Industry News
Two New Jersey entrepreneurs have purchased the Big Tupper Ski Area in New York for $650,000 at a Franklin County auction, with plans to revive the defunct resort and preserve public access.
The Adirondack Daily Enterprise reports that Josh Parnes and Martin Schapira, longtime friends from Jackson, New Jersey, outbid competitors Thursday for the ski area and two nearby parcels. The pair, who own vacation homes in Tupper Lake, aim to reopen the ski hill without overdeveloping the property.
“Our biggest fear was that a big developer would come in and really screw it up. We’re not looking at this as ‘how do we get rich by exploiting the mountain.'”
– Josh Parnes
The ski area has sat vacant since 2013 after changing hands multiple times. Parnes and Schapira envision a public-private partnership to operate the resort, focusing on community benefit over profit.
“We know there’s a lot of people counting on us to get this done and get this done right. We’re going to do whatever we can to make that happen.”
– Josh Parnes
The duo also purchased a parcel on Cranberry Pond for $45,000 and vacant commercial land on Tupper Lake for $170,000. They plan to work closely with local officials to develop their plans for the ski area.
The area is known for being the resort where Palisades Tahoe legends Scott and Robb Gaffney grew up.
Big Tupper’s tumultuous past is marked by ambitious plans and unfulfilled promises. In the 2010s, developers envisioned a grand transformation, proposing “the biggest real estate development ever in the Adirondacks” with hundreds of vacation homes surrounding the ski area. However, these lofty aspirations crumbled under the weight of a nearly $470,000 tax liability, leaving the project in limbo.
In recent years, the town of Tupper Lake has been grappling with the property’s fate. Despite efforts to acquire the land by covering unpaid taxes, a 2023 U.S. Supreme Court ruling dashed hopes of the town having first rights to the property.
