Tupper Lake, New York — This November, a historic New York ski area will be auctioned off.
The Adirondack Explorer reports that 240 acres of land, including the Big Tupper ski area, will be auctioned off on November 7th at 8 a.m. at the Franklin County courthouse in Malone, New York.
In August, Franklin County Treasurer Frances Perry told the Adirondack Explorer that 240 acres of property, including Ski Big Tupper, will be heading to a foreclosure auction this November. The four-parcel sale will also include a marina, lake access, and a pond.
In the 2010s, a developer aimed to develop the land around the ski area. The company planned to build hundreds of vacation homes around Big Tupper. Media outlets proclaimed it “the biggest real estate development ever proposed in the Adirondacks.“ Those plans didn’t come to fruition, as the developer accumulated a tax liability of nearly $470,000.
Over the past few years, the town/village of Tupper Lake has been trying to acquire the land by covering nearly $300,000 in unpaid taxes. However, a 2023 U.S. Supreme Court ruling nullified that a town would have first dibs in this kind of situation, which has led to this upcoming foreclosure auction. The town is unlikely to bid in the auction but remains hopeful that it can help out the future owner of the land.
First opened in 1960, Big Tupper has had an up-and-down history. Numerous owners came through yet failed to make Big Tupper a viable long-term business. The full ski resort hasn’t operated since 1999, but thanks to volunteers, the ski area briefly reopened from 2009 to 2015.
They also faced challenges, like finding funding, which kept them closed for the 2012-13 season. However, they were able to raise funds after allowing Michael Bay & Paramount to film a scene there for the 2014 “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” movie. According to the Adirondack Daily Enterprise, volunteers tried to reopen the mountain for a couple of seasons following that snowy winter of 2014-15 but were unsuccessful due to various factors. In its heyday, the ski area featured around 30 trails, five lifts, and a vertical drop of around 1150 feet.
If the new owners intend to reopen the ski area, they will likely need to spend millions of dollars on new snowmaking equipment and lifts.
Image/Video Credits: Rick Godin Productions, MediaCentralLLC, Skimap.org
