The Lakeshore Company is a for profit C-Corp;every property owner here owns one share in the corporation.
The Company was formed by the original property developers. When at the height of the Great Depression those developers decided to abandon the project, the Company was acquired by the residents of the Community. The corporation owns the Water System, the roads, the undeveloped lots, the lake and the dam. Until recently, Lakeshore also billed a semi-annual member assessment and managed the above assets.
In January 2012, Members voted to approve an approach where the Association (MKLA) leases all assets from Lakeshore, pays a semi-annual rent to Lakeshore and is solely responsible for managing (including capital improvements) all those assets. The Lakeshore assessments went away and members only pay dues and assessments to MKLA. [More about that decision can be found here]
From the perspective of the average Member, the corporation is now virtually defunct. Members continue to own their shares but otherwise have no routine interaction w/ the corporation. Financially, Lakeshore continues to file annual tax returns, to own the same assets, to carry and depreciate the pre-2012 value of those assets on its balance sheet, and to carry an obligation to the NJDEP for a 2002 state mandated improvement to the dam. See Budgets & Financial Reports for annual financial reports of the Lakeshore Company.
Various historical corporate documents are available here: