Our brokerage firm and our properties…
In the News
11
Apr 22
Times Union, April, 2022
Berkshire’s Brodie Mountain finds a buyer
Berkshire ski resort, near Jiminy Peak, had been closed for years
April 1, 2022 Updated: April 2, 2022 3:54 p.m.
NEW ASHFORD — The historic, long-shuttered shuttered Brodie Mountain ski resort in the Berkshires appears to have found an interested buyer.
The broker handling the sale of Brodie, which is three miles from Jiminy Peak, says the sellers have an accepted offer on the 500-acre property.
If they move forward and go under contract the sale could be finalized in the coming weeks.
“It’s an amazing opportunity for under $2 million,” said Mitch Muroff, of Muroff Hospitality, who is handling the sale.
The property, which includes three ski lifts, was listed at $1.9 million. Muroff declined to name the buyer or the offer amount pending completion of the sale.
One wrinkle is that, according to earlier published reports, the covenant on the property attached after Jiminy Peak’s ownership forbids “public downhill skiing.”
It’s unclear, however, whether the covenant has an expiration date or if it remains in perpetuity.
Brodie dates to the 1930s, and after several owners was purchased in 1999 by the Fairbank Group which owns and operates nearby Jiminy Peak.
Initially they said they had plans to unite the two areas, but ended up closing the ski operation in 2002, with a snow tubing park remaining in place until 2007.
The area was then sold to the Holiday Inn/Silverleaf company.
“This was an excess property for Holiday Inn,” said Muroff.
One possibility for reviving skiing could be to operate it as a private membership-based ski club, similar to the Hermitage Club in Vermont, which took over what was previously the Haystack ski area.
Additionally, the sales brochure said it could be used for “snowboarding” or cross country skiing. It was unclear whether the covenant could be interpreted as banning skiing but not snowboarding.
Either way, reviving the lifts would require a large investment since the existing chairlifts are decades old and would almost certainly have to be extensively re-built or replaced.
Muroff said the sale is “as is.”
Other possibilities, he said, would be to redevelop the property as a “glamping” site, an ATV track, RV park or to build vacation homes.
Brodie isn’t the first small ski center to be closed after coming under the wing of another nearby resort.
Toggenburg Mountain near Syracuse closed last year after being purchased by SkiCNY, which operates the nearby Song and Tully mountains.
rkarlin@timesunion.com 518 454 5758 @RickKarlin
An earlier version of this story said the resort is under contract. It is not.
11
Apr 22
Snow Brains, April 2022
[FOR SALE] Ski Resort Could be Yours For Less Than $2-Million
SnowBrains | March 25, 2022
Brodie Ski Resort, located on US 7, in New Ashford, MA. was one of the leading ski areas in all of New England for many years. The ski area boasted world-renowned snowmaking and night skiing for much of its early history. Beyond alpine skiing, Brodie offered multiple kilometers of cross country ski trails and snow tubing. In the off-season, Brodie had a popular campground.
View the agent’s video of this property
In 1999, the property was sold and later became the sister ski area of Jiminy Peak. Brodie’s facilities necessitated maintenance which created unforeseen expenses; ultimately leading to closing in 2002. The tubing operation continued at Brodie until 2007. The Brodie sign on Route 7 now reads “Snowy Owl.”
The main mountain was served by three chairlifts, though only one went to the summit area. A shorter double chairlift, as well as a pair of rope tows, served novice terrain at the base. The advertised vertical drop was 1,250 feet, making it one of the largest New England ski areas ever to close. The trail map in 1968 shows the layout of the mountain, with 2 chairs, 2 T-bars, 3 rope tows, and plenty of night skiing – in fact, was the largest night skiing area at that time.
The 500-acres property is now for sale for $1.9m. This is an incredible opportunity to redevelop this historic site for any use. Think residential, vacation homes, planned community, skiing, snowboarding, camping, and glamping. Let your imagination run wild and call now to schedule a tour before it’s gone again.
