Traverse City event promotor Sam Porter announced last fall the rebirth of Mt. Mancelona, a one-time ski hill that Porter planned to turn into an entertainment hub for northern Michigan.

Those plans could now be in jeopardy: The 75-plus-acre Mt. Mancelona property is being foreclosed upon by the lender who held the mortgage that Porter, his wife Abigail, and their limited liability corporation used to purchase the property.

Porter told The Ticker plans are in the works to stave off the foreclosure and he hopes soon to have this episode behind him.

“We are actively seeking the right investor and funding to cover our current bridge loan of $360k plus interest that we pulled to save the historic mountain and space from being privatized,” Porter said in an email.

Porter said he’s already had investment offers and is optimistic that he will be able to forge ahead with his Mt. Mancelona plans.

“We are confident and…not concerned about the foreclosure at this time,” Porter said. “We have gotten this far due to the investment of some of the top business people in Michigan who did so saying ‘Sam, I believe in what you do and what you can do for the Mancelona region.’”

Porter said he also plans to soon launch crowd-funding efforts to help save Mt. Mancelona, which he envisions as a project that could boost the area’s struggling economy by creating jobs and other new businesses.

Mt. Mancelona opened as a ski hill in 1954. It closed in the mid-1980s. The Porters purchased the property in September from Richard Milock for $450,000.

Early in 2018, foreclosure proceedings began, leading to an auction of the property at the Antrim County courthouse April 13. The mortgage was sold to the highest bidder, Antler Bar Real Estate - the mortgage holder - for $360,000, according to a “sheriff’s deed on mortgage sale” filed with the register of deeds office.

Porter has until Oct. 13 to redeem the property at a cost of $360,000 plus interest.

Antler’s attorney, James Rose of Montague, Mich., did not return a message seeking comment.

Porter remains the property owner and has the right to use the property as he wishes through the redemption period, said Wendell Johnson, a Traverse City attorney who specializes in foreclosure law (Johnson is not involved in the Mt. Mancelona case).

For the past decade, Porter - through Porterhouse Productions - has organized and promoted the Summer Microbrew & Music Festival in Traverse City, among many other events. This year’s festival is scheduled to take place Aug. 24-26 at Mt. Mancelona. Other events are scheduled to take place at the property through summer and into fall.

On the Mt. Mancelona Facebook page, Porter said he wanted to move the festival from Traverse City to Mancelona due to lack of hotel room space in Traverse City in August. He also said it’s always been his vision to offer camping options to go along with the event, something he can do in Mancelona.

Chuck Johnson, Mancelona Township supervisor, volunteered at the first event Porter staged at Mt. Mancelona this winter, a sold-out Billy Strings concert held under a tent. Johnson says the event was "amazing" and it showed residents the promise that the place holds.

Johnson says he hopes Porter is able to figure out the finances of the property because he believes that if Porter could make his vision a reality, it would be a boost for Mancelona.

“We want to support him. If it does go good, it definitely will be bringing people to town for sure, bring people in and have them stay, not just drive through Mancelona,” Johnson says. “He’s really working hard at it, I know that. But financially, there’s only so many things people can do.”