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The townships of Cleveland and Centerville invite the public to provide input and ideas for the future of the former Sugar Loaf Resort AND the surrounding areas.

Sugar Loaf Resort closed nearly ten years ago and now a vision for the future of the site and surrounding area is sought to provide guidance for how the Townships' master plans and ordinances could address potential development. Ideas and perspectives from the public will assist the townships as part of a sub-planning process initiated by the Cleveland and Centerville Planning Commissions.

There are 96 slots at each session (12 round tables with 8 at a table), the first two sessions filled up and the one they added next Thursday (Jun 25) from 1:30 - 4:00 pm is filling up fast – call them at 231-256-9812 to make a reservation! Visit the Leelanau County Government web site for all the info on these visioning sessions and to add your comments online if you can't attend.

Photo: Leelanau Cedar Mi Little Rare Little Traverse Lake & Sugar Loaf Hill by UpNorth Memories - Donald (Don) Harrison

An investor group has purchased the King's Challenge Golf Course near Sugar Loaf in Cedar and laid out an ambitious plan to transform the course into one that can compete on a national level.

Bob Kuras, president of The Homestead will head the new operation and says that two of the most respected firms in the business, the Arnold Palmer Design Company and Wadsworth Golf Construction Company, have been retained to make improvements to the course.

“The quality of Palmer’s work is known throughout the world.  And, Brent Wadsworth is a friend and seasonal neighbor who has built 800 golf courses including those at some of the most prestigious clubs in the world.  We are fortunate to have Brent as an adviser, and contractor,” says Kuras.

All of the improvements are being planned, built, and managed to qualify for the Audubon International’s Cooperative Sanctuary Program and the LEED (the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification. Work is underway and will be done in stages on the course and facilities. The course is expected to open later this year.

Also see Top golf coming to Leelanau County in the Traverse City Record-Eagle.

Now if we could just get the Sugar Loaf thing moving...

Acting as a private citizen, Leelanau County Commissioner David Shiflett has posted a petition to call on Leelanau governmental units to get control of Sugar Loaf. TV 9 &10 interviewed David about the petition last night.

"Every year that the Sugar Loaf resort remains closed, more and more people leave the area," says David Shiflett, Leelanau County Commissioner. "The businesses are floundering, their struggling to survive."

Shiflett decided -- on his own time -- to start an online petition to encourage the county to help private investors take over the resort.

"My personal belief is 'let's give it a whole new look, wipe the slate clean, start with a new plan and go from there.'"

Background (Preamble)

Since the winter of 2000, Sugar Loaf resort has been closed, resulting in a loss of the employment for over 300 people at the resort itself, not to mention the impact on the economy of Leelanau County, and the Grand Traverse region as a whole.

The residents, business owners, and tax payers can no longer accept the fate of what once was our economic engine. It's time to take control and form a public/private collaborative for re-development.

Petition

We, the undersigned Leelanau County tax payers, residents, visitors, and friends, call on Leelanau County's Landbank authority, Brownfield Redevelopment authority, Economic Development Corporation, with assistance from Leelanau County Board of Commission, Cleveland Twp. Board, Centerville Twp. Board, to take the necessary steps to get control of the lands, buildings, recreational facilities, and Infrastructure that make up the historical Sugar Loaf Resort Hotel, Ski Runs, Sugar Barn, and Sugar Loaf Service Company and Sewer Plant, including, if necessary, the formation of a nonprofit or municipal entity to manage the facility for the benefit of the entire community.

We urge all private and governmental entities, and all citizens, to come together in a joint effort to bring about the redevelopment of this significant community asset.

Click to read & sign the petition to Purchase & Redevelop Sugar Loaf.

The Traverse City Record-Eagle reports that Leelanau County officials are seeking federal stimulus funds to buy & upgrade Sugar Loaf Mountain:

"For the residents of Leelanau County, this is one of their prime issues, especially in the business community," said David Shiflett, a county commissioner and chairman of the county's brownfield redevelopment authority board.

