Major Expansion Proposed for Tamarack Lodge; Condo Owners Voice Concern

East Bay Township planning commissioners will consider a proposal Tuesday from Wuerfel Resorts to expand Tamarack Lodge on US-31, constructing two buildings on either side of the existing lodge that would feature 160 new hotel rooms, an outdoor bar and pool, and an open-air pavilion. The proposal, which also calls for renovating Harbor Brook Hall for hotel meeting space, has raised concerns from fractional condo owners at Tamarack Lodge – particularly over plans to put a third of the development’s parking spaces in a lot across US-31 off Four Mile Road.

Planning commissioners will meet at Tamarack Lodge at 5:30pm Tuesday for a site walk of the property before their 6:30pm meeting at East Bay Township Hall, during which they’ll hold a public hearing on the proposed expansion. Wuerfel Resorts – which owns Tamarack Lodge, Alexandra Inn, and Harbor Brook Hall – hopes to build two four-story, 9,715-square-foot buildings to expand the Tamarack Lodge property. Each building would contain 80 rooms. Unlike the existing lodge – which has 29 hotel-condominium units used by approximately 200 fractional owners – the new buildings would operate exclusively as hotel rooms, and be independent of the association, according to developer Josh Wuerfel.

The township’s ordinance requires 204 parking spaces to accommodate the planned expansion. Wuerfel Resorts is planning to provide 215 spaces – including bike parking equivalent to 17 spaces – with 126 of those spaces provided on-site. The remaining 72 spaces will be in an off-site parking lot across US-31 off Four Mile Road behind the Speedway gas station. East Bay Township recently updated its parking rules to offer more flexibility on parking standards when off-site parking or other modes of access/transportation are available. Those changes were driven in part by Wuerfel Resorts’ redevelopment of Harbor Brook Hall and its access to the Four Mile Road lot for off-site parking.

Tamarack Lodge fractional owners appeared caught off guard when they received the township’s legal notice about Tuesday’s public hearing. Township officials received almost 80 letters about the proposal in the past week, the majority of which came from owners who said they had no advance notice about the planned expansion. With Tamarack Lodge “sandwiched” in the middle of the two new hotel buildings, as one letter writer put it, owners worried hotel guests would overcrowd the beach and use their condo-maintained amenities. 

Almost all the letters cited concerns about the offsite parking plan. “I would never want to have my children, myself, or any guests I may have cross US-31,” wrote Renee Hof-Lacey. Other owners shared similar comments, pointing to the elderly age of many property users and safety concerns about trying to carry luggage or groceries across US-31.

“I would never have purchased the property if I had to park a block away and cross a very congested intersection,” wrote Tom Koleski. He urged township officials to table or postpone the expansion to give fractional owners time to “review our bylaws and understand our rights in this matter.”

Josh Wuerfel tells The Ticker the development team has been “working with East Bay Township through the course of the whole process, working with their ordinances, and working to meet and exceed what’s required for parking.” He says the project is in line with efforts underway to make pedestrian and other placemaking improvements throughout the corridor as part of the township’s East Bay Beach District visioning process. When asked about the offsite parking lot, Wuerfel notes the US-31/Four Mile intersection has a traffic signal as well as a signalized pedestrian crossing. While some condo owners questioned the need for more hotel rooms given the proliferation of new lodging properties along US-31 in East Bay Township, Wuerfel says he’s “very comfortable with the audience for the new hotel rooms” proposed for Tamarack Lodge.

Planning commissioners could approve the expansion site plan Tuesday or choose to postpone it, according to a memo from Township Director of Planning & Zoning Claire Karner. The property is zoned regional business (RB), with hotels and motels permitted as a use by right. Generally, if planning commissioners find that the site plan meets the zoning standards, they must approve it. However, they could find that certain standards are not met or could add conditions to their approval.

One condition recommended by Karner for discussion could address at least one of the concerns raised: Karner recommended requiring Wuerfel Resorts as a condition of approval to provide one dedicated, labeled parking space on the north side of US-31 for each existing hotel-condominium site. Wuerfel declined to comment on that recommendation, saying he hasn’t had the opportunity yet to review the proposed language.

Pictured: Conceptual renderings for the proposed Tamarack Lodge expansion