National Park leases Sleeping Bear Inn to nonprofit group Balancing Environment and Rehabilitation
From staff reports
Balancing Environment and Rehabilitation (BEAR) secretary/treasurer Jeff Kato, construction general George MacEachern, and BEAR president Maggie Kato stand in front of the Sleeping Bear Inn.
Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore has officially issued a 40-year lease to Balancing Environment and Rehabilitation (BEAR) for the historic Sleeping Bear Inn and Garage in Glen Haven. The lease allows the Inn to be rehabilitated and opened as a premier bed and breakfast lodge. A public open house of the buildings will take place on Friday, April 8, at 1 p.m., following a short ceremony. The open house will provide the public the opportunity to see the buildings as they are before their rehabilitation.
Read our January 2021 story about BEAR and Maggie Kato, and their plans for the Sleeping Bear Inn.
Originally built between 1865-1867, the Inn served as a frontier hotel for business travelers and local workers. It continued in operation throughout the next century evolving into a tourist hotel. It has been closed since the mid-1970s.
BEAR, a nonprofit organization, submitted a proposal to the National Lakeshore in 2018 to rehabilitate the Inn and operate it as a bed and breakfast. The signing of the lease is the culmination of negotiations that included approvals from the State Historic Preservation Office and the commercial services branch of the National Park Service. The lease allows a bed and breakfast inn with approximately nine guest rooms, a commercial kitchen, and dining areas.
Maggie Kato, the executive director of BEAR, has wide-ranging experience relevant to this operation that she gained during the past 15 years serving as the executive director of Genesee County Habitat for Humanity, before her retirement in 2020. During her tenure, the group completed close to 500 home builds and owner-occupied repair projects. She built the organization from an annual operating budget of $500,000 in 2005 to $6,500,000 upon her retirement. Her husband, Jeff Kato, has extensive restaurant management experience and will be working alongside her on the Sleeping Bear Inn operation.
“We are thrilled to see this project come to fruition. We have been working closely with the BEAR team and have full confidence in their abilities,” said Sleeping Bear superintendent Scott Tucker. “The lease will preserve the two buildings and provide a wonderful visitor experience in the historic Glen Haven Village.We believe this lease will make the Sleeping Bear Inn the oldest working historic hotel in the entire national park system.”
“On behalf of our Board of Directors, BEAR is humbled to be part of the rich heritage of Leelanau County and Glen Haven Village,” said Kato. “We are grateful for the welcoming support of the community and the many folks with history and ties to the Sleeping Bear Inn, and it is our hope to weave those threads throughout its renovation and operation.”
Formed in 2018, BEAR was established to respond to the expression of interest issued by Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore to rehabilitate Sleeping Bear Inn and Garage. Their mission is to ensure the history and heritage of Glen Haven is made sustainable through the rehabilitation of its historic structures and believes preserving the history and legacy of previous generations is essential for future generations.
