Lake Minnetonka in the North Woods? Ely cabin owners push back against resort plan
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A $45 million proposal to remake a historic fishing lodge near Ely into a modern resort just two miles from the edge of the Boundary Waters is generating pushback from residents who fear it would transform the area’s quiet, wilderness-oriented culture into something more akin to the boat-filled party atmosphere of Lake Minnetonka in the Twin Cities suburbs.
A pair of developers — one from Duluth, one from Brainerd — with financial backing from an Indiana-based firm, is proposing to transform the Silver Rapids Lodge, built in 1919 on a rocky split of land between White Iron and Farm Lakes, into a resort featuring a new lodge, restaurant and bar, indoor pool, hot tub and tiki bar.
Most controversially, the plan calls for 49 new “fractional share” cabins that would each be purchased by four different owners. Each owner would have the opportunity to stay at the cabin for a quarter of the year, and could rent it out when they’re not there.
The proposal also envisions up to 90 boat slips, including one for each of the new cabins.
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At a county zoning commission public hearing about the project last month, residents detailed a laundry list of concerns. They ranged from invasive species, to increased boat traffic and vehicle traffic along the Kawishiwi Trail connecting the resort to Ely, to noise and light pollution, to the resort’s water supply.
Commissioners scheduled an Aug. 8 follow-up meeting to gather more information from developers. They also are expected to take up a petition signed by more than 300 people calling for a more detailed environmental review of the proposal.
“Let’s slow down, look at other examples and work to get Silver Rapids a sustainable improvement plan that is scaled to fit, not force a tacky, cheesy mini Disney” onto a “very special once in the world location,” wrote Mary Garbutt, who owns a cabin on White Iron Lake.
Developers are asking Lake County for two zoning changes, one to expand the resort, the second to subdivide undeveloped land on the property into small lots for the fractional share cabins.
“Change is scary, and I respect that” said Sandy Hoff, President of F.I. Salter Real Estate in Duluth and one of the project developers, who said he hopes to break ground on the project this fall.
“And I respect the fact that they have this wilderness environment, and they don’t want a Lake Minnetonka type environment to evolve up there,” Hoff said. “I am very confident that’s not what’s going to happen."
Bring the shine back
First built more than a century ago along the rocky narrows that connect Farm and White Iron Lakes about a 10 minute drive east of Ely, the Silver Rapids Lodge is showing its age.
“I mean look at this, the way these buildings are,” said Rod Gruba as he steered his pickup through the property recently. “These shingles are shot. I mean, this whole facility has just been let go.”
The 70-year old general contractor and retired Fall Lake Township board member lives nearby on White Iron Lake. His family owned and ran the resort from1975 until 1992.
“I got a passion for it that basically it was in my family for 18 years, and I’d like to see it come back to a facility that’s liked by the area, is what I want,” Gruba said.
Hoff said he and his partner “saw the opportunity to bring it back to life” when they purchased the resort two years ago. “To bring the shine back to the diamond that is Silver Rapids Lodge,” as they wrote to the county in their application.
Hoff said as they began talking to neighbors, they heard old stories of people eating prime rib at the restaurant. People told him they’d love to be able to drive a boat there, dock it, and have a drink or a meal.
The challenge, he said, is the present resort is at the end of its functional life. Additional plans include replacing a small motel, modernizing existing cabins and removing a campground and RV sites along the lakeshore.
The fractional cabins would be built in three phases over several years. Hoff said they would be small, under 1,000 square feet. Not, he stressed, large lake homes. He said that model, similar to a timeshare, gives people an opportunity to buy property in Ely who may not be able to afford a larger cabin or lake home.
“Because first, the fractional share reduces their cost, and then the opportunity to generate income off of that unit,” through the resort’s rental pool, which, Hoff said “helps them underwrite that cost,”
Unwanted change
Many nearby residents welcome an updated resort with a new restaurant. But the scale of the current proposal has sparked an outcry from many locals who fear that newcomers will fundamentally alter the serene North Woods environment they treasure.
