LA Group files lien on nine resort-related land parcels
TUPPER LAKE — The LA Group, a go-to consulting firm for developers, has filed a lien against the corporation behind the Adirondack Club and Resort, citing hundreds of thousands of dollars in unpaid fees.
The Saratoga Springs-based group, the full name of which is Landscape Architecture and Engineering, filed the lien on Dec. 23, 2016, against Preserve Associates in regard to a total unpaid amount of $787,405.58. The lien is on nine ACR-related land parcels, which could give the consulting firm partial ownership of the land and a share of any proceeds of its sale.
The developers say they formed five binding lot-sale agreements in 2016 with an escrow balance of $15,750,000, but they cannot make those sales until they receive environmental permits to build a road to the lots and also until they purchase the land those lots sit on.
The LA Group claims Preserve Associates owes it $367,612.07 for unpaid labor and materials, plus interest of $419,433.41. The group performed labor and furnished material in relation to the conceptualization and development of the ACR, a planned 6,200-acre luxury housing development with a renovated Big Tupper Ski Area as its centerpiece.
“The consultant has filed a lien representing their claim to a right of payment,” ACR attorney Robert Sweeney said. “It’s no particular concern to the progress of the project going forward.”
He declined to comment further.
Developer Michael Foxman, who lives in Pennsylvania, directed inquires to developer Tom Lawson, who lives in Tupper Lake. Calls to Lawson, Tupper Lake real estate partner Jim LaValley, LA Group President Joseph Sporko, LA Group Director of Finance Matt Sterling and the Jones Firm, serving as the LA Group’s legal counsel, were not returned by press time.
The LA Group had been working with developers from May 2004 until April 27, 2016, with an agreed-upon total price of $2.8 million for performed labor and materials, according to the lien filing.
The firm assisted the developers with applications seeking necessary approvals from the state Adirondack Park Agency, which included drafting and preparing permit applications, project plans and technical reports as well as conducting site visits and technical field studies, coordinating project team consultants and participating in meetings with APA representatives. The group also provided labor in regard to an adjudicatory hearing required by the APA for permits, for which the group prepared and participated in a mediation process starting in 2007 between Preserve Associates and opponents of the project, revised the project plan and permit applications following the mediation, provided testimony at the the hearing and attended meetings with APA staff.
Preserve Associates also contracted with the company to help with applications for necessary approvals from the state Department of Environmental Conservation and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, according to the filing. The group drafted and prepared technical reports and permit application forms for initial permit applications from the DEC for stormwater management, protection of waters, water quality certifications, water supply and wastewater disposal and conducted site visits. For the Army Corps, the group drafted and prepared wetland delineation for the core area, including a report and drawings, and conducted a field inspection and site visits.
The company also worked with developers to assist with applications for approvals from the Tupper Lake Planning Board, drafting and preparing plans, written materials and application forms, and participating in Planning Board meetings.
In addition, the LA Group provided labor and material relating to community outreach and public awareness, including presenting the project to local nonprofit group ARISE, and internal preparation and coordination to further the project, such as preparing draft drawings and written materials, corresponding with developers and coordinating day-to-day project administration.
The company also assisted in preparing plans and graphic representations for the state attorney general’s office, presenting testimony at a legal proceeding so developers could gain access to Follensby Pond Road, preparing plans and written material for demolition of the old McDonald’s Marina, redesign of Lake Simond Road and Lot F, and drafting and preparing an internal wetland inventory.
The LA Group filed the lien for one property at Cranberry Pond owned by Preserve Associates, two properties owned by Big Tupper LLC at 483 Big Tupper Road and a location on state Route 30, and one property at 1715 state Route 30 owned by the Tupper Lake Boat Club. Big Tupper LLC and the Tupper Lake Boat Club are associated with Preserve Associates.
In addition, the group filed the lien for five properties owned by the Oval Wood Dish Corporation Liquidated Trust at 1274 state Route 30, one location on McCormick (off) Road, one on Follensby Pond Road, and two locations on state Route 30.
The ACR project, which was started in 2004, has faced several difficulties during its process, including a lengthy legal battle with environmentalists from 2012 to 2014
Lawson and Foxman are also still waiting on the two permits from the DEC and Army Corps to construct Pond Road, which would run 5.5 miles from the Lake Simond Road extension to the 1,200-acre Moody Pond lot, the development’s largest parcel and the 17 other great camp building lots.
Lawson said at a December Planning Board meeting that developers were close to securing permits; however, both agencies later said they had not yet received permit applications.
In addition, the developers still need to buy much of the land they’re selling from the OWD trust and also pay off at least $290,000 in back taxes on the ski area.