Originally built in 1886 for Emily Vanderbilt and her husband William D. Sloane, this spectacular 89-acre mansion is the largest shingle-style home in the country. At 55,000 square feet, it boasts a staggering 106 rooms.
When the estate first came on the market in October 2020, it was listed for $12.5 million.
"I've been following Elm Court (as it's called) for about seven years and know the market very well," says Linda Law of Law & Associates.
Law, a real estate developer and investor, and her business partner, Rick Peiser, a professor of real estate development at the Harvard Graduate School of Design, purchased the venerable property for $8 million.
"It was a perfect storm for the owners," says Law." I swooped in with an offer and ended up buying it."
She and Peiser acquired the property through a straightforward transaction.
In 1948, Vanderbilt's descendants ran the property as a hotel, called the Elm Court Club. It was open for ten years, then fell into 42 years of abandonment and disrepair.
As the house was passed down through the generations of the family, and later after extensive restoration, it opened as a lavish wedding venue, but it became too expensive to maintain.
In 2005, the property came on the market for $21.5 million, but the following year it was taken off the market.
The house was eventually sold in 2012 for $9.8 million to Amstar/Travaasa Experiential Resorts, a combination tourist attraction, resort and spa. The company has since collapsed.
Spanning the towns of Lenox and Stockbridge in the Berkshires of Massachusetts, Elm Court is one of the few remaining Gilded Age mansions in the Northeast. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
"There's so much history on this property," notes Law." Interestingly, the other Vanderbilt mansions are really ornate, but this one doesn't have a gold ceiling. There are large rooms for parties, but it's not fancy. Emily Vanderbilt was not a socialite; she was a real down-to-earth girl."
While the structure needs updating, Law has more ambitious plans for the revitalisation of this historic home.
"The property didn't sell for a number of reasons, but one of the main reasons was that it was sold as a single-family home," Law said." We are looking at several options for high-end housing and townhouses. I've done it at Blantyre before and know what's involved. We'll be going through the approval process this summer and are really excited about it."
She explained that her plans include redoing the estate to have a wine room, film screening area and various activities. In total, there will be 50 townhouses attached to the building estate, along with single-family homes.
Law hopes that building approvals will be completed next year so that construction can begin. Her plan is to pre-sell the homes by the end of 2024 and complete the project by mid-2026.
"We have done a lot of research into Gilded Age architecture and design and the history of the Vanderbilt family and feel a tremendous responsibility to pay homage to its storied past," says Rowe." Our team will take great care in undertaking a thoughtful renovation to restore this treasured landmark to life."