The brownfield board and other county agencies are asking for $10.5 million under the state's allotment of the stimulus package to purchase the resort and a supporting wastewater treatment facility, parcels now owned by separate parties. They'd make upgrades, then offer the combined property for sale with public financing and other incentives.

"We don't want to be in the ownership position for very long at all ... the goal is to incentivize it so it allows private development to get involved, take control and be profitable," Shiflett said.

Be sure to read the rest and check out more Sugar Loaf news from Leelanau.com.

In Offers to buy 'Loaf' revealed, Eric Carlson of the Leelanau Enterprise brings us up to date on the state of Sugar Loaf in a well-researched article. He says that numerous offers to buy Sugar Loaf Resort from the "unnamed guarantors" of the mortgage have been made ... and rejected.

Real estate agent Allen Reed is quoted as saying that Kate Wickstrom appears to be out of the picture and also that the buildings are now viewed as more of a liability than an asset. Real estate agent and County Commissioner David "Chauncey" Shiflett of Leland agrees with Reed's assessment.  Shiflett helped establish the county's new Brownfield Redevelopment Authority and new Land Bank Fast Track Authority.

Clearly a "blighted or obsolete" property, Sugar Loaf Resort may present an opportunity for a developer interested in benefiting from special tax incentives as well as government loans and grants available for cleanup and redevelopment through the Brownfield Redevelopment Authority.

In addition, the county's newly-formed Land Bank Fast Track Authority has the legal ability to "quiet title" on certain properties where ownership is contested, unclear or potentially subject to forfeiture due to unpaid property taxes - circumstances which might describe Sugar LoafResort. Action by the two county authorities could attract a private developer willing to take on project to redevelop Sugar Loaf Resort.

"I have no idea whether the newly seated Leelanau County Board of Commissioners will support the idea of doing something to improve the situation there," Shiflett said. "But I know that trying to do so is something that I will be focusing on. I know that many of our constituents support the idea of the county taking some action to help revive Sugar Loaf."

Chauncey is quoted at the end of the article saying that:

"In some economies, it might not make sense for a county government to get too deeply involved in something like this, but we're not in a normal economy right now – and now may be the right time for the county to help spearhead an effort to revive Sugar Loaf."

Over the holidays, I looked around at the downtowns, and while I saw some activity, to me it looked like every winter weekend back in the day when Sugar Loaf was a going concern. I'm wondering what you think about whether or not the county government should get involved.

Sugar Loaf by Pierre Bourgault

News from the Week

News from the week included some last minute holiday shopping resources and the winning of the NCAA Championship for the second straight year by Leland grad Alisha Glass and her Penn State volleyball team.  We also had a cool photo of Fishtown and a nice holiday wreath.

The Week's Weather

The week's weather was par for December 2008: cold, windy, snowy, cloudy & cold (it was really cold).

December 18, 2008: Flurries & teens (22/6)
December 19, 2008: Heavy snow, windy & teens (23/1)
December 20, 2008: Partly sunny & very cold (19/-7)
December 21, 2008: Heavy snow & 20 (23/16)
December 22, 2008: Light snow & teens (19/10)
December 23, 2008: Light snow & teens  (25/10)
December 24, 2008: Heavy, wet snow & 30 (31/25)

Be sure to check out the above photo out bigger!

Click for the Leelanau News Archive from December 2007 and post your comments about the week (news, weather, whatever) below!

Weather Resources

Weather Underground is just about as old as the internet (the first net weather service) and is located in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Sometimes the above banner will show personal weather system data from Leland, sometimes from Leelanau Coffee and sometimes it comes from a vineyard on Old Mission (it tells you which in the top left of the page it links to).

Bouy 45002 in Lake Michigan is located halfway between North Manitou Island and Washington Island in Lake Michigan. It provides wind and wave data. Also check out Michigan Sea Grant Coastwatch for water temps (the "early evening" images in their archive will give you a better idea of actual temps during peaks swimming hours ... in seasons where you might actually want to swim!).

