Lienholders launch appeal against court ruling on former Adirondack Club and Resort property in Tupper Lake. At the same time, the quest to reopen Big Tupper gains momentum
By James M. Odato
The lienholders who lost their hold on 5,800 acres surrounding the former Big Tupper ski area have moved to appeal the state court ruling that would allow it to be sold. Separately, Franklin County Friday took steps to take control of the mountain itself.
This means the long wait on selling the bulk of the site of a proposed resort development could be delayed again if the appeal moves ahead, while a quest to reopen the ski facility gains a bit of momentum.
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In maneuvers in recent days, three lienholders filed notices to appeal the ruling last month that freed land initially purchased by developers of a major resort project in Tupper Lake so that it could be sold at a public auction, potentially to an investor who has shown a keen interest in the failed resort project.
The lienholders proposing to appeal are law firms collectively owed millions of dollars by the former development team known as Preserve Associates, which wanted to build the Adirondack Club and Resort (ACR) with Big Tupper as part of the project.
That plan collapsed, leading to foreclosures by Franklin County for failure to pay taxes.
Last month, the lienholders lost their state court case against Stanley Rumbough’s Crossroads ADK LLC, which purchased the mortgage on 5,800 acres.
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The property was once owned by the Oval Wood Dish company in Tupper Lake and acquired by Preserve Associates for $5.1 million. Preserve could not pay the mortgage and it was acquired by Rumbough.
He would like to buy the property and pursue development of some of the ACR plan, which was approved by the Adirondack Park Agency after suits from environmental groups and others failed to block the massive project.
Parties that have notified the state court of the intention to appeal include the Albany law firm of Whiteman, Osterman and Hanna, which did not return telephone calls made Friday seeking comment. The lienholders had until Friday, 30 days after Rumbough prevailed in the foreclosure case, to file appeals notices.
Meanwhile, on Friday, Franklin County filed notices in county court indicating they are trying to follow Rumbough’s success but with the mountain known as Big Tupper. The notices show that the county has a new law firm pursuing the right to go forward with foreclosure proceedings involving Big Tupper.
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The mountain has been tied up in separate litigation from lienholders. The county would like to take control of it and make it available for purchase by the Town of Tupper Lake, said Town Supervisor Ricky Dattola.
A new law firm, Phillips Lytle in Rochester, on Friday filed a motion for summary judgment seeking a decision without trial to end the litigation and allow the county to take title to the land. Franklin County began its pursuit of the property through foreclosure in 2020.
“That’s good news,” Dattola said. He said the county has indicated that the town would be given first crack at acquiring the closed mountain, once an alpine destination in the northern Adirondacks, for the principal owed of the delinquent taxes, about $250,000. With interest and penalties, the tax bill is $441,622, said Fran Perry, county treasurer.
If the town could get the mountain, return it to public use and secure a ski center operator “it would be such a good thing for our morale,” Dattola said.
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Rumbough is interested in marketing the lots approved for development and seeing some of the original project through, his lawyer, Simos Dimas said.
Dimas said his client would likely bid on the 5,800 acres if they go up for sale and would bid on the mountain if the town did not secure it before auction.
“It’s been sitting for so many years,” Andrea Dumas, majority leader of the Franklin County Legislature said about the ski center that closed in 1999. “We’ve been going back and forth.”
The summary judgment motion is also good news to Rumbough. Dimas said his client spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on upgrading some facilities on Big Tupper when he had become active in the ACR project years ago with the former development team.
Preserve Associates had planned a residential community surrounding the former ski center. The developers wanted to reopen the downhill skiing facility, add a lodge, a restaurant, a hotel and set up 651 building lots for residences.
The developers envisioned creating cross-country skiing and hiking trails, a marina and a clubhouse on Tupper Lake.
Since the collapse of that plan and the foreclosure actions by the county, Rumbough, who already owns a camp near the project site, has added to his area holdings. He purchased the Blue Jay Marina and Campsite for $2.5 million in 2022 and has been improving the camping amenities on the 14 acres along the shores of Tupper Lake that are part of the compound.
Why does the county want this financial burden?
Come on its always Politics, money power control and corruption
Paul, I don’t think the County really “wants” this but they haven’t got a penny in taxes from the ACR scammers for the past decade or better. They want to offer it through public auction to anyone just to get it back on the tax rolls in some manner in the hopes someone will do something with the mountain that will allow taxes to be paid to the county.