Posted by
SnowBrains | March 25, 2022
20
Jan 22
20
Jan 22
4
Jan 22
Albany Business Review – Jan 3, 2022
Long Island executive buys second Lake George resort
By Robin K. Cooper – Reporter, Albany Business Review Jan 3, 2022
Long Island manufacturer Robert Hansen has purchased the 3.4-acre Country Cottages & Motel on Vito Road in Diamond Point from longtime owners Cesare and Virginia Portes for $2.75 million.
The sale closed Dec. 28. Broker Mitch Muroff of Muroff Hospitality Group handled both sides of the transaction. Hansen purchased the business through a real estate holding company called Country Cabins LLC.
“We had a couple of buyers interested and it came together very fast. It took about two months,” Muroff said.
It was the second time in seven months that Hansen has purchased a Lake George resort property. Hansen is the owner of Islandaire, an air conditioning and pump manufacturing company in St. James on Long Island.
Hansen’s first acquisition in Diamond Point occurred June 15 when he bought the 1.3-acre Lake George Suites on 3678 Lake Shore Drive for $3.2 million. Muroff also handled both sides of that deal.
The Portes family operated Country Cottages for nearly three decades. The resort includes 17 one-, two- and three bedrooms cabins, four motel rooms and a 3,600-square-foot home. The 31 Vito Road property is located in a wooded area just west of Lake Shore Drive, about three-tenths of a mile south of Hansen’s Lake George Suites, which is located on the lake.
“There are a lot of people interested in hospitality property around Lake George,” Muroff said. “We have more buyers than we have sellers.”
Muroff Hospitality Group is coming off a strong year. Besides selling two resort properties to Hansen, Muroff also brokered the sale of the 65-year-old Flamingo Resort on Lake George on Nov. 30.
Massachusetts real estate investor and tax analyst Chris Kozaczka and his family purchased the 4.63-acre Flamingo at 3914 Lake Shore Drive for $6.5 million.
Demand for Lake George resort properties is growing in part because of a shift in vacationing habits since the Covid-19 pandemic began, Muroff said.
“People are traveling more locally by car rather than getting on an airplane and going to Europe and other vacation spots,” he said. “It is driving up real estate values in Lake George.”
Occupancy rates and room rates also are increasing as demand grows and the number of available rooms shrinks as some older properties with cabins and motels are being purchased and converted into single-family homes.
27
Dec 21
The Berkshire Edge – Dec 21, 2021
Lantern House Motel Sold by Muroff Hospitality Group
The Lantern House Motel, located at 256 Stockbridge Road in Great Barrington was sold by Mitch Muroff of Muroff Hospitality Group on Tuesday, Dec. 15. Photo courtesy Muroff Hospitality Group
GREAT BARRINGTON — Muroff Hospitality Group recently announced the sale of The Lantern House Motel, located at 256 Stockbridge Road in Great Barrington. The seller was Bharti and Hasmukh Patel, on behalf of Lantern House Nominee Trust and Shree Pramukh Swami Maharaj, Inc. and the buyer was Patrick Truhlar and Francisco Arango.
The sales price was $1,150,000. Mitch Muroff of Muroff Hospitality Group represented the seller and secured the buyer in an exclusive listing agreement. The business transaction closed on Tuesday, Dec. 15, 2021.
The Lantern House sits on almost three acres in the center of Great Barrington, and includes 14 guestrooms and suites, plus a meticulous three-bedroom home.
Muroff Hospitality Group serves the greater New York/New England region as a boutique hospitality brokerage firm representing independent and franchised hoteliers.
—A.K.
16
Dec 21
Flamingo Resort -December 12, 2021
Saratoga Business Review – Dec 13, 2021
Flamingo Resort On Lake George Purchased By Massachusetts Real Estate Developer
Muroff Hospitality Group announced the sale of The Flamingo Resort on Lake George.
Chris Kozaczka, a Massachusetts real estate investor and tax analyst, and his family purchased the 65-year-old Flamingo Resort located at 3914 Lake Shore Dr, Diamond Point.
