The proposed 39 North project still needs to complete environmental and public review processes before the board can evaluate the proposal. Photo courtesy of Placer County

NORTH LAKE TAHOE, CA (MPG) - To help offset the extraordinarily high costs of developing lodging in the Lake Tahoe Basin, Placer County took action this week to incentivize revitalization in the Tahoe City and Kings Beach town centers.

Nine years ago, the county established the North Lake Tahoe Economic Development Incentive program to spur investment in environmental and economic development projects in the Placer County portion of the Lake Tahoe Basin, where no new lodging projects of scale have been built since the early 1960s.

This week, the board moved forward with incentives for two properties, one for an existing hotel in the Tahoe City town center and another for a proposed project in the Kings Beach town center. First, the board approved a transient occupancy tax rebate to Campus Tahoe LLC for the remodel of evo hotel, a 48-unit property formerly known as America’s Best Value Inn in Tahoe City. 

The approved incentive rebates 80% of the transient occupancy tax to evo hotel over the next nine years. That rebate is estimated to amount to approximately $112,283 per year.

The evo hotel remodel includes a new HVAC system, flooring, fixtures, a renovated restaurant and bar area, as well as added outdoor amenities, including a sauna, fire pit and seating. Construction of these amenities has been fully completed or is near completion today.

The board also approved a separate option agreement with KB Kings Beach, LLC, or Kingsbarn, for its proposed development of a 170-unit hotel and condominium project called 39 North. The board authorized the County Executive Officer, or designee, to execute a tourist accommodation unit transfer and TOT rebate option agreement for 106 tourist accommodation units.

The Tahoe Regional Planning Agency created a cap for tourist accommodation units in the Lake Tahoe Basin more than a decade ago, requiring jurisdictions to collect units for redevelopment projects. 

As recommended by multiple economic studies and direction from the Board of Supervisors, Placer County has banked more than 200 TAUs for such developments since the beginning of the incentive program.

The board previously approved an incentive program application in June 2021 for the Tahoe City Lodge project, allocating 60 of those Tuning and Analysis Utilities (TAUs). Based on the recently approved option agreement, the county will maintain 40 TAUs in its bank for future hotel redevelopment projects that meet the criteria of the incentive program

The proposed 39 North project still needs to complete environmental and public review processes before the board can evaluate the proposal. Each of those reviews will be publicly noticed before a formal review is held. This approved option agreement signifies a placeholder for these 106 TAUs and will only be fully granted if the proposed project obtains all required approvals.

In April 2022, Kingsbarn submitted a draft application to the county requesting a development rights cost offset and a TOT rebate for the proposed project. Over the course of the past few years, which included a board presentation in January 2024, the proposed project has evolved based on board and local input.

Over the past year and a half, the Kingsbarn team revised the proposed project to embrace an “Old Tahoe” aesthetic while reducing the height of the proposed project from six stories to four. The proposed hotel was reduced from 217 to 170 total units in downtown Kings Beach. Further changes were made to move the proposed hotel entrance from North Lake Blvd. to Salmon Ave, workforce housing height and green space included in the proposed project.

Click here to read more about the incentive program.