Sprawling theme park proposed for Grayling dogged by financial problems

For many months Axiom Entertainment has been trying to buy 1,700 acres of state forest to build Main Street America, a theme park the developers say would rival Cedar Point and bring millions of visitors and thousands of jobs to Crawford County in northern Michigan.

But the state Department of Natural Resources has said it will not sell the land before it receives documentation that the company has financing for the project. Axiom has missed several deadlines for providing this information, and its financial history contains some dark spots, including a failed theme park development in Indiana and bankruptcy.

Continued – Now there’s another layer of uncertainty to the project — the financing company that Axiom is working with on this project, Remington Financial Group Inc., appears to be under investigation by the FBI for collecting fees from prospective real estate borrowers and never actually looking for financing for them.

You can read more about this real estate loan broker probe here .

The Michigan Natural Resources Commission will hold a hearing on the Main Street America project during its meeting in Munising on Thursday.

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budget tracking software 1 week ago 1 point
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I hadn't heard about this before – thanks for a good report.

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beaware 8 months ago 1 point
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remove the mote… Preachin' to the Choir, Sister! 200 some odd years ago, Major Rob't Rogers canoed his way thru the Great Lakes. One place in particular struck his eye, and touched his Soul,(if the xenophobe had one at all), and he named it Cedar Point. The grandeur of the old growth cedars did it. This was from a man who lived in the Border Land: a small enclave of Farmers and their families, dotting the forests of the North East, and the rugged wilderness between them and Canada. It had to have been Spectacular. I hurt for having that stolen from my Children and Grandchildren. These God awful hare brained schemes, and the uncontrolled growth up here are rapidly stealing what's left of the Splendor north of the 45th. Every time I have to go thru Petoskey, the sprawl is worse. McMansions and fast food joints are everywhere now practically. The big ass hole in downtown Petoskey is rapidly becoming the Auto World of Emmett County. What kind of infrastructure is that? The businesses that have a LIVABLE wage are few and far between. oops. been dribblin' at the lip again. one more thing though: I wanna poke my finger in the eye of the asshole who thinks up the goofy asscrack names of these subdivisions! Good Mornin' L.! Thank You E. and Mich. Mess.

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LoRayne Apo-Joynt 8 months ago 1 point
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Wow, I forgot about AutoWorld That was a debacle, wasn't it?

It is rather sad that some folks don't believe the natural beauty of the northern part of Michigan is enough to capitalize upon — or that business enterprise ought to scale itself to that feature. Many folks live in Northern Michigan to get away from urban life and its incumbent crowding, along with the debris field of ill-conceived notions like AutoWorld.

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beaware 8 months ago 1 point
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autoworld…again. state Forest Land. FBI probes. Shady lending practices. These guys should just open “SandBox World” in the bighole in Petoskey. Maybe have barret moore act as m.c.: “Step right up and get a free FACEMASK for the kiddies! be sure and leave your kitties at home people…”. Main Street America. Which main street are they going to represent? Flint? Benton Harbor? oh wait! There's a project going on down there all ready. Maybe bay harbor will qualify. Why is it always a huge, gaudy, tawdry, ugly abscess like this that gets the go ahead? How about real investment in the Future of Michigan, like straitening out the fiasco in the State's schools? Some realistic tax relief FOR THE WORKERS. Excellent Reporting. Thanks E. and Mich. Messenger.

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