Posted by Peggi Simmons on Friday, 07 December 2012 in News

A bankruptcy court judge in Greenbelt, Maryland, approved the sale of Wisp, the state’s only ski resort, for $23.5 million. The buyer was Entertainment Properties Trust (EPT) Ski Properties. Wisp plans a Dec. 14 opening.

The same judge also approved the sale of a golf course and other land to National Land Partners for $6.1 million. Closing is expected sometime this month.

Wisp Marketing Director Lori Epp told SnoCountry.com the company declined to comment or provide a quote on the sale or management plans “at this time.”

Wisp had filed for bankruptcy protection in 2011 after defaulting on nearly $30 million in loans it had received from BB&T Corp. of Winston-Salem, North Carolina, to build a golf course community at the ski area. That development did not sell as anticipated.

EPT, a unit of EPR Properties, a Kansas City real estate investment trust (REIT), owns movie theater megaplexes and golf courses, as well as 11 other ski areas leased to Peak Resorts for operations.

Those resorts include Jack Frost/Big Boulder in Pennsylvania.; Boston Mills/Brandywine and Mad River Mountain in Ohio; Snow Creek in Missouri; Paoli Peaks in Indiana; Mount Snow in Vermont; and Attitash and Crotched Mountain in New Hampshire. All of the properties are located near major metropolitan areas.

There has been no confirmation or denial at this point as to whether Peak Resorts would be involved in the operation of Wisp.