$10.5M sought for Sugar Loaf purchase

By ART BUKOWSKI
abukowski@record-eagle.com

March 01, 2009 09:50 am

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Local Stimulus

Michigan communities, schools, colleges, road commissions and others are vying for a slice of the $18 billion taxpayer pie otherwise known as the state's portion of the U.S. economic stimulus package.

Northern Michigan is no exception. Local groups and agencies want money for roads, buildings, sewer systems and hundreds of other projects. For many, funding for wish-list items isn't likely to materialize. But some local projects may see badly needed dollars that could address crumbling infrastructure and create jobs and spin-off spending.

This is the final entry in a Record-Eagle series on local would-be stimulus projects continues, exploring what's wanted, what likely wont get funded, and what projects just might hit the federal jackpot.

The full stimulus series is available at record-eagle.com/stimulus

SUTTONS BAY -- It once was one of Leelanau County's top employers, but now the former Sugar Loaf Resort near Cedar lies dormant.

The once-popular resort, which covers several hundred acres in Cleveland and Centerville townships, closed in 2000 amid a sea of financial troubles and back-to-back poor snow seasons. Multiple attempts to re-open the operation over the years never materialized.

Now county officials hope to use federal stimulus money to breathe new life into the shuttered resort.

"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.

It's not clear what structures at the resort, which had a hotel, restaurant and other attractions, would need to be improved, torn down or otherwise altered.

Area resident Kate Wickstrom owns the resort and would be willing to sell it to the county, said Joe Quandt, her attorney. Her most recent asking price was about $5.4 million, Quandt said, and she's received "sporadic interest" from buyers in the past year.

The wastewater treatment facility is owned by Florida resident Ed Fleis and his partner, Brian Sculthorp. They'd be willing to sell it to the county, Fleis said. The stimulus request lists $1.5 million as a purchase price and another $2.5 million to expand and upgrade the facility.

Fleis also owns the original, still-open Sugar Loaf Golf Course. He'd also be willing to sell that to the county, he said. Shiflett said the county isn't yet sure if they'd want to purchase that course or the King's Challenge course, which was owned by Fleis until its foreclosure.

A newly revitalized Sugar Loaf needs to have more than just skiing and other weather-dependent businesses, officials said. Permanent residences, a business park and other attractions could be featured.

"There has to be a lot of options," said Trudy Galla, the county's planning director. "That's a big piece of property, and there's a lot of things that could be done."

Area residents hope the plan goes through.

"It was widely considered to be one of the finest ski resorts in the state ... nobody had better scenery at the top," said Brian Price, a Maple City area resident and executive director of the Leelanau Conservancy.

Price's children learned to ski on Sugar Loaf, and he said its closure marked a "huge" recreational loss for the community.

"From a personal standpoint, I can't think of anybody I've ever met that didn't want to see Sugar Loaf back in action," he said.

Photos

Leelanau County officials hope for federal stimulus funds to redevelop the shuttered Sugar Loaf Resort. Record-Eagle