The proposed Adirondack Club and Resort in Tupper Lake, which was formally approved by the APA last summer, continues to be one of the most contentious land-use debates in the Park. The development, which was proposed in 2004 by Preserve Associates, a real estate development firm managed by Michael Foxman and Tom Lawson, includes the reopening of Big Tupper ski area with modern snowmaking equipment as well as the construction of a large resort complex with a hotel, expensive vacation homes, shops and restaurants. Advocates of the project argue that it will benefit the severely depressed economy of Tupper Lake by creating temporary construction jobs as well as permanent service jobs, which will lead to an expanded tax base (adkworks.com). Opponents of the project argue that the environmental cost of the development has been understated because ecological studies performed on the site only meet the minimum guidelines set by the Adirondack Park Agency.
In class today we discussed whether million dollar homes within a subdivision in one of the most economically depressed areas in the Adirondacks would be appealing to potential buyers and whether second homes are inherently detrimental to the local economy. In my research for my project on the 1932 Olympics in Lake Placid it will be interesting to see what the economic state of Lake Placid was before the development for the games. I wonder if Tupper Lake has the potential to become an expensive resort town similar to Lake Placid with the addition of the ACR.
Sources: adkworks.com, my brother's senior thesis
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