LAKE PLACID – After more than four decades of ownership, Vic and Carol Kraus have sold the Mountain View Inn to the Holderieds, the family that owns the neighboring Golden Arrow Resort on Main Street.

Vic Kraus said the sale closed on May 9, completing discussions between the families that began about two years ago. County records show the purchase price was $1.4 million, just under its assessed value.

Vic, 74, and his wife Carol, 72, bought the 18-room inn in 1974, when it was known as The Thunderbird after it was built by Jack Davis, the owner of the nearby Hotel Marcy. They changed the name to the Mountain View Inn about a quarter of a century ago, but Vic Kraus said the inn itself remained similar over all those years, catering to many families who booked annually.

That is likely to change, as Peter Holderied said Thursday the inn will be used this summer to house immigrant workers in the village here through the J-1 student visa program. After that, he said he is unsure what will become of the property.

He mentioned several possibilities, including building storefronts, building condominium units and adding parking by digging out part of the hillside that the Mountain View Inn sits on.

“We have no idea what the future holds after the summer,” Holderied said. “It’s a neighboring property; that’s the most important thing.”

Following the purchase, the Holderieds removed the lettering on the inn’s Main Street sign that once read “Mountain View Inn.” The Krauses took bookings at the inn through March.

Vic Kraus said other potential buyers had expressed interest in the property in the past, but selling efforts for the past two years were exclusive with the Holderieds.

He added that the sale comes after a profitable time period for the Mountain View Inn. He said he and his wife plan to stay in Lake Placid, splitting time between their residences here and in Florida.

“We had a good going business that we closed,” he said. “We had not slipped off; we had a large repeat business. And I realized it’s a small business in a world today of big, big chain hotels. Some people just liked that atmosphere. It was successful right to the end.”

The Krauses posted a message on the inn’s website, www.lakeplacidlodging.com, reading “It is with mixed feeling we enter this new chapter of our lives.

“Our success has been due largely to you-our customers. We have shared many bright moments with most of you and will miss you all. We wish you great health and happiness in the years ahead. The property will no longer be an Inn but it too will change in the future.”

Kraus said he and his wife received phone calls throughout the spring regarding summer reservations. He also said he and his wife received about 50 emails from regular visitors recently expressing gratitude after the Krauses informed recurring guests of the pending sale.

“We got so many emails back wishing us good luck in what we do,” he said.

The Kraus and Holderied families have run their neighboring lodging businesses side by side for several decades, and Vic Kraus had kind words to say about the purchasers.

“They are good people, and they have a good business – hardworking, successful people, and big thinkers,” he said.

Vic Kraus also spoke highly of the village and the way things have stayed the same or changed since he and his wife purchased the lodging property 42 years ago.

“The business has gotten a lot better in Lake Placid due to the visitors bureau and the village; it’s a team effort,” he said. “There’s a good deal more traffic on Main Street than there used to be. Winters are much better; fall is great. There have been some positive changes on Main Street, but some of the things have stayed the same. The (Palace) Theatre and the charm of Main Street is a real plus.

“Lake Placid has been good to us.”