Growing Minnesota resort owner plans Mille Lacs Lake retreat

The owner of the North Shore’s Bluefin Bay is building a new resort on another giant Minnesota lake: Mille Lacs.

Del Mar Dunes in Garrison, Minn., is expected to include 40 coastal-style multi-unit buildings on the western shore of Mille Lacs Lake, a $50 million investment. Eventually, Silver Bay native Joe Swanson hopes to add a lodge.

The project gives Swanson a hospitality footprint in three distinct Minnesota destinations. With a partner, Pipasu Soni, he bought four fishing resorts on Lake of the Woods in 2022 for $20 million. Their North Shore properties together also include Surfside, Temperance Landing, Thomsonite Inn and North Shore Cottages.

Garrison is a town of about 200 located 20 miles east of Brainerd.

Swanson, a financial planner and business consultant based in Plymouth, said he sought land in Garrison because it doesn’t have anything similar to what he has planned.

“Garrison and Mille Lacs have that feeling that Lake Superior has,” he said, of a special place that people return to. “And I’m pretty sure it’s the massive body of water. Your body connects to it.”

Swanson pieced together 75 parcels that total 90 acres for the resort. It includes swimmable ponds, a marina that offers rentals and launch boat fishing, and a private sandy beach. The property is also close to about 4 miles of public beach.

Designer and project manager Ali Webb said the vibe is a colorful twist on New England, South Carolina and Savannah, Ga., coastal styles, eschewing the knotty pine look of northern Minnesota.

Each building holds three units that can be booked separately or together and purchased and rented out, similar to Bluefin Bay’s operation. Pools and a year-round outdoor spa are planned.

Swanson, who spent his youth waiting tables at the former Papa Charlie’s restaurant at Lutsen Mountains and cleaning suites at Bluefin Bay, has plans for more lodging between the Bluefin and Surfside properties. High construction costs in that part of the state have prevented him from moving forward so far, he said.

Infrastructure is expensive, Swanson said, and most North Shore developments need it.

“You basically have to build an entire city,” he said, and Garrison is already equipped with much of what he needs, along with restaurants, golf and other amenities close by.

It’s an “under-appreciated” area, he said, and the town has welcomed the project.