No deal for Keweenaw Mountain Lodge Sale

COPPER HARBOR, Mich. (WLUC) - A Texas business group that offered to buy the Keweenaw Mountain Lodge says it has terminated its offer, so the historic property in Copper Harbor remains on the market with a $1.5 million asking price.

In a letter to the Keweenaw County Board of Commissioners, Anthony Lane Partners, LLC says getting a historic preservation easement, and following all of the associated restrictions, would make it nearly impossible to develop a profitable business at the lodge. ALP says it always intended to develop the lodge with great respect for its history, but it was never told about needing a historic preservation easement.

ALP says an unidentified person submitted undisclosed and unverified concerns about the group’s plans and began a push to create a historic preservation easement. According to the federal government, a historic preservation easement is a voluntary legal agreement, typically in the form of a deed, which permanently protects a significant historic property.

The lodge was built with federal money during the Great Depression to stimulate the local economy. Keweenaw County can no longer afford to cover the costs of the property, so it was placed on the market earlier this year.

The lodge was designated a Michigan State Historic Site in 1976 and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1970.

The Keweenaw Mountain Lodge is a 178-acre resort property that includes a rustic lodge, conference center, cabins and a nine-hole golf course.