Ed Hendrickson says property will be listed soon, with sale proceeds to benefit Long Lake. Questions remain about whether the state or land trusts could play a role.
By James M. Odato
Whitney Park, the vast private territory of Adirondack forestland and waters bodies in Long Lake destined to be sold to benefit the town, will be listed with a real estate agent soon with the goal of selling at the maximum value, the man handling the matter said.
In an interview, Edward Hendrickson, the co-executor of his brother John’s will, said the 36,600-acre property could potentially be acquired by the public.
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“I’m sure if the state is interested, they’ll reach out, these land trusts will reach out,” said the older brother of the late owner of the property. “I’m open to talk to them. If they’re not interested in the price tag it’ll be a quick conversation. We’ll list the property and then we’ll engage.”
Whitney Park, promoted as woodlands with 32 lakes and ponds, more than 100 miles of roads and trails and unmatched visual splendor, is bigger than what was advertised for sale in 2022 for $180 million. It’s long been on environmental groups and the state’s conservation wish lists.
Owner John Hendrickson, who died in August at age 59, had purchased about 400 acres more after he advertised Whitney Park for sale in 2022. He used Bloodhorse, the magazine popular with thoroughbred racehorse owners to promote the listing of the entire 36,600 acres.
Edward Hendrickson, 63, said his brother John, and his wife Marylou Whitney, who died in 2019, loved the property and adored the Long Lake community. John Hendrickson had directed that the net proceeds from the sale of Whitney Park go to the town. Edward Hendrickson said it is his duty to make sure Long Lake gets the funds it deserves to strengthen its financial future.
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“Our job is to act on behalf of the beneficiaries. We are going to do our best to get the best value for them. You could sell it for a low number very quick; we’re going to do our very best for the town and the people of Long Lake. So, that means we’ll get full value.”
Edward Hendrickson
Will the state get involved?
A spokeswoman for the state Department of Environmental Conservation said the property remains a high-priority land conservation parcel and did not provide insight into any steps toward a potential negotiation. But representatives of environmental groups say they met with the DEC this winter and were impressed with the state’s strong interest in Whitney Park. The groups had written to Gov. Kathy Hochul last fall to urge her to find a way to protect or conserve the land that they expected would be made available by John Hendrickson’s estate.
“The state was very receptive,” said Pete Nelson, board chair of Adirondack Wilderness Advocates, based in Keene. He said former Interim Commissioner Sean Mahar and other state officials attended the January meeting with Adirondack environmental groups responding to the letter’s plea and they proved to be thoughtful and prepared.
Claudia Baymer, executive director of Protect the Adirondacks, who also attended the meeting said state officials “told us of the importance of protecting Whitney Park but they didn’t give us any commitment.”
Will land trusts step in to help purchase the property?
She and Nelson assumed the state would be discussing the matter with representatives of land trusts who could help with such a transaction.
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The communications director of the Adirondack Land Trust declined to say if it has discussed the matter with state officials, adding that negotiations are kept confidential. “The 36,000-acre Whitney Industries property is of a scale that offers unique conservation potential,” said Connie Prickett. “We welcome opportunities to explore conservation options for this land.”
A soured relationship with the state
A tricky factor for public ownership of the property could be that John Hendrickson had soured on the state acquiring the land.
Based on New York’s stewardship of 15,000 acres of the Whitney Park land it bought in the 1990s, Hendrickson criticized the state. When he learned that bass had gotten into Little Tupper Lake and wiped out the brook trout, he sought to sell the remaining land to private parties.
“There are ways to protect the property,” Nelson said. “It’s considered a large and complicated transaction and that land trusts and the state could have a role.”
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Instead of liquidating the property, John Hendrickson added to it, buying an inholding of almost 400 acres for $4.5 million.
A windfall for Long Lake
It will all benefit the town of Long Lake, home of the hamlets of Long Lake and Raquette Lake, where John and his wife enjoyed retreats.
