Middlefield, CT – In a referendum held on Thursday, voters in Middlefield approved the town’s sale of Powder Ridge to the owners of a nearby outdoor activity park, bringing to a close a five-year effort to reopen the dormant Connecticut ski area.

By an overwhelming majority of 1132 to 466, Middlefield voters approved the deal negotiated by the town with Brownstone Exploration & Development Park of nearby Portland. The sale terms call for the $700,000 purchase price for the property, acquired by the town in a foreclosure proceeding in 2008, to be paid in $100,000 installments over the course of seven years.

Brownstone has further agreed to invest an additional $2 million to upgrade the property, although the company’s managing director, Sean Hayes, anticipates that they will need to spend at least $3.5 million over the next five years to restore and upgrade the ski area to current standards. Hayes has indicated that skiing could resume at the site as early as the 2013-14 winter, and that season passes combining skiing at Powder Ridge with off-season activities at Brownstone are envisioned.

“From all of us here at Brownstone we would like to thank all of the many supporters and volunteers with Powder Ridge,” the company said in a statement issued on Friday following Thursday night’s vote. “We couldn’t have done it without you and we can’t wait to get started!”