New York Gov. Kathy Hochul wants to bring one of the Adirondacks’ most storied private estates into public hands, despite the wishes of its late owner.
The governor wrote to the trustees of the late John Hendrickson’s estate expressing the state’s interest in buying most of the 36,600-acre Whitney Park, a vast wilderness tract dotted with lakes and forests in Long Lake, the Adirondack Explorer reported.
Hochul’s Oct. 10 letter also went to Texas-based developer Todd Interests, which signed a deal this spring to purchase the property when it was listed for $125 million. In the letter, Hochul said her administration hopes to acquire roughly 32,000 acres to add to the Adirondack Forest Preserve, leaving a smaller portion for private development.
The move puts the state in direct conversation with Todd Interests, led by Shawn Todd, which has been weighing conservation options while planning a resort complex on about 4,600 acres. Todd floated concepts ranging from a golf-and-ski destination to a high-end residential subdivision, but he also acknowledged discussions with the Department of Environmental Conservation about a large conservation easement.
A potential sale to the state is complicated by claims that Hendrickson was opposed to such a transaction. Before his death last year, Hendrickson — widower of philanthropist Marylou Whitney — publicly opposed state acquisition, blaming the loss of native trout on earlier state management of part of the property.
Todd says he has yet to see any binding deed restriction, though the trustees have refused to discuss terms.
Environmental advocates are urging Hochul to push for outright purchase rather than limited easements. Claudia Braymer of Protect the Adirondacks argued that anything short of full state ownership “would fall far short of the public’s long-standing expectation” for permanent protection.
Whitney Park, on the state’s conservation wish list since 1992, encompasses 22 lakes and more than 100 miles of untouched shoreline. The state’s push could tap funds from the $4.2 billion Clean Water, Clean Air and Green Jobs Environmental Bond Act or the $425 million Environmental Protection Fund, according to Braymer.
Read more
Texas developer in contract for $125M Adirondack estate
Massive Adirondack estate reduces price to $125M
A 36,000-acre property in upstate New York lists at $180M
