By CHRISTIE BLECK

Journal Staff Writer

MARQUETTE – $40 million might get you a really nice penthouse in Manhattan. The same price in Powell Township will get you a lodge, a farm, a windmill and 20,000 feet of prime Lake Superior frontage.

Those features are part of the historic Granot Loma, a historic property that sites at 1000 Marquette County Road KE.

It’s now on the market, said listing agent Bob Sullivan, broker and owner of Northern Michigan Land Brokers, which has offices in Marquette Township and Houghton.

Built in 1919-23 by financier Louis G. Kaufman, Granot Loma now is owned by Tom Baldwin, a bond trader from Chicago.

“It’s an extraordinary lodge and a really fantastic property,” Sullivan said.

There’s no doubt about that.

According to the NMLB listing, the lodge, listed in the Register of Historic Places, is 26,000 square feet and made of Oregon pine, cement and stone on a steel frame. The 60-foot-long “great room” features a huge stone fireplace with an 18-foot mantle and 24-foot vaulted ceilings.

Other lodge features are many, including 25 additional fireplaces, 23 bedrooms, 13 baths, dining room bar, gourmet kitchen, media room, steam room, wine cellar and a 3,000-gallon outdoor tub that overlooks the lake. A private harbor has a marina and an indoor boathouse.

Not a bad way to spend a day.

And that’s just the lodge.

The 5,000 acres of wooded land includes 3.7 miles of Lake Superior shoreline and miles of frontage on the Big and Little Garlic rivers – both trout streams – plus the property has a farm with 13 well-kept buildings.

Sullivan said Granot Loma could be used in many ways: residentially, commercially or publicly.

“One of the primary uses would be for a residential site for someone who wants, you know, an extraordinary piece of property with lots of private acreage, lots of water frontage,” Sullivan said. “And I say lots. I use that term loosely, but there’s 5,000 acres, 20,000 feet of Lake Superior frontage.”

He called the lodge the “flagship of the property.”

Overall, though, Granot Loma is an outdoors lover’s dream.

“It would be for somebody who wants their solitude, scenic beauty, unbelievable recreation, anything you want,” Sullivan said.

A private owner, he said, could use it as a primary residence, a second home or even just a place where party guests are hosted.

Segueing from that, he said, are commercial possibilities.

“I mean, it would be an awesome bed-and-breakfast, hotel, convention center for weddings and receptions and photos and all kinds of things in that regard,” Sullivan said.

It’s hard to believe there wouldn’t be a demand by people wanting to stay there overnight, a weekend or even longer, what with the secluded scenery and a view of the vintage farm implements that still are found on the farm yard.

“Some of the land, you know, has gone fallow because it was land for the cows, but there’s still quite a bit of cultivated land on the property,” Sullivan said. “So, the farm is neat too.”

Even the piano has a history as George Gershwin played the Steinway grand, which, according to the NMLB listing, is still situated in the lodge’s game room.

There are other possible commercial uses as well.

“You could establish a golf course there, a vineyard, you could refurbish the farm,” Sullivan said. “There’s so many different options.”

Granot Loma being used as a private home or business would entail some exclusivity.

However, he pointed out it could have a public function too.

“And then the other thing, the third thing that I think about, is the public,” Sullivan said, “because entities such as, you know, let’s say, the state of Michigan – it would be an unbelievable state park.”

The website realtor.com, he said, contacted him about Granot Loma, which went on the market in early October.

“This listing was the number one-viewed listing the first week it was on the market – in the nation,” Sullivan said, “and by 20 times over the number two listing.”

Sullivan noted the listing has been well received.

“We have a lot of interested people,” Sullivan said. “I can’t tell you when it’s going to sell. Some of that information would be confidential, anyway.”

He acknowledged the owners receive many inquiries about visitors, and would prefer not talking publicly about the sale.

Still, the thought of owning Granot Loma probably is thrilling to many people who either could or could not afford the property.

“It’s a beautiful place,” Sullivan said. “No question about it.”

For more information, visit NorthernMichiganLandBrokers.com or GranotLoma.com.

Christie Bleck can be reached at 906-228-2500, ext. 250. Her email address is cbleck@miningjournal.net.