Edward Hendrickson said he would be available to advise Long Lake how it could put the proceeds into an endowment to draw from for projects.
Hendrickson, of Anchorage, Alaska, retired as senior vice president and chief financial officer of ConocoPhillips Alaska three years ago and knows about managing funds and windfalls. He helped the city of Anchorage plan ways to use $600 million it received from the sale of a municipal power plant and telephone company.
One model, he said, involves setting up an investment fund with equities and bonds and extracting sums each year for expenses but keeping the principle intact for continual earnings.
Long Lake Supervisor Clay Arsenault said he intends to consult with the town’s financial advisors.
Estimated timeline: unknown
It may be a while before the town gets the proceeds of a sale, Hendrickson cautioned. “This is a very unique piece of property,” he said. “I’m not aware of anything like it in North America or in the world. It’s the largest private land holding in the state of New York. It’s very large. It’s bigger than Manhattan (about 15,000 acres). It’s going to take a while to find the right buyer.”
Hendrickson added that a separate Adirondack property in the estate, Camp on a Point also in Hamilton County, has different beneficiaries, the Hendrickson family.
The estate intends to sell that property as well. A more modern home than those at the great camp at Whitney Park, the 58-acre Camp on a Point with shoreline and motorboat rights on Little Tupper Lake had been listed in 2023 at $5.25 million. The price has been reduced to $4,195,000.
Photo at top by Nancie Battaglia
Perhaps the property itself could be gifted to Long Lake avoiding the costs and risks of selling on the open market. Does anyone really want to see Musk, Bezos or a Russian oligarch buy it? The Town could then in turn offer a yearly conservation easement rental agreement to the State insuring preservation and public access. Long Lakers would never have to pay property taxes again which should insure brisk economic activity in appropriate parts of the town. The Whitney property could then be managed with some flexibility. It is sacrilege to some but perhaps not every last acre needs to end up in the Forest Preserve. Above all, what is needed is open minds and fresh thinking.
The “gift” of the land to LL would make them owners – meaning they are responsible for ALL taxes on that land immediately. Assuming they would then want to preserve it for public access and tried to get easement agreements, it could indeed reduce the ongoing taxes. However, it is unlikely that NYS would agree to an easement that would both eliminate taxes while providing ongoing “rental” income to the town – especially if NYS does not control the land use with UMPs and such.
I’m not saying it couldn’t happen, but it isn’t how NYS usually handles conservation easements. More often it involves a lump sum with ongoing tax reduction. But as you say “open minds and fresh thinking” would help, but are in short supply in NYS.
Definitely would prefer to see this plot sold to a private owner as opposed to NYS.
NYS will wreck it in the name of “preservation.”
“Wreck” is a relative term. “Preservation” by the State includes public access while providing long-term protection from development. But we also know private development can wreck it overnight. NYS adding lands to FP protection isn’t perfect, but not every buyer eyeing large parcels such as this is going to be looking at pure preservation, and most likely won’t open up any access when subdividing. Land trusts and such are nice, but they don’t have a mechanism to hold large tracts very long because of the tax liability. Even family ownership that has done a great job in maintaining lands for a century can perform an abrupt about-face with changing family values and economic pressures.
Long-term private preservation is a money-losing proposition, so it does not attract many people wanting to maintain or increase wealth. It requires a philanthropic mindset. Few and far between nowadays, and typically only lasts as long as the philanthropist lasts.
Indeed all NYS FP lands are not pristine, but many are. We sometimes point to high-usage areas like the HPW as an environmental failure, but when you consider what could have happened with FP lands that weren’t protected from development, the alternative could be more disturbing – with large swaths of posted and/or despoiled lands. With proper management and wise UMP plans, NYS protection as FP can be quite significant. It is up to taxpayers to hold Albany, APA, and DEC feet to the fire to balance access with protection. Obviously still a work in progress as political winds change.
