Lenox Select Board Unanimously Approves Vanderbilt Berkshire Estate Special Permit Conditions

LENOX — April 9, 2026 — Lenox Select Board closes years-long hearing on Vanderbilt Berkshire Estate redevelopment with unanimous votes. The board approved two special permits Thursday for Vanderbilt Berkshire Estate, LLC's proposed redevelopment of the historic Elm Court property at 310 Old Stockbridge Road, voting 3-0 on a non-conforming barn reconstruction and 3-0 on a consolidated amended special permit governing 38 planned single-family home sites on the R-4 zoned parcel. Town Administrator Michael Canalis presented final draft conditions setting a 7,500-square-foot maximum building footprint per home site — inclusive of driveways, pools, decks, and outdoor kitchens — and a hard cap of four bedrooms per home, a limit the board held firm despite a last-minute proposal from applicant's counsel to substitute an average-of-four standard across all 38 homes. No certificate of occupancy may issue for any residence until the property's historic cottage exterior and structural restoration is substantially complete, backed by a required letter of credit or surety bond. A permanent conservation restriction will be recorded over rear land near the pond within the Scenic Mountain Act boundary.