The Record-Eagle (and today's Enterprise) report that Brad Lutz, who signed a purchase agreement for the resort in February, announced Tuesday he won't close because he hasn't finished his review of the deal.

"We're still very interested in Sugar Loaf. We've done a lot of work out there and we still have a good plan for the property," Lutz said. "But we couldn't accomplish in 90 days what others haven't been able to accomplish in eight years."

...Lutz declined to discuss his plans in detail, but said he wanted to make the resort more of a four-season attraction in Leelanau County. He said he also needed more time to work on details like county and township approvals for renovating the property, tying down building demolition costs and reaching and resolving sewer issues as the resort's sewer system is not part of Wickstrom's holdings.

Read Purchaser pulls back on Sugar Loaf deal in the Traverse City Record-Eagle and also see Offers for Sugar Loaf shot down from the Leelanau Enterprise.

The photo is (still) waiting for Sugar Loaf by Andy McFarlane (who is still (still) waiting for Sugar Loaf).

Sugar Loaf area resident Bryan Poirier - who was up late practicing for the upcoming New Third Coast tour opening for Neil Young - was startled Sunday night to see "a bunch of lights zooming up and down the face of the mountain, but I just figured it was Jim Rennie 'sleep-grooming' again."

Rennie, another area resident, admitted that he had sought treatment for the rare sleep disorder. He said that he had been headed over to the Loaf to set a few gates "just for practice" when he too saw the strange lights. Upon arrival, he realized that the lights were a remarkable array of unidentified flying objects. By morning, county law enforcement officials and a growing crowd of curious onlookers were on the scene.

Calls to Sugar Loaf's owner, attorney and realtor went unanswered, setting people's minds somewhat at ease that it was still business as usual at the long-shuttered resort. Shortly after noon excitement was rekindled when, at a hastily called press conference, it was announced that Sugar Loaf Mountain had been sold ... to aliens!

The purchasing party is a consortium of several alien species who are calling themselves INVADER (Intergalactic Negotiators for Very Amicable Development of Extra-species Relationships). INVADER spokesman Klaatu announced the sale of Sugar Loaf for an undisclosed sum and pledged a massive investment in anti-gravity chair lifts and advanced alien snowmaking technology that would render the hills skiable 10 months out of the year.

When pressed about the selling price, Klaatu said "Long ago, we abandoned the concept of money ... along with war, starvation and reality television but I can tell you that all parties are happy with the outcome."

Alien attorney Zoth the Destroyer dismissed as "outrageous" speculation that the resort would be used as the beachhead for an alien invasion and regrettably ate our photographer, cutting the interview short. We did receive a lovely fruit basket by way of apology, however.

The Leelanau Enterprise talked to Brad Lutz regarding the listing of Sugar Loaf:

Lutz told the Enterprise on Wednesday morning that his “option to purchase” Sugar Loaf Resort from Wickstrom remains in force, and that he was still in the “due diligence” phase of his efforts to acquire the resort. Even though Wickstrom decided to list the property for sale after Lutz signed an agreement with her, he said "nothing has changed from my perspective."

Read Sugar Loaf listed for sale: Omena man still interested in the Enterprise.

I was chatting with Rob Serbin yesterday and he let me know that Sugar Loaf Resort has been listed on the MLS (for the low-low price of $5.7 million):

Michigan's famous Olympic mountain ski resort located in beautiful Leelanau county. This 478 acre (8 Parcel development) includes 144,000 Square foot lodge and hotel facility, airport, vacant land and much more!!

It's listed through the TheNetworkAgents.com and they direct questions about the state of the resort to Kate Wickstrom's attorney Joseph Quandt. According to the comment below, the listing is through Carolyn Collins at cjcollins.net (you can get it through the other link too).

I think it's important to note that right now, the fact that it's been listed probably doesn't mean a whole lot in regards to the Brad Lutz bid for the resort. Thanks also to Lex and everyone who emailed it over and stay tuned to our Sugar Loaf coverage (and look for something in tonight's Enterprise).