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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Dagget Lake And Campgrounds Sells For $2.8 Million, New Owners To Keep Existing Use

Posted on December 11, 2020

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.

The Belvedere Inn sold, owners’ catering business to continue

Claire Bryan Dec. 14, 2020, Updated: Dec. 14, 2020 5:25 p.m.

SCHENECTADY—The Belvedere Inn, a 31-room boutique hotel, sold for $1,725,000 on Friday.

The Mallozzi family opened the hotel, which is located on Curry Road 15 minutes from downtown Schenectady, in 2002. They decided to sell it to focus on their catering and restaurant business. The Mallozzi Group, the family’s restaurant business, owns Villa Italia, Johnny’s, and Rivers Casino food services at the Rivers Casino and Resort.

The hotel closed for a couple of months at the start of the pandemic but reopened in June, said Mitchell Muroff, the owner of the hospitality group that represented the seller and secured the buyer for the sale.

“It is open and doing nicely,” Muroff said. “I have every confidence that it will continue to prosper.”

The new owners, Jimit Patel and Krunal Patel, are experienced hoteliers who own a hotel in New Hampshire and one in Maine. “They have plans to upgrade some of the finishes in the hotel to make it even more lovely,” Muroff said.

Former Colonial Manor resort hits the market for just under $3 million

By Robin K. Cooper  – Reporter, Albany Business Review Dec 6, 2020, 7:50pm EST

Colonial Manor, a former resort overlooking the Catskill Mountains that for decades served as a summer retreat for families looking to escape life in New Jersey and New York City, is on the market for $2.99 million.

Goldstar Trust Co. of Amarillo, Texas, has listed the 64-plus-acre property in Westerlo, in southern Albany County, with Mitch Muroff Hospitality Group.

Goldstar took possession of the property at 203 county Route 405 after the previous owner, Heavenly Vision Christian Center of The Bronx, ran into financial problems and filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. The transfer was part of a court-approved settlement.

Broker Mitch Muroff listed the property for sale this month and already has received interest from a group in New York City that is searching for property for a school.

“There is a lot of history on that property between the hotel and resort and the religious organizations that have owned it,” Muroff said.

Susan May and her three sisters were still in school when their parents, Kurt and Irene Kent, bought the Colonial Manor in 1974.

The family ran the property as a seasonal resort for 15 years, hosting softball tournaments against other resorts. Colonial Manor was a place for reading, tennis, swimming and shuffle board tournaments. During its peak season, the resort staff would serve turkey dinners, meatloaf, mashed potatoes, salad and pies to as many as 125 or 150 guests who paid less than $135 a week per room.

The Kent family sold the property in 1989 and took it back over about three years later after the buyers fell behind on the mortgage. The family sold again and at least two religious groups have operated the property as a summer retreat over the past 25 years. The property was last occupied about six months ago.

May and her sisters toured the former Colonial Manor property this month. It was the first time in decades they had visited the property.

The resort includes a complex of nine buildings with a swimming pool, main lodge, an annex, a one-story motel, a barn and a pond. Currently, there are about 50 guests rooms on the property. At one time the number was more than 70.

Muroff will market the site through LoopNet and several national websites.

“There is a tremendous amount of activity in the seasonal hospitality market right now,” Muroff said.

Last month, he brokered the sale of the 400-acre Daggett Lake Campsite and Cottages in the Adirondack Mountains town of Thurman. That property was purchased by a Connecticut investment adviser for $2.8 million in cash.