In Western Massachusetts, a 70-acre vacant estate that belonged to the late Yankee Candle founder Michael Kittredge II could become one solution to the state’s looming housing crisis. The $23 million property has been on the market as a single-family home for two years without any bidders — until developer Joshua Wallack entered the picture.
Wallack met Kittredge’s son, Michael Kittredge “Mick’’ III, in November 2022, when he and his wife visited his candle company. They stayed at the $20 million guest house at the Juggler Meadow estate where Wallack quickly realized the property’s potential. He believed it could accommodate “hundreds of people’’ in the communities of Leverett and Amherst, where the estate sits.
He recalls telling Kittredge, “I don’t know that you’re going to find another renaissance billionaire like your dad who will want to live in this house as a single-family home.’’ Instead, he suggested a plan to build a few hundred units around the main mansion and create a “one-of-a-kind community people will want to live in.’’
Now, Wallack is preparing to submit an application to MassHousing, a quasi-public agency charged with providing financing for affordable housing in Massachusetts. With the help of plans proposed by Chris Ritter Design Studio of Brookline, he intends to begin building what is tentatively called “Pioneer Pointe at Juggler Meadow: A 55+ Active Adult Community.’’
The plan requires that a quarter of the units be affordable housing under state statute Chapter 40B. A couple earning about $84,000 a year would pay about $1,875 per month for an affordable unit, Wallack said.
When Michael Kittredge II first bought the property in 1984 for $144,000, it was a three-bedroom, two-bathroom Colonial-style home. Today, the 16-bedroom, 13-bathroom property resembles a Disney resort. It has an indoor water park, two climate-controlled car barns with space for 60 classic cars, tennis courts, and a full-size auditorium.
“The amenities are beyond anything I’ve ever seen,’’ Wallack said. “Everything about it is like being in a Norman Rockwell painting.’’
Wallack, who has family in Western Massachusetts, said he noticed elderly couples in the area were not downsizing because there was nowhere for them to move to. This made it nearly impossible for younger people to move into the neighborhood.
Because the amenities at the $23 million property already exist, the project’s entire budget will go toward building the housing units, he said. The 25,000-square-foot mansion will act as the “social club’’ of the development.
About a year ago, Wallack brought the proposal to a Leverett Planning Board meeting that drew hundreds of residents. Several voiced concerns about the amount of traffic the proposed units would create for residents getting in and out of the development.
After speaking with residents and planners, Wallack revised the pitch. He made two main changes: reducing the amount of units and designing it for 55+ active adults to lessen the number of children needing access to outside amenities.
“At the end of the day, the Commonwealth needs housing built,’’ he said.
He is now working with a $200 million budget to design the community and hopes that the application will be approved in the coming weeks.
Most recently, he submitted two plans to the Leverett Select Board, calling for either 48 units to be built on the Leverett side and 352 on the Amherst side, or 150 units in Leverett and 250 in Amherst. But those numbers may be reduced even more, he said, as he continues to speak with experts about the best path forward.
The empty estate, which is owned by the Michael Kittredge Trust, has cost more than $1.5 million a year to maintain since it went on the market in 2022.
Alexa Coultoff can be reached at alexa.coultoff@globe.com. Follow her @alexacoultoff.
