Granite Place at Boulder Bay is the first new residential development in Tahoe in decades and is setting the standard for sustainable design and green building of the future.
Located just on the Nevada side of the California and Nevada border, Boulder Bay is a Silver LEED certified mixed-use redevelopment project that celebrates the very essence of the area – rejuvenation, recreation and relaxation – and that will benefit Lake Tahoe through significant lake clarity improvements such as state-of-the-art water filtration and capture systems. The Boulder Bay vision includes 59 luxurious residences, a 275-room five-star hotel, 20,000 square-foot wellness spa, 20,000 square-feet of meeting space, boutique shops and galleries, and casino.
With sustainability of paramount importance to the development team, emphasis has been placed on an infrastructure and energy management program that includes state-of-the-art environmental technologies. Utilizing best practices including enhanced thermal, visual and acoustical comfort, increased window sizes for natural light, careful selection of environmentally friendly products, the use of natural and durable materials, and a park-like setting that enhances the human connection to nature, Granite Place is a thoughtful addition to the Tahoe community.
Courtesy of Granite Place at Boulder Bay
The development team took great care to accomplish the goals and objectives of The Tahoe Regional Planning Agency (TRPA), which is the government managing agency of Lake Tahoe. The result are such that the agency has since used Boulder Bay’s plans and images to show all the communities around the Lake how they want to go forward and has created a basis for a new regional plan.
In keeping with the team’s dedication to be as sustainable as possible in this pristine mountain environment, their design and construction program aimed to set a new bar for building enriching spaces that optimize the preservation of the Lake. For example, tearing down old properties does great damage to the Lake. Redevelopment, if done properly, improves the Lake and updates the regional standard. At Lake Tahoe, due to strict restrictions, there can be no additional construction, meaning everything that gets built has to be torn down somewhere else, hence why this master-development will take 20 years in total to complete.
Courtesy of Granite Place at Boulder Bay
Additionally, water conservation is also a crucial element in the design and vision of the project. Boulder Bay’s water facility runs alongside the full length of the building and is about 15 feet deep and 10 feet wide through an underground cave with a core stone/gravel bottom. Prior to entering the vault, there is a certripicol separator that removes debris from the water. All storm water is stored underground in the absorption vaults and the snowmelt is sent to lake by percolating through the porous ground.
With thoughtful, green materials used throughout, Boulder Bay is the epitome of durable design. The design of Boulder Bay has enough of this type of storage capacity to handle a theoretical 500-year storm. Additionally, the sheeting on the building is clad in fire-resistant ceramic coating to greatly improve the fire resistance of the outside of the building, a threat in an area like Tahoe. Additionally, the property has a military-style design engineering room, where all pipes and valves are labeled and the proper reading position of every valve is labeled in a log key, in addition to being well insulated for the climate. All lighting is LED and motion sensor activated in public spaces for ultimate energy conservation. Additionally, the property was designed with high efficiency condensing boilers; domestic hot water is circulated throughout the building, which minimizes the amount of time water is running. Finally, all the passageways, roadways, etc are heated for snowmelt, which prevents the use of salt and other chemicals that cause pollution and contamination of Lake Tahoe.
Thanks to the masterly envisioned creation of Boulder Bay, a new chapter begins in Tahoe’s Storied History.
Granite Place at Boulder Bay Resort is located at 1 Big Water Drive, Crystal Bay, Nevada 89402. For more information on Granite Place, please visit www.boulderbaytahoe.com
