After sixteen years of vacancy – and a revolving door of potential buyers, failed development deals and unrealized property plans – Sugar Loaf Resort may be getting a fresh shot at revival under a new owner.

Jeff Katofsky, a California attorney and real estate developer who owns the L.A. Angels-affiliated minor league baseball team Orem Owlz – is closing on a purchase option this week for Sugar Loaf. Terms of the sale are undisclosed, though the Leelanau County property was recently listed for $6.9 million.

The resort came to Katofsky’s attention through a lawsuit he settled against Sugar Loaf’s current owner, developer and convicted felon Remo Polselli. Under the settlement agreement, Katofsky was granted the “option to buy three pieces of property (owned by Polselli) on certain terms,” Katofsky tells The Ticker. “We didn’t have to buy them, but we had the option.”

Katofsky ultimately exercised his right on all three Michigan parcels. In addition to Sugar Loaf, Katofsky acquired the former Metropolitan Hotel in Romulus and the historic St. Clair Inn in St. Clair. Following extensive renovations, Katofsky is reopening the Metropolitan Hotel next month as the new Radisson Hotel Detroit Metro Airport. Planning is also underway to bring the shuttered St. Clair Inn back to life, a project Katofsky has estimated could require tens of millions of dollars in investment.

“St. Clair Inn is very similar in a lot of ways (to Sugar Loaf) in terms of its history and importance to the community,” Katofsky says. “I think so far we’ve done a good job there. We’ve had tremendous support to get what we need to get done, done."

Katofsky says he’ll need similar community support in Leelanau County to revive Sugar Loaf Resort, which he hopes to reopen as a four-season, high-end resort. “In my opinion, (that model) is what it will take to make a profit,” he says. “It’s a prime piece of real estate in a prime area. But I’m not interested in negativity…I want to walk into this thing clean and build something everyone will be proud of.”

Katofsky says he’s followed local media coverage surrounding the resort and is aware of promises from past owners or would-be buyers that later vaporized. “I’m not making any promises, except for the promise we’re going to take the hardest look at it possible,” Katofsky says. He notes he wouldn’t have purchased the resort if he didn’t believe it was fiscally feasible to revive it. “If we can get the appropriate cooperation to build a fine resort there that’s open year-round and puts things at a level they haven’t been at in a long time, we’ll do that. If not, we won’t.”

Leelanau County Building Official/Inspector Steve Haughen says he’s had multiple conversations with Katofsky about the property and the need to address outstanding code violations at the resort. Katofsky says he wants to avoid investing in costly fixes for minor violations that may ultimately need to be torn down or redone if the resort is gutted and renovated. “If it’s a safety issue, we’ll take care of that now,” he says.

Haughen concurs with that approach, “as long as the work starts immediately and we start seeing some improvements to the property.” Haughen says Leelanau County officials are “very willing to work with (Katofsky), as we would anyone in the county who wants to make a space viable again. But we do have (standards) that need to be met for public health, safety and welfare.” The building official says Katofsky has been “straightforward” to deal with and that he looked into several of the developer’s past projects. “His interest is not in holding the property, but in utilizing it,” Haughen says.

So what comes next for Sugar Loaf once the sale closes and the title officially transfers? Katofsky says that a team of his consultants have already visited and evaluated the property, and that he plans to make a personal visit to the resort “before the end of the year.” If Katofsky ultimately proceeds with plans to renovate and reopen Sugar Loaf, he cautions the process could take several years.

“I’m not going to put a BandAid on it, or put it together with Scotch tape just to open the doors,” Katofsky says. The new owner says feasibility studies and planning work could take at least 12-16 months under an "aggressive" timeline, while actual construction work could be another two years.

“So at least three to four years until the doors are open,” Katofsky says. “It’s been neglected for a few decades. To do it right, it’s going to take time.”