Published: November 09, 2009 09:48 am      

Realtor sees a lot of interest in property

Unseasonably warm weather and mostly sunny skies led to a massive turnout at the second and final open house before the auction of the historic Mount Wawasee.

All parking spaces were full, including some that weren’t spaces at all, as hundreds of area residents and interested parties from as far as Michigan and Indianapolis came to consider an offer or just to reminisce about past experiences at what was once a popular local ski resort.

At the top of Mount Wawasee, people of all ages shared the view as well as stories as they wandered around by the dozens. Among them were New Paris residents Coral and Becky Hostetler.

Becky, born and raised in New Paris, said her Sunday school class used to come to Mount Wawasee to go sledding each winter.

“It’s just fun to be up here again and remember the fun we had,” she said, sharing one standout memory. “One time we were out here sledding, and one boy cut his leg open on a sled. This was before cell phones, so we had to wait for a ride. In the meantime, we packed the cut with snow to keep it from bleeding.”

Her husband, Coral, had his own experiences, as he and his friends used to go snowmobiling in the area during the 1970s.

“We’d be out here snowmobiling when people were skiing, too,” he said. “We would always stop at the lodge and get a hot chocolate. It was a hangout, of sorts.”

Back at the old lodge building, Brandon Steffen, president of Steffen Group, the real estate company in charge of the upcoming auction, was in good spirits as well.

“It is packed, it has just been an amazing turnout,” he said. “Everybody has a lot of good memories of this place, it’s been really good for them.”

Steffen estimated that around 500 people had shown up in the two hours the open house was taking place, including many interested in the property.

“We’ve had numerous, numerous people that have expressed serious interest in the property. Not just from Elkhart County, but other areas as well,” he said.

The Steffen Group handles a lot of properties around the country, he said, but added that this showing was in the top 10 percent as far as interest in the property, people showing up, asking questions and looking around.

The property is being sold in four tracts. The first, measuring 3.06 acres, is a lightly wooded home site. The second measures 17.64 acres and includes several hills, a clear freshwater pond and woods at the back. The third, at 9.91 acres, includes road frontage and the former lodge building. The last includes the top of Mt. Wawasee itself, the highest point in northern Indiana at 1,056 feet, and a total of 24.3 acres.

The auction will be held Saturday at 10 a.m. at the site.