The seller was Flamingo Resort Holding LLC and Flamingo Lake George Inc., which is George Pasternak and his sister Chrystyna Panycia, whose parents started the business.
The sales price was $6,5 million.
Mitch Muroff of Muroff Hospitality Group represented the Seller and secured the buyer in an exclusive listing. The business transaction closed on Tuesday, Nov. 30 in Glens Falls.
The Flamingo Resort is in the prestigious Diamond Point section of Lake George. Muroff said the resort has been family owned for nearly 65 years, and the sellers were successful in finding a buyer that would continue their legacy of maintaining a traditional family resort.
The 4.63-acre property features 59 one-, two- and three-bedroom cabins, most with full kitchens, in addition to a spacious owner’s home, all with views of Lake George.
Other features include a private sandy beach, two full-size, heated swimming pools and a marina boasting 17 docks and five charter boat licenses.
The Pasternak family decided a couple years ago that they would be willing to sell the Flamingo if the price was right, but they wanted to find a buyer interested in continuing to run the business as a resort, Muroff said.
The Flamingo sale is part of a flurry of activity of marina and resort sales on the lake. Jim and Con Burke purchased the Bayview Lakeside Suites & Marina in Bolton in late October for $4.9 million. The 7.5-acre, 62-room Capri Village Resort & Motel next door to the Flamingo sold for $5.5 million last month to builder David Massaroni of Niskayuna.
Other sales dating back to December of last year include Adirondack Diamond Point Lodge in Diamond Point being sold to Todd Drake, owner of Watervliet-based Cornerstone Building Corp. and Empire Real Estate Management, for $900,000.
Capital Region plastic surgeon, Dr. Edwin Williams III, in May bought F.R. Smith and Sons Marina at 36 Sagamore Road in Bolton Landing for $3.5 million. In July, Muroff Hospitality Group announced the sale of The Lake George Suites, 3678 Lake Shore Drive in Lake George for $3.2 million. R.E. Hansen Industries Inc. of St. James is the new owner.
In late 2020, Dagget Lake Campsites and Cottages in the town of Thurman was sold by Tom Near and Pamela Finnegan for $2.8 million. Muroff also brokered that sale.
Muroff Hospitality Group serves the greater New York–New England Region as a boutique hospitality brokerage firm representing independent and franchised hoteliers alike.
21
Jun 21
Albany Business Review – June 18, 2021
Lake George Suites resort in Diamond Point sells for $3.2 million
By Robin K. Cooper – Reporter, Albany Business Review Jun 18, 2021, 8:46am EDT
The owner of a Long Island air conditioner and pump manufacturing company has purchased a Lake George resort with suites, a six-bedroom home and 20 boat slips for $3.2 million.
R.E. Hansen Industries Inc. bought the 1.3-acre Lake George Suites in the hamlet of Diamond Point, about 4 miles north of Lake George village.
The buyer, Robert Hansen, an avid boater and the owner of Islandaire in St. James, purchased the resort from Lake George Suites LLC, a company that at one time was owned by Rochester real estate developer Robert Morgan.
The sale was brokered by Mitch Muroff of Muroff Hospitality Group. The transaction closed June 15.
“It was a quick deal that attracted multiple offers,” Muroff said.
The seller asked Muroff six months ago to market the property confidentially instead of advertising through the multiple listing service or through national platforms. He identified Hansen as a potential buyer after Hansen expressed interest in previous Muroff Hospitality listings.
Lake George Suites is located at 3678 Lake Shore Drive next to Brodie’s Lakeside Marina, across from Canoe Island and Long Island.
The property includes 25 one- and two-bedroom suites, a 5,000-square-foot house, Jacuzzi suites, three large two-bedroom suites, a swimming pool and a two-bedroom cottage.
A full-time manager who previously oversaw the property will continue in the same position under the new ownership, Muroff said.
