Talks underway on proposed agreement to preserve majority of property while allowing 4,500-acre resort in Long Lake
By James M. Odato
The leader of a development company planning to acquire 36,600 private acres in the Adirondack Park is pursuing a strategy to place most of the property under the protection of a conservation easement.
In his quest to buy Whitney Park in Long Lake and turn it into a resort, Shawn Todd has met with state environmental leaders and the head of the Adirondack Land Trust, he said, and they have discussed ways to conserve the acreage.
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This week, a new law firm representing the seller, the trustee of John Hendrickson, found a way to allow the state to be involved despite Hendrickson’s expressed wishes that the Department of Environmental Conservation not acquire Whitney Park.
“I am thankful that the seller has brought in a law firm where there would be a way to work with the State of New York to conserve a vast majority of the property,” Todd said.
State meetings show progress, development plans take shape
He said he met with DEC Commissioner Amanda Lefton, Deputy Commissioner Katie Petronis and Adirondack Land Trust Executive Director Michael Carr in Saratoga Springs during the Belmont Stakes on June 7, and has had follow-up discussions with the parties and with Adirondack Park Agency Executive Director Barbara Rice.
He said he is “very encouraged” by the conversations.
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He has focused on an easement as a way to develop about 4,500 acres into a resort and preserve the remaining tracts, some 32,000 acres. The development would consist of a golf course, high-end lodging and a resort hotel. He also wants to build a downhill skiing facility on one of the hills on the property.
The potential of entering into a conservation easement involving the state has seemed thin. Hendrickson, who died in August 2024, included a deed restriction prohibiting the state from acquiring the land, Todd said.
“We have a plan formulated,” Todd said about his conversations with the state officials.
An easement arrangement could have a substantial financial impact on Todd Interests, the firm Todd founded in Dallas. It could shave about $48 million from the sum it has agreed to pay the trustee of Hendrickson for Whitney Park, based on the value of a recent transaction announced by the Adirondack Land Trust, although the price of buying development rights varies depending on the land involved. The trustee set the price for the land at $125 million, but the parties have not disclosed the terms of the deal. A conservation easement costing $1,500 an acre—the amount the land trust is paying Paul Smith’s College for 2,800 acres in a $4.1 million deal announced in July — could serve as a model for other easements in the Adirondacks, Carr said.
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RELATED READING: Future plans for 36,600-acre Whitney estate may be limited by past decisions
Photo by Nancie Battaglia
Land trust involvement
Carr declined to confirm discussions with Todd, but on Friday he described Whitney Park as offering “tremendous conservation potential.”
The trust, he said, “welcomes opportunities to explore conservation options for this land. Every week, we are in conversations with private landowners, buyers, or their representatives about conservation opportunities. Out of respect for their privacy, we do not disclose private conversations.”
Todd said the land trust could be an “interim banker” on any conservation easement deal. The trust is in the midst of trying to raise the funds to complete the Paul Smith’s easement transaction by year’s end.
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State officials and Edward Hendrickson, the trustee for John Hendrickson’s estate, did not respond to inquiries.
Subdivision alternative, permitting challenges ahead
Todd said if he is unable to complete “an easement or something of the like,” he could purchase the property with the plan of subdividing it multiple times along the 90 miles of road developed long ago by Whitney Industries, the timber and mining operation that owned the property. That could lead to the construction of numerous homes.
The Adirondack Park Agency would be involved in permitting for any of the proposals Todd has expressed, and it holds the right to require a master plan for any development on the land. A master plan would add substantial time and costs to any project, lawyers familiar with the process say.
Todd said he has hired the law firm of Whiteman, Osterman and Hanna, of Albany, and the landscape architects and engineers LA Group, of Saratoga Springs, to help him with the project. Both firms were key components of the team that planned to build the biggest development ever approved by the APA, the Adirondack Club and Resort. It was proposed as a way to transform a large undeveloped tract near Tupper Lake that included the abandoned ski facility Big Tupper. That project failed, and both firms were among creditors owed millions of dollars.
Community benefits
The sale of the Whitney property is of keen interest to officials with the town of Long Lake. Hendrickson and his late wife, Marylou Whitney, wanted the town to benefit from their part-time residence. Hendrickson directed his trustee to direct the net proceeds from the sale of Whitney Park to the town.
Todd Interests is also planning to purchase Cady Hill, Hendrickson’s and Whitney’s mansion in Saratoga Springs. It and its sprawling grounds were listed for $12.9 million.
Photo at top: Aerial shot of Whitney Estate. Photo courtesy of Gustav Schmiege
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