Superior Shores Resort on North Shore of Lake Superior sold to investment firm

A large resort along the North Shore of Lake Superior previously owned by Bryce Campbell, the Lutsen Resort owner charged with arson in the blaze that destroyed the historic lodge two years ago, has been sold to a group of Minnesota investors.

Landmarq Capital, an investment and asset management firm specializing in destination resorts, announced its acquisition of Superior Shores Resort, located just north of Two Harbors, on Tuesday.

Terms of the deal were not disclosed. When Campbell’s North Shore Resort Company purchased the resort in 2020, it sold for nearly $15 million.

The resort will be operated by Leisure Hotels and Resorts, based in the Brainerd Lakes area.

The firm manages hotels and resorts in eight states, including Cragun’s Resort on Gull Lake in Brainerd, which was sold last year by its longtime family owners.

Leisure also runs several other properties in Minnesota, including Pier B Resort Hotel in Duluth, and Cove Point Resort on Lake Superior in Beaver Bay on the North Shore. Superior Shores “is literally halfway between the two of them,” said Jamie Tatge, president and chief executive officer of Leisure Hotels and Resorts. Tatge is also part of the investment group that purchased the resort.

Built in the 1980s, Superior Shores is one of the larger resorts along the North Shore. It includes 106 hotel rooms in the lodge, a restaurant overlooking the lake, a recently remodeled meeting and events center, lake homes and condominiums in an area of the resort known as Burlington Bay.

"Superior Shores is an iconic North Shore property with an exceptional location and significant long-term potential," Tatge said. He believes the property can benefit from an infusion of capital. “Some of these resorts that maybe have gotten a little bit tired, maybe need a little extra love,” those are the properties his company seeks out to reposition for the next several decades, he said.

Landmarq Capital purchased the resort from Blue Waters Development, owned by Joe Re. Re sold the resort to Bryce Campbell in 2020 after owning it for decades. But Campell lost control of the resort in 2024 — about six months after the Lutsen Resort was destroyed — after failing to make $13 million in payments required under a contract for deed.

A judge returned the resort to Blue Waters and placed it under the management of Iowa-based Kinseth Hospitality Group as a “temporary limited receiver.”

But Blue Waters didn't want it back, Tatge said, “and we acquired it from Blue Waters Development.”

Campbell has since been charged with three counts of arson and one count of insurance fraud for his alleged role in the Lutsen Resort Lodge fire. Campbell has asked a judge to dismiss the case, arguing prosecutors don’t have sufficient evidence to support the charges.

“Bryce Campbell had nothing to do with our acquisitions. It wasn't a reason to buy or not to buy the asset. We like the area, it became available… and we put the project together.”

Source: mprnews.org