It is the second Lake George resort sale in the past week. The owners of Fort William Henry Hotel and Conference Center sold the Lake George Best Western Hotel near Exit 21 off the Interstate 87 Northway on June 11. That property was purchased by a separate group of Long Island businessmen for $4.6 million.
Lake George Suites is located a quarter mile from the 2.8-acre Adirondack Diamond Point Lodge, which was acquired by Todd Drake of CornerStone Building Corp. in Watervliet for $900,000 on April 15.
“The Lake George Market is hot right now,” Muroff said. “I think this is going to be the best season they have ever had. From what I am hearing, reservations are at an all-time high.”
Muroff has another Lake George resort listing under contract and he anticipates that sale could close later this year.
Hansen, the new Lake George Suites owner, was not immediately available for comment.
19
Dec 20
Albany Business Review – December 15, 2020
Belvedere Inn sold in Rotterdam
By Michael DeMasi – Reporter, Albany Business Review Dec 15, 2020
The Belvedere Inn, a 31-room boutique hotel in Rotterdam, sold for $1.72 million to two brothers who own hotels in New England.
Jimit Patel and Krunal Patel bought the property at 1926 Curry Road from the Mallozzi family, according to Mitch Muroff of Muroff Hospitality Group in Newton, Massachusetts.
Muroff represented the buyers and sellers in the deal.
The Mallozzi family opened the hotel in 2002 next to what was then their popular banquet facility. They closed the banquet hall in 2019 and the building was converted into Eddy SeniorCare, part of St. Peter’s Health Partners.
The Mallozzis continue to run a restaurant and catering business in Schenectady.
The Belvedere Inn is about three miles from downtown Schenectady, Proctors, Union College and the General Electric campus in Schenectady.
The Patels own an independent hotel in New Hampshire and a Days Inn in Augusta, Maine, according to Muroff.
Jimit Patel referred questions to his brother, Krunal, who couldn’t be reached for comment.
19
Dec 20
Glens Falls Business Journal – December 11, 2020
Dagget Lake And Campgrounds Sells For $2.8 Million, New Owners To Keep Existing Use
Courtesy Dagget Lake Campsites
by Andrea Harwood Palmer
Dagget Lake Campsites and Cottages in the town of Thurman has been sold. Mitch Muroff of Muroff Hospitality Group said owners Tom Near and Pamela Finnegan sold the property at 660 Glen Athol Road in Thurman for $2.8 million. “They owned it for 25 years. Tom wanted to spend more time in Florida, and he ran the campsite day-to-day. It was time,” said Muroff. Terry Crikelair of Adirondack Preserve LLC purchased the property. The sale closed on Nov. 18. Muroff represented the buyer and secured the seller. Muroff said the owners wanted to sell the property to the Adirondack Preserve so it would continue as a campground. “There were other offers (from) people who wanted to close the campground and keep the property as a private residential estate or family compound,” he said. “It’s a very safe, friendly, well-run property with very little turnover. Many of the people who stay there have been doing so for 20 or 25 years. It has that family environment feel to it. Tom was especially concerned with wanting that to continue. Those people were like family to him,” said Muroff.
The roughly 75 campsites will open in the spring when camping season begins. “The property itself is one of the most magnificent sites anywhere. It’s unusual because it’s a 400-acre property that includes a 110-acre lake, all within the property lines. Frankly, I looked for comparables all over the country and never found one that had a completely self-contained lake of that size,” said Muroff.
The property includes two homes, cabins, cottages and RV sites. The previous owner ran a water skiing school on the lake. Muroff Hospitality Group is a boutique hospitality firm based in Massachusetts that brokers the sale of hotels, motels, resorts and campgrounds. “I’ve been a hospitality realtor for the past 8 years. Our focus is on the Adirondacks. We sell more hotels on Lake George than anywhere else,” said Muroff.
With over 50 years of combined experience we’re dedicated to our passion, we love what we do, and we prove it to our clients every day.
Office: 617.610.7774
Fax: 617.964.0618
Website by Concept One