Out with the new, in with the old.

A controversial project that included 22 condominium units, some with boat slips along the Lake Leelanau Narrows, won’t be built by the new owner of the property.

Instead, M. Egan McGlynn plans to restore an old farmhouse that remains on the property located north and east of the M-204 bridge over the Narrows, and prepare it for summer rentals. She has no immediate plans for a small commercial building on M-204 that had served as the headquarters for the now-defunct Narrows Development Co.
A BOATHOUSE along the Narrows in Lake Leelanau is on part of the property that was purchased by M. Egan McGlynn from John and Marge Bunek. The property is located on the north side of M-204 and east of the Narrows.
John Bunek, who with his wife, Marge, purchased the former site of the Lake Leelanau Lumber Co. in the early 1980s as an investment, was relieved with the sale. He thought the property would change hands after inking a purchase option with Wayne Tyge, a builder from Lake Leelanau who ran into strong public opposition and strings of red tape with his plan to build condo units and boat slips along the Narrows.

Bunek said McGlynn may be surprised at the quality of lumber used to build the farmhouse. “I was born in 1939 and it was already built. I’m telling you, it’s beautiful.”

Tyge announced plans in 2003 to develop the property by digging an inlet into wetlands to harbor boat docks with access to the Narrows. He was met with skepticism by the then-Michigan Department of Environmental Quality and went through a grueling approval process with the Leland Township Planning Commission. Eventually, he worked out a compromise with the DEQ and township planners for 22 condos and the docks, planning to offer 12 new slips plus two contained in a long-established boat house that marks the southern end of the property — and the start of acreage owned by Egan McGlynn and her husband, Leland Township zoning administrator Tim Cypher.

Tyge’s plans were also the focal point of a lawsuit filed by the Lake Leelanau Lake Association that was set aside by Circuit Court judge Philip E. Rodgers Jr.

But Tyge said the money he spent fighting off the lawsuit and through the approval process — he put the figure at $190,000 last summer — combined with the collapse of the housing industry to sink the project. He could not obtain a bank loan or attract an investor to get construction started. The Buneks made it known a few months ago that they were open to talks with new developers, and sold the property outright to McGlynn last Thursday, Feb. 25.

“My wife and I are very happy,” said John Bunek, who had voiced objections throughout the zoning process against what he considered too much regulation by Leland Township. “It’s all over for us with the exception of (fighting) an overlay zoning (district) they are planning for the Narrows.”

Also happy is McGlynn, who has plans to renovate the old boathouse. While neither she nor her husband spoke against Tyge’s development, she said they had concerns over how the plans could affect their property.

“We never opposed anything that was going on over there because we are property rights advocates,” said McGlynn. “I’m happy, because I do live next door. If I didn’t want to see condos, then I have the obligation to buy it ...”

While she provided no long-term plans for the property’s development, she did state that the condominium plan that had been approved will not be pursued.

McGlynn also did not have a concrete plan in place for the small, already renovated commercial building along M-204. Tyge had received permission from the Planning Commission to use it as a highly visible headquarters for his construction business.

McGlynn is employed by the Leelanau Family Coordinating Council and has her own business, the 3-Wheeler Deeler. Her husband has a consulting business called Cypher Group, Inc. offering home inspection services among other functions.

Nine years ago Cypher and a partner had planned to build a marina along the Narrows, but instead reached an agreement to sell 21 of their 27 acres to the Leelanau Conservancy.

John Fitzpatrick, president of the Lake Leelanau Lake Association, was pleased to hear the condominium project has been taken out of the mix. He supported the plans of McGlynn and Cypher as he understood them. “We’re not going to fight anything about it. He’s a responsible guy, and what they will do will be good for the community,” Fitzpatrick said.