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.
The New York Times seems to have a thing for Leelanau lately. In For Mario Batali, It’s Molto Michigan a few weeks ago, they took a visit to the renown chef's Leelanau vacation home (complete with video slideshow with photos by Gary Howe and a tasty pizza recipe).
Then last week they looked at the tourism and real estate market in Leland in A Lower Peninsula Spot Draws a Wider Crowd.
Mark Carlson, a real estate agent and manager of the Leland office of Coldwell Banker Schmidt Realtors, said Leland essentially has four types of properties, with varying degrees of cost and no set architectural style.
First in price and demand are beachfront and waterfront houses and lots; whether they are on Lake Leelanau or Lake Michigan, price per frontage foot remains basically the same, with a range of $2,500 to $12,500 and total prices from $1 million to $5 million, Mr. Carlson said. Then there are houses with water or sunset views, followed by inland properties that contain small farms or vineyards, which start at around $4,000 per acre, though vineyards can bring as much as $10,000. Last, there are the houses and bungalows within Leland itself, not on the water or in view of it but a short walk away, which start at around $250,000.
My first suspicion was one writer trying to justify a vacation home but that's apparently not the case. Thanks to all who passed these links along!
Photo credit: 'Janice Sue' by John Levanen
The Leelanau Enterprise reports that the homes for the annual Northport Womens Club Home Tour (Wed, July 18 from 9:30 - 4:30) have been set. The five homes include Dan and Sue Brondyk’s chameleon home on M-22 between Leland & Northport (pictured right) and the Putnam Cloud Tower House in Omena, home of the Omena Historical Society & Museum.
Tickets are available at locations around Northport & Omena - click over to the Enterprise for additional contacts!
Photo credit: ? by jonwilli.
The latest issue of the Leelanau Enterprise has interesting and in-depth profiles eleven Leelanau residents: Ed Love, Steve Baker, Jim Wetherbee, Bob Ooley, Tim Lewis, Peter Miller, Richard Miller, Jenny Evans, Jackie Freeman. They also profiled two iconic Leelanau residents, "Editor" Nelson of the Leelanau Enterprise and Michigan legal pioneer Emilia Schaub (a member of the Michigan Women's Hall of Fame)
It's probably a good opportunity to point out their still relatively new web site which we helped to build. Leelanau news & features are all organized so that you can check in on recent photos, the sports page or stories from Glen Arbor township with just a click.
The site also added a really cool real estate section with hundreds of Leelanau County real estate listings.
The Traverse City Business News has a great feature on the properties, people and products to watch in the Grand Traverse region. The properties include the State Theatre, the Barns at the old State Hospital, the Harleysville Lake States Insurance building (that one with the gulls on it) and the Clinch Park Zoo. From Leelanau, Fishtown and (of course) Sugar Loaf are on the list. Regarding the Loaf they write:
Okay, stay with us here. We've been through bankruptcy, a jailed former owner, disputes over sewer service—but still no skiing again this winter. However, progress is on the horizon. Sugar Loaf has finally reached a tentative agreement with the Sugar Loaf Service Company to resolve the wastewater dispute, pending an okay by Sugar Loaf's primary lender. Meanwhile, Cleveland Township is finishing zoning changes that will clear the way for Sugar Loaf's redevelopment. Now owned by Kate Wickstrom, "The Loaf" will submit a redevelopment plan in the coming months. Wickstrom's attorney Joe Quandt says, "We look forward to the approval of the redevelopment plan and reopening the ski operations and a portion of the hotel, including food and beverage service, in 2007."
Read People, Products & Properties to Watch in '07 in the TC Business News.
Photo credit: State Hospital Barn by sunliner 500.
