Photo courtesy of Michael Kittredge Trust
Development proposals could bring 400 housing units to the resort-like estate of the late Yankee Candle Co. founder Michael J. Kittredge in western Massachusetts.
The plans would preserve all eight buildings on the estate as amenity spaces, including the 16-bedroom main house and a 60,000-square-foot spa with an indoor tennis court and concert hall where the Doobie Brothers and Hall & Oates once entertained guests.
“These are amenities you wouldn’t get at the Four Seasons,” said Joshua Wallack, development manager for the Kittredge family estate. “Most of the time, people promise wonderful things and when they get their budget back, that’s where they cut. We don’t have to build anything. There’s already $100 million-plus of amenities for the residents and their guests.”
The $200 million development would be built on the border of Amherst and Leverett, a 60-acre property on Juggler Meadow Road.
Along with the 28,000-square-foot main house and clubhouse, the property includes a pair of sprawling car barns with capacity for 60 vehicles, guest houses and a nine-hole golf course.
The property attracted little serious interest after more than two years on the market at the listing price of $23 million, Wallack said. Kittridge’s son Michael, owner of Kringle Candle, hired Wallack in 2023 to explore development options.
“You’re not going to find a billionaire to come up and buy this house We need to build a lifestyle community to use all of these amenities,” Wallack said.
The project would be the largest in Leverett, a town of approximately 1,800 residents and only 827 existing housing units, according to census data.
The development would generate nearly $2 million in combined new annual property tax revenues for the two towns, Wallack said.
Wallack and his family own and develop commercial properties in Orlando and Miami Beach, including retail properties and Mango’s Tropical Cafe nightclubs in both cities.
Wallack this month notified the Leverett Select Board that two development options are under consideration, both utilizing Chapter 40B, the Massachusetts affordable housing law.
One plan includes 400 for-sale condominiums for 55-and-older buyers including 100 income-restricted units, with 48 units located in Leverett and 352 in Amherst. The other design places 250 units in Amherst and 150 in Leverett, according to an email submitted to the board Nov. 1.
Kittredge founded the Yankee Candle Co. in his family’s South Hadley home in 1969 and oversaw its expansion into hundreds of retail stores before selling it to Newell Brands in 2016. He died in 2019 at age 67.
His son Mick now lives in Florida and opted to sell or redevelop the western Massachusetts property, Wallack said.
The development team includes Brookline-based Ritter Design Studio, Callahan Construction and land use attorney Mark Bobrowski.
The final proposal will be determined by Leverett officials’ response to the two options, Wallack said.
One of two options presented to Leverett officials for a 400-unit housing project. Image courtesy of Ritter Design Studio
