The sale of Toggenburg Mountain is currently actualizing, with plans for the New York ski area to eventually reopen. | Photo: toggenburg
A deal is in the works to sell and potentially reopen the long-shuttered Toggenburg Mountain ski resort in Fabius, New York, after years of legal wrangling over its closure. According to reporting from Syracuse.com, Intermountain Management (also known as SkiCNY.com) recently offered to sell the 100-acre ski area to local businessman Douglas Wheeler for $1.75 million, down from its original $1.995 million asking price.
The development comes as New York State Supreme Court Justice Robert Antonacci II considers potential remedies following his April ruling that Intermountain violated the state’s Donnelly Act by purchasing Toggenburg in 2021 and then immediately closing it. The New York Attorney General’s Office argued that the move gave Intermountain a monopoly on local season ski passes, pushing more skiers to its nearby resorts, Song and Labrador Mountains, and creating higher prices and longer lift lines.
While Intermountain is appealing the decision, Antonacci has signaled his strong preference for a swift sale and reopening of the ski area. “I want Mr. Harris to try to settle this case by divesting,” Antonacci said during a hearing on Wednesday, referring to Intermountain president Peter Harris. “The quicker that can be resolved, the better it’s going to be for everybody.”
Wheeler, a Fabius resident whose great-grandfather once owned the land where Toggenburg sits, has made several previous attempts to buy the mountain. During a trial earlier this summer, he testified that he plans to reopen the resort and relocate his other businesses—such as sign manufacturing and auto repair—to the site. However, he acknowledged that a reopening this winter would be unlikely due to logistical and financial hurdles.
His attorney, John Petosa, cautioned in court that several months and at least $2 million in investment would be required before the lifts could turn again, making it virtually impossible to reopen this coming winter. Justice Antonacci has not issued a formal order for the sale but indicated he will weigh Harris’s cooperation in potential financial penalties. The Attorney General is currently seeking a $4 million fine against the company.
Judge Antonacci suggested that the faster the ski resort is sold, the more favorably the court may view Harris in its final decision, according to Syracuse.com. Toggenburg Mountain first opened in 1953 and had long served as a community hub, providing first jobs for many local teens—including Wheeler himself—before its sudden closure in 2021.