Sugar Loaf: Delays, Questions of Ownership and Property Taxes
The Sugar Loaf ski resort, in Leelanau county, has been closed since 2000 and is a site that the county would like to see redeveloped. The Record-Eagle has been following the story as it unfolds.
The Record-Eagle filed this story on delays to perform an environmental study of the resort:
"The county's Brownfield Redevelopment Authority poured about $40,000 into efforts to revive the former ski hill and recreation area that closed for skiing in 2000. County officials hope to use brownfield money to attract a buyer for the 300-acre resort. But they'll step back now, after learning the resort's mortgage is controlled by a corporation with ties to former resort owner and convicted felon Remo Polselli.
David Shiflett, a county commissioner and chairman of the county's brownfield board, said he's "very, very concerned" about resort ownership questions. He wants ownership matters clarified before the county spends more money on the site. "The Brownfield Authority is researching its options as to who's really in control of the property at this point," Shiflett said. "We're just trying to understand where we stand at this point."
The R-E also ran this story Saturday (Feb 13) on how the property will avoid a county tax sale:
"Efforts to sell Sugar Loaf Resort continue, but the run-down property won't go to a county tax sale, parties affiliated with the site said. A Florida-based bank's representative said Friday that more than $100,000 in back taxes on the sprawling resort will be paid to avoid foreclosure by Leelanau County for unpaid property taxes from 2007.
"A cashier's check has already been issued for that," said Leonard Zedeck, an attorney and principal for TransCapital Bank in Florida. A staff member for the Leelanau County Treasurer's office said no tax payment had been received by Friday afternoon. But Zedeck said the payment "is in the pipeline" and would be submitted well before the March 31 payment deadline.
To read the full story on the delayed environmental study, click here.
To read the full article about the property's taxes, including an interview with former owner Remo Polselli who was convicted of tax evasion in 2003, click here.
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