Tupper Lake, NY, Nov 17, 2011 — Today in Ray Brook, the Adirondack Park Agency takes up the question of whether to approve a massive resort project proposed for Tupper Lake. The Adirondack Club and Resort development would be the largest in the history of the Park. It's so big, affecting more than 6,000 acres, that commissioners plan to spend three full meetings hashing through the details. A final vote is expected to come in January.

One of the central controversies the APA board will have to settle, deals with forest fragmentation. Green groups say the project would fragment a huge swath of timberland, in a way that causes "undue" damage to the forest. But the developers, along with some independent scientists and state officials, say those concerns have been exaggerated.  Go to full article

Tupper Lake, NY, Oct 18, 2011 — State officials are gearing up to make a final decision about the proposed Adirondack Club and Resort in Tupper Lake.

Over the weekend, members of the Adirondack Park Agency commission toured the site, which stretches from the Big Tupper ski area to the banks of the Raquette River. The goal was to give them a better feel for the landscape that would be changed if the massive and fiercely debated project is allowed to go forward. Brian Mann tagged along for the tour and has our story.  Go to full article

Tupper Lake, NY, Aug 25, 2011 — Tupper Lake village mayor Mickey Desmarais says he won't seek another term and is bowing out of the mayor's race. In an interview with the Tupper Lake Free Press, Desmarais said the criticism that he has received over his handling of the Adirondack Club and Resort project has put strain on his family. "It doesn't bother me, but it hurts them," Desmarais told the newspaper.

Desmarais has continued to raise questions about the proposed resort, its impact on the local economy and plans for the Big Tupper Ski resort. The mayor had faced growing criticism from his opponent in the race, Republican Paul Maroun, who argued that village leaders should strongly back the project.

Speaking with WNBZ radio, Maroun said the community's mayor should be "110% behind the resort." According to Maroun, environmental groups are "still out there right now lobbying in Albany to kill this project."

The Adirondack Club and Resort project is expected to face a vote by the Adirondack Park Agency in January.  Go to full article

Tupper Lake, NY, Jun 14, 2011 — As we heard yesterday, the debate over the massive Adirondack Club and Resort project is winding to a close with a final round of public hearings.

State officials are grappling with the possible environmental and economic impacts of the resort, which would include more than six hundred mansions and condos.

One of the major players in the Big Tupper debate is newspaper publisher and editor Dan McClelland. Over the years, his Tupper Lake Free Press has emerged as one of the major boosters of the project.

McClelland himself has taken an active part in the public hearings, openly urging the Adirondack Park Agency to allow the resort to go forward.

His dual role as a journalist and an advocate has sparked criticism from some who view his coverage as biased and unfair.

McClelland sat down with Brian Mann last week to talk about his approach. He said it is challenging balancing two very different missions.  Go to full article

Tupper Lake, NY, Jun 13, 2011 — In Tupper Lake, the latest round of hearings into the proposed Adirondack Club and Resort has been focusing on economic questions about the project. Developers Michael Foxman and Tom Lawson hope to build hundreds of condos and mansions, along with a new ski area, marina, equestrian center and other amenities. The price tag for the project is roughly $500 million.

Some business leaders in the village say they're satisfied that the company has laid out a realistic plan for building the expansive resort. But some resort experts, state officials, and local government leaders in Tupper Lake say they still have questions about how the project will be financed and how enough buyers will be found for the new homes. Brian Mann has our story.  Go to full article

Tupper Lake, NY, Apr 22, 2011 — For seven years, developer Michael Foxman has been promising to build a massive new resort in Tupper Lake, worth roughly $500 million.

He's hoping to win final approval for the project from the Adirondack Park Agency this fall.

Many community leaders have embraced his vision as a way to revive a former logging and manufacturing town that lost seven percent of its population over the last decade.

But an investigation by North Country Public Radio, in partnership with the Adirondack Explorer magazine, found that significant doubts remain about the economic viability of Foxman's resort.

Over a period of weeks and dozens of interviews, we found that important questions remain unanswered about how the resort will be financed and marketed.

As Brian Mann reports, it's unclear when the project's elaborate infrastructure and amenities, including those at the Big Tupper ski area, will be built.  Go to full article

Tupper Lake, NY, Apr 22, 2011 — The story reported above by Brian Mann, in cooperation with the Adirondack Explorer, looks hard at the financial underpinnings of the big luxury resort project proposed for Tupper Lake several years ago. It raises complicated questions and concerns still on the table as the Adirondack Park Agency prepares for its final review, and decision.
Martha Foley spoke further with Brian this morning about the skepticism he found, and why these questions matters.  Go to full article

Tupper Lake, NY, Mar 25, 2011 — Yesterday, two news organizations - WNBZ and the Adirondack Daily Enterprise - reported that Tupper Lake developer Michael Foxman and his partners have fallen behind again on their property taxes.

Foxman's group wants to develop hundreds of resort homes and condominiums, as well as a marina and a ski hill.

The Adirondack Park Agency is expected to vote on a permit for the project later this year.

But according to local government records, the company developing the resort owes nearly $100,000 in back-taxes to the town of Tupper Lake and Franklin County.

Foxman spoke yesterday in depth with Brian Mann. He acknowledged that money is tight, but said the resort development remains on solid footing.  Go to full article

Tupper Lake, NY, Mar 17, 2011 — Hundreds of people packed the auditorium yesterday at LP Quinn Elementary in Tupper Lake for a public hearing on the future of the Adirondack Club and Resort.

Developers want to build hundreds of great camp mansions, condos and homes, as well as a marina and a new ski lodge.

The vast majority of those who spoke yesterday supported the project and called for the Adirondack Park Agency to allow it to go forward. Brian Mann has our story.  Go to full article

Tupper Lake, NY, Mar 10, 2011 — The Adirondack Park Agency's staff has released a draft version of what the state is calling "potential permit conditions" that would shape the big new resort proposed for Tupper Lake.

APA officials say those conditions for the Adirondack Club and Resort could change following a final round of hearings that are set to get underway later this month.

The project also needs a final vote of approval from the APA board.

But it appears that the Park Agency's staff is preparing to recommend that the project be allowed to move forward with some relatively minor changes and restrictions.

Jessica Collier broke the story about these APA documents in yesterday's Adirondack Daily Enterprise. She spoke about her story with Brian Mann.  Go to full article