KINGS BEACH, Calif. – Developers of the anticipated 39 North development are assessing feedback after a nearly three hour public meeting at the North Tahoe Events Center on Thursday night, June 5. Residents commended the improvements made since last year and offered further suggestions.

“We see this project as a vital, integral part of the overall Kings Beach and North Lake Tahoe community and we want to be a part of it, ” Phil Mader, president of Kingsbarn Capital & Development, said at the meeting while presenting the updates of the three-part development offering a hotel, townhomes and workforce apartment housing in Kings Beach.

Kingsbarn provided information on the development at a public meeting in May 2024 that elicited a variety of community concerns. At this June 5 meeting, Mader presented what he described as “significant changes” in direct response to last year’s meeting.

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The changes

The before and after revision renderings of the hotel reveal a less modern, more “Tahoe-esque” design. The once white and flat-roofed exterior now takes on pitched roofs and wood siding. Designers also added visual breaks that allow the ground floor parking area to be seen through.

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“Thanks for your comments. Candidly, everyone I’ve shown likes this more than this,” Mader told the crowd while pointing from the before revisions to the after revisions rendering.

Another striking difference is the reduced height, down from six floors to four (from 75 feet to 56). The announcement garnered applause from the crowd.

The hotel, which features a rooftop bar, event bar, restaurant, cafe, retail space as well as two ballrooms, now has vehicular access off of Salmon Avenue, rather than North Lake Blvd. The change of access is in response to feedback regarding traffic concerns on the main boulevard from the prior meeting.

The hotel rooms, which previously amounted to 179, are now reduced to 132. Kingsbarn is still maintaining the 189 parking spots.

The “Tahoe-esque” design changes also apply to the 38 townhomes along with visual breaks between buildings.

While design changes reduce the height of the hotel, another floor has been added to the workforce housing apartment building, a change criticized by some residents. The once three-story rendering is now replaced with a staggered three and four-story building rendering.

The change accommodates a reduced building length (from 247 feet long to 192) and an additional unit. Changes have also provided two-bedroom units as requested from prior feedback. The total building is proposed to hold 27 studios, 29 one-bedrooms and seven two-bedroom units for a total of 63 units.

The building is surrounded by 68 parking stalls on the south and west sides, an increase from 50 in response to parking concerns. Changes also increase the green space area.

“I think we’ve gone a long way, making a lot of changes to it,” Mader told the Sun after the meeting. “It maybe doesn’t meet everything they want, but we heard today that it was constructive, and we’ll drop back, and we’ll assess it, and then determine what we can do from there.”

Continued concerns

While the public generally acknowledged the improvements, there were concerns over public access, parking, hotel management, the lack of retail space and the impacts that come with the increased visitation.

Mader informed that Kingsbarn will continue to own the property but will bring a hotel brand in to manage it. The company has not yet made a decision on the hotel management brand, but Mader said they are looking for one that allows for the individuality and opportunity to express Tahoe. ” I don’t want a cookie-cutter box,” he said.

He addressed a workforce housing parking concern, answering that they have offered more parking spaces than required by the county, but in order to provide more, would have to reduce the number of units. “It’s a trade-off,” he said, explaining underground parking isn’t an option at this location either.

Participants raised concerns about townhome owners transforming their units into short-term rentals. Mader explained owners wishing to rent out their townhomes would be required to place them into the hotel pool, so they are professionally managed. Airbnbs would not be allowed.

Others expressed concerns surrounding the affordability of workforce housing. Mader said workforce housing would start at around $1,500-$1,600 with 2-bedrooms a little over $2,000.

Regarding the buildings themselves, some asked for more visual breaks on the workforce housing building, while others wished for more mixed-use development, rather than placing workforce housing on the outskirts of town. Some questioned whether the buildings were still too big, one person described the hotel as a cruise ship that had landed.

As logistical questions were raised and answered, there was a sadness and fear threaded throughout comments and questions over a potential erosion to the Kings Beach town identity, “a funky, cute little beach town,” as described by one resident.

Still, others acknowledged the reality of a much-needed revitalization, but wrestled with a question—at what cost? Others expressed they felt left out of decisions.

Another expressed an understanding that units are required to make the project viable, but felt the project still needs to enhance the community, not just developer pocketbooks, agreeing the town needs redevelopment, “But it has to be something that fits into the community, not the other way around.”

Mader noted the many objectives from the community at the meeting, expressing that it’s a balancing act.

“There’s no way we’re going to make everybody in the community happy, and the community even has competing objectives,” he told the Sun after the meeting. “We’re pleased with where we are, and we think we’ve done a really good job of listening and coming back with a plan that is well thought out.”

Mader couldn’t immediately say which changes were feasible from the feedback at the meeting but plans on reviewing the comments and issues raised. “We’ll see what we can address, and what we can’t address,” he said.

After processing the feedback, Kingsbarn plans on making a formal submittal with Placer County for review. From there, the project will undergo environmental review and make its way through the planning commission.

If feasible, Mader hopes to break ground in April 2027.

“I think we’ve done a good job of listening, and we look forward to continuing to engage with the community,” Mader told the Sun, who plans on doing so as the company develops project plans and prepares for county submittal.

The Sun will delve further into the history of the project sites and other details surrounding 39 North in future articles.