which point it projects that the ski resort will generate between $2 million and $5 million annually that can be invested in streets, sidewalks and water infrastructure, according to the release.

“We promised from the beginning that we would bow out of this opportunity at any point if it didn’t make sense. However, this opportunity makes sense,” the Nederland Board of Trustees said in a statement. “It will help us create a solid economic development foundation to help us build out the infrastructure and opportunities for tomorrow while insulating the town from financial risk.”

How will the town of Nederland operate Eldora?

Eldora will remain on the Ikon Pass — the Alterra-owned megapass that provides access to over 60 ski resorts in the U.S., including Arapahoe Basin ߣÏÈÉú Area, Copper Mountain, Winter Park and Steamboat Resort — for the foreseeable future.

Nederland said in the news release that the Ikon Pass provides a stable revenue stream that is “essential to the financing plan” for Eldora.

Over the next two years, Powdr will continue to support Eldora under an agreement with Nederland, according to the news release. After that time, Nederland would partner with 303 ߣÏÈÉú, a coalition of Front Range ski-industry veterans, to support the mountain operations, the release states.

“This is a rare and exciting moment,” 303 ߣÏÈÉú founder Dwight DeBroux said in a statement. “When a town and a mountain are aligned, great things can happen. Not just for the resort, but for the entire community.”

Nederland officials have not said whether locals will see cheaper pass prices or other deals at Eldora. The town said in the news release that “while accessibility is a priority,” the programming in the first few years will be dependent upon the final purchase price and the cash flow after the deal is completed.

After the purchase, Nederland would plan on annexing the land where Eldora resides into the town, although it did not provide details on how this process would occur, according to the news release. The sales tax from the ski resort, if annexed, could add up to $2 million in annual revenue to the town’s general fund, the release states.

Under the plans laid out by Nederland officials, all current Eldora employees will become town employees following the purchase, adding about 700 people to the town’s staff. Nederland will also reportedly create a new “Deputy Town Manager, Executive Director of Mountain Operations” who will interface between the resort and the town government, according to the release.

“We envision a future where the mountain and town collaborate on workforce housing, childcare, transportation, and community programming,” Nederland Town Manager Jon Cain said in a statement. “Our goal is to support Eldora’s employees with stability, strong benefits, and year-round opportunities, while preserving the mountain’s unique culture and commitment to sustainability.”