Big Tupper sold at auction for $650,000 | News, Sports, Vacancies

Josh Parnes (left) and Martin Shapira stand on frozen Big Tupper Lake with Mount Morris, on which the Big Tupper ski area is built, in the background, February 14, 2021. The two own property on Big Tupper Lake and have been coming to town for the past seven years. They purchased the Big Tupper Ski Area at auction Tuesday for $650,000. (Photo credit: Martin Shapira)

MALONE — The Big Tupper Ski Resort and three nearby smaller properties were sold at a Franklin County auction Thursday.

Josh Parnes and Martin Shapira, two longtime friends who both live in Jackson, New Jersey, were the highest bidders for the Big Tupper ski area, as well as sites at Cranberry Pond and 1715 State Route 30.

Parnes and Shapira plan to restore the ski area to public use without going overboard. Parnes was happy and relieved when they learned they had received a high price for the ski hill.

“Our biggest fear in talking to the city was that someone would come to us who wouldn’t understand the community,” – he said. “You don’t understand the real mountain and its physical beauty, and then a big developer comes in and ruins everything.”

Big Tupper Ski Resort has sold for $650,000 after multiple bids pushed the price up from the starting price of $468,873.71. The original amount was calculated based on taxes and penalties owed to the county on the property from previous owners, according to Franklin County Treasurer Fran Perry.

Parnes and Shapira purchased the Cranberry Pond property for $45,000 and a separate parcel of vacant commercial land on Tupper Lake at 1715 State Route 30 for $170,000. The starting price for the Cranberry Pond project was $15,912.93, and the starting price for the land on 1715 State Route 30 was $148,987.30.

Parnes said the purchase of State Route 30 in 1715 was not related to their plans for the Big Tupper Ski Resort. He said they bought the property to have more direct access to the homes they already have, which are on islands accessible only by boat.

Ann Klimek of Monroe, North Carolina, posted a high price of $50,000 for a 300-square-foot waterfront lot along State Route 30. Parnes and Shapira did not bid for the site and have no connection with it.

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Big Tupper’s plans

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Parnes and Shapira’s philosophy for Big Tupper was to stay ski-free.

“Our whole concept is less is more.” – said Shapira. “We are not for overdevelopment. We believe the only reason people come to Tupper Lake is for its stunning beauty and nature. We would like to mix it with nature as much as possible. We don’t see this as a “how can we get rich by exploiting the mountains” kind of deal.

Parnes, 45, works as a healthcare executive, and Shapira works in real estate and design. Parnes said their professional successes allowed them to be financially able to purchase the ski area with the intention of “community, not profit” as their priority as they work to reopen it.

“One of the reasons we offered this price was defensive: we really, really, really didn’t want it to fall into the wrong hands,” – Parnes said. “Especially a developer who is not going to do the right thing for the city, the area and its natural environment.”

The duo said they did research into the mountain’s history and even contacted city, county and state officials over the past few months, shortly after learning Big Tupper would be sold at auction. They asked for advice on whether this project might be feasible for them and what assistance could be provided from local authorities.

Parnes said they hope to potentially operate the ski area as a public-private partnership.

“Obviously there wasn’t much they could do before they knew who would actually win the auction, but so far they’ve all been great and really helpful,” – he said.

Parnes worked with government officials and Rob Gillis, his real estate agent, and said it was critical to understand the mountain’s sentimental value as a source of pride for the community.

“We know a lot of people are counting on us to do this and do it right.” – he said. “We’re going to do everything we can to make that happen.”

They feel they have a lot of support from Tupper Lake and Franklin County and will continue to rely on it, given that they have no experience operating ski centers.

“We needed to figure out what went wrong the first time,” – Parnes said. “Even then, before we really got into it, Martin and I had an intuition: “This was too big a development idea.” The idea of ​​revitalizing the area is, of course, good, but there was too much of it, and I think its failure kind of speaks to that.”

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Community Connection

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Parnes and Shapira were first introduced to Tupper Lake nearly seven years ago while vacationing with their families in Lake Placid.

Parnes said they are both avid outdoorsmen who enjoy hiking and fishing and were looking for the best lakes in the Adirondacks and were recommended to visit Tupper Lake.

“We truly fell in love with Tupper Lake, both in terms of the natural beauty of its lakes and the character of the town and its people.” – he said.

They made several more trips to the city and eventually decided to buy a second home. They often come with families in the summer, and also in the winter for ice fishing and snowmobiling.

“We have some kids at that age where they just love fishing, hiking, playing softball with the Riverpigs and just the whole Tupper Lake atmosphere.” – Parnes said.

Parnes and Shapira believed it was important to provide their children with a different upbringing than the one they received as children.

“We both grew up in working-class families in Queens and Brooklyn.” – Parnes said. We never really saw the Adirondacks until we were in our 20s, we didn’t have that luxury growing up.”

“Tupper Lake is the perfect place for us.” he added. “This has allowed us to create an environment for our kids to have a really fun, healthy, and nature-oriented summer.”

Shapira said if his child had not been in school, he would likely be living in Tupper Lake full-time now. He plans to move there eventually.

“I’ve been all over the world, to many places that are considered some of the most beautiful places to visit,” – he said. “I’m going to say something extreme: I think the Adirondacks and Tupper Lake are at the top of that list.”