The developer of a stalled hotel project at the southern entrance to Ketchum has less than a month to show meaningful work on the construction site, or else see his building permit suspended.

Jack Bariteau, developer of the proposed Harriman Hotel, will have until Aug. 31 to show specific progress on the project, according to a letter sent to Bariteau by Ketchum City Administrator Suzanne Frick. At minimum, that means completing all the footings at the northeast section of the building and pouring at least 40 yards of concrete for structures related to the project, the letter states.

In an email to the Mountain Express, Frick explained that a site visit by city building officials scheduled to occur by June 1 never took place. Instead, she and Building Inspector Jim Lynch reviewed information previously provided by the developers contractor that showed soil testing completed in February.

The question was whether or not the work and testing that occurred in February qualified as continuous work under the building code, Frick said. After review, the Division of Building Safety and the city have determined the February work does not qualify and additional work must occur to maintain the building permit.

Excavation of the proposed hotel site began in 2016, but since then the project has not seen much progress. Per a development agreement between the city and Bariteau, the hotel needs to be completed by December 2021, with site inspections every 180 days to monitor progress.

We recognize COVID-19 has had some impact on construction activities, Frick stated in her letter, dated July 29. Therefore, an extension of the next inspection date will be authorized.

The next inspection must occur by Aug. 31.

According to Frick, if the outlined work is not completed by Aug. 31, the city will determine the next steps to take. At this time, there has been no violation of the development agreement between Bariteau and the city, Frick said.

Since the development agreement was reached in 2008, Bariteau has obtained five extensionsin 2010, 2012, 2013, 2015 and 2018due to lack of funding, flooding in the area and the Great Recession. The Harriman Hotel was previously proposed to be an addition to the Auberge Resort Collection, and at that time was projected to have 62 rooms and 12 residences.

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Ketchum hotel has three weeks show progress - Idaho Mountain Express and Guide