Josh Parnes, left, and Martin Schapira sit on a frozen Big Tupper Lake with Mount Morris — on which the Big Tupper Ski Area is built — in the background on Feb. 14, 2021. The two own property on Big Tupper Lake and came to town in the last seven years. They bought the Big Tupper Ski Area at auction on Tuesday for $650,000. (Photo provided – Martin Schapira)

MALONE – The Big Tupper Ski Area and three nearby smaller parcels were auctioned off by Franklin County here Thursday.

Josh Parnes and Martin Schapira, two longtime friends who both live in Jackson, New Jersey, were the highest bidders for the Big Tupper Ski Area as well as parcels on Cranberry Pond and 1715 State Route 30.

Parnes and Schapira plan to restore the ski area for public access without overdeveloping it. Parnes was happy and relieved when they found out he had a big offer for the ski hill.

“Our biggest fear when we talked to the city was that we would have someone come in, not understand the local community,” he said. “They don’t understand the mountain itself and the physical beauty of it, and a big developer has to come in and really screw it up.”

Big Tupper Ski Area sold for $650,000 after multiple offers raised the price from $468,873.71. The original amount was calculated based on taxes and penalties owed to the county on the property from the previous owners, according to Franklin County Treasurer Fran Perry.

Parnes and Schapira purchased the Cranberry Pond parcel for $45,000 and a separate parcel of vacant commercial land on Tupper Lake at 1715 State Route 30 for $170,000. Cranberry Pond had a starting bid of $15,912.93 and the 1715 State Route 30 lot had a starting bid of $148,987.30.

Parnes said the purchase of 1715 Route 30 is unrelated to their plans for the Big Tupper Ski Area. He said they bought that parcel to get more direct access to the homes they already own – which are on islands and accessible only by boat.

Anne Klimek – of Monroe, North Carolina – placed the high bid of $50,000 for a 300-square-foot parcel on the waterfront along State Route 30. Parnes and Schapira did not bid on that parcel and did not a connection with her.

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Big Tupper plans

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Parnes and Schapira’s philosophy for the Big Tupper revolved around not going over the skis.

“Our whole concept is less is more” Schapira said. “We are not fans of overdevelopment. We believe that the reason people come to Tupper Lake is its stunning beauty and nature. We would like to merge it with nature as much as possible. We’re not looking at it as a ‘how do we get rich mining the mountain’ type of thing.”

Parnes, 45, is a healthcare executive, while Schapira works in real estate and property design. Parnes said their professional successes put them in a financial position to purchase the ski area with the intention of having “community, not profit” as a priority as they work to reopen it.

“One of the reasons I bid was defensively: I really, really, really didn’t want it to get into the wrong hands.” Parnes said. “Especially a developer who won’t do the right thing for the city, the area and the nature of it.”

The two said they did their research on the mountain’s history and even contacted city, county and state officials in recent months shortly after learning Big Tupper would be up for auction. They asked for advice on whether this might be a feasible project for them and what assistance might be available from local governments.

Parnes said their hope is to operate the ski area as a public-private partnership.

“Obviously there was only so much they could do before they knew who was actually going to win the bid, but everyone has been great and very helpful so far.” he said.

Parnes worked with government officials and Rob Gillis as his real estate agent, and said it was critical to understanding the mountain’s sentimental value as a source of community pride.

“We know a lot of people are counting on us to do this and do it right,” he said. “We’re going to do everything we can to make that happen.”

They feel they have a lot of support from Tupper Lake and Franklin County and will continue to lean on that, given their lack of experience in ski resort operations.

“We had to catch up on what went wrong the first time,” Parnes said. “Even then, before we really broke it down, Martin and I had a gut feeling that, “It was way too big of a development idea. The concept of revitalizing the area is, of course, great, but it was too much, and I think its failure kind of speaks to that.”

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Community connection

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Parnes and Schapira first became familiar with Tupper Lake nearly seven years ago while vacationing with their families in Lake Placid.

Parnes said they are both avid outdoorsmen who enjoy hiking and fishing and seek out the best lakes in the Adirondacks and were recommended to visit Tupper Lake.

“We fell head over heels for Tupper Lake, both for the natural beauty of its lakes and the character of the town and its people.” he said.

They made a few more trips to the city and eventually decided to buy second homes. They often come with their families in the summer as well as ice fishing and snowmobiling in the winter.

“We have a number of kids who are at that age where they just love fishing, hiking, softball games with the Riverpigs and just the whole atmosphere of Tupper Lake.” Parnes said.

Parnes and Schapira felt it was important to create a different education for their children than what they experienced as children.

“We both grew up in working-class families in Queens and Brooklyn,” Parnes said. I never experienced the Adirondacks until I was 20, I didn’t have that luxury growing up as kids.”

“Tupper Lake is the perfect place for us.” he added. “It allowed us to set down roots for our kids to have really fun, healthy, nature-oriented summers.”

Shapira said if it weren’t for her child’s school, she probably would be living in Tupper Lake full-time now. Eventually he plans to move there.

“I’ve been all over the world, to so many places that are considered to be among the most naturally beautiful places to visit.” he said. “I’m going to say something extreme: I think the Adirondacks and Tupper Lake are at the top of the list.”