“I don’t think people understand the gravity of how many boat slips they’re looking at, and the potential of the number of additional watercraft that will be on here,” said Bill Wagner, who bought a cabin on White Iron Lake three years ago.
The software engineer from Chaska worries puttering pontoons like the one he steered toward the resort recently will be replaced by jet skis and ski boats.
“What you’re going to see over here, you’re going to see that hillside populated with housing that's going to be looking down right here. And you can see right up there is where the tiki bar is going to be. And you can just imagine ... that sound, it gets projected out this way.”
On the other side of the resort, Charlie and Marilyn Marsden own a cabin on Farm Lake, along a narrow, mile-long channel.
The Marsdens worry their grandkids won’t be able to paddle canoes along the narrow stretch of water, because of increased motor boat traffic.
“It’s going to change,” said Charlie Marsden. “We understand that things change over time. One of the things that’s awkward is when you’ve got something that’s really wonderful, you like to share it. We share it with friends. We share it with grandchildren. If you share it with too many people, you end up losing the thing you’re trying to share.”
“Especially with the whole culture of what they’re trying to build at Silver Rapids,” said Marilyn Marsden. “A tiki bar, a pool, a hot tub, is not consistent with the culture that exists here now.”
Hoff believes those fears are unfounded. He said the current clientele of the resort, and people who have inquired about the new development from the Twin Cities, Des Moines and Chicago, are looking for that Boundary Waters-type experience.
“They can go anywhere and find a lake that they can run their big speed boat. That’s anywhere. This is a unique experience that is more nature-minded and wilderness,” Hoff said.
Locals are skeptical. They say if that was the case 90 boat slips wouldn’t be needed — only a stack of canoes.
Maggie Jesme is a 33 year old nurse who grew up in Ely and moved back a couple years ago. She said she welcomes an updated Silver Rapids, especially a new restaurant. But she said the kind of housing being proposed — aside for five workforce cabins planned for the project’s final phase — is not what Ely needs.
“What we don’t have a shortage of is housing for tourists and for people who can afford to come and stay in our town for the weekend,” said Jesme. What Ely needs is affordable housing for people who live there year-round, she said.
Jesme stresses that she doesn’t have a NIMBY attitude — a “Not in my Backyard” approach to the development. She wants what’s best for her hometown.
But others argue as Ely has embraced a tourism-dependent economy it should support projects such as this.
“One way or the other the decision has been made that we’re going to develop an economy based on tourism,” said Kevin Lawler, who owns a cabin on Farm Lake about a half mile from the resort.
“And if we’re going to do that, I think we’ve got to stop saying ‘no’ to every development project that supports tourism, if we want to be in a town that has grocery stores, hardware stores, restaurants and things like that.”
Environmental review
County staff noted at the July meeting the proposal appears to require an Environmental Assessment Worksheet, because of the number of housing units proposed along the lakeshore.
“We’re not really trying to to change a lot of people’s minds and get people fired up,” said Hudson Kingston, legal director for the environmental group CURE, who submitted a petition with more than 300 signatures requesting the review.
“They’re already fired up. We’re serving the community to get the proper review that they would want, and which we think is called for under Minnesota law.”
Kingston also has a personal stake in the issue. He lives near the resort in a cabin his grandparents built. He said the county could decide to put protective conditions on the permit.
“But I think our position is that they have to know what the dangers are before they can fashion the right conditions.”
Hoff contends the review isn’t necessary. He said they’ve already replaced the resort’s septic system, which was out of compliance. They also have plans to remove leaking underground tanks, install a stormwater system and landscape a steep gravel pit that covers a large part of the site.
“From an environmental standpoint, we are going to be transitioning this to something that people are going to be really proud of,” Hoff said. “And so while I respect the concerns of people, take a deep breath and I think if you support us, you’re going to be really pleased to see how we're going to clean up the neighborhood.”