I hope that the state never ends up with a square foot of it as per the deceased owner’s wishes. If a nature conservancy ends up with it, that would be great unless that is merely a chess move to eventually get it into the state’s hands. The state hasn’t got nearly enough manpower to take care of what they have now.
It is unlikely TNC would/could ever take over the land on anything but a temporary basis along with an agreement for purchase from the State or other buyer. Just like any other landowner (including NYS) taxes must be paid. The parcels that TNC tends to purchase/manage long term are usually small areas that are virtually useless for development or extraction, so tax rates are much lower than high-quality timberlands and waterways.
Assuming it has been logged in the recent past, decreases its potential to offset taxes by logging by a small, private owner or large lumber company. So what does that leave? Real estate development? Mining? I too would like to see it continue in private hands, but unless a deep-pocket philanthropist comes in that is willing to pay the taxes and set up a trust for future taxes, development and subdivision seem likely.
Looking at the most likely buyers, does NYS ownership really look that bad? The Estate isn’t pristine wilderness, although there may be pockets of such. If the State WERE to take it over, access becomes the first major battle when developing a UMP for the area – just like what happened with Boreas Ponds. The Town(s) and preservationists will often take opposite sides. One wanting significant motorized access, the other wanting to minimize it. With Boreas Ponds as an example, much of the discussion with the Town(s) took place behind closed doors and wasn’t totally revealed until the UMP was being developed. Lack of transparency lead to much of the current distrust of NYS acquisitions. Can this transparency issue be mitigated in this case? Not likely, but it isn’t impossible. This wouldn’t have to follow the same back-room negotiaton, but it appears to be well on the way to that.
The New York State dirty backroom deal. An Albany staple, “forever corrupt”. Transparency and Albany, those two words have never fit together. In the end the town will be pushed aside by NYS. The only participants that will be in the backroom will be NYS, the family and the NYS environmental lobby. Because the players in the shadows do not want you to know who they are. I even have doubts the family will be allowed. The environmental lobby bank rolled by the faceless rich Adirondack oligarchs and masquerading as saviors of the planet have already got their ticket punched for the meeting. The remaining residents of NYS your going to be left with the scraps, that you are paying taxes for. And the only way you can enjoy the deal that will be cut is to follow the green religious doctrine.
This certainly will be a complex and controversial settlement if/when the estate can sell and close out the property sale. There is NO WAY this property ever sells for $180 million. I’ve commented before but since this is really more timberland (and a remote wilderness area) and not a lot of resort like lakefront property with motor boating lakes and other outdoor recreation options that would raise the value to hospitality industry usage and prices, the real price should be based on timber values and a lot of remote and relatively unusable land. That would be more like $35-40M tops. Mr. Hendrickson has indicated that unless there are people interested at the very high asking price, it’s not going to be sold. Therein lies the rub! NYS doesn’t have the money to buy this (nor should they), land conservancy groups can’t afford to buy and hold large, expensive tracts of land for long (Finch Pruyn last example..160K+ acres) and the tax complications at sale and after (if just donated to the town) would make this more of a burden on the Town of Long Lake in the long run. My gut, best bet is to get realistic on the pricing, split off some tracts and sell to land conservancies, sell off at top dollar the most desirable pieces with buildings and lake access (call Merrill Thomas for a realistic number), possibly donate some parts to the town for public town usage (after taxes paid and with some fund to help maintain), and deliver the balance in cash to the town sooner than later. Seems to me Jack Ma paid around $23M for Brandon Park 28K acres 10 years ago so do the math. It’s of NO value to the town if they have to wait 10-20 years to get the money IMO. Just because the Whitney family owned this for many years doesn’t really make this more valuable. Get real! This isn’t Aspen CO land values.
Such a complicated issue. I definitely oppose the state or DEC getting there hands on this unique and pristine land. I don’t have all of the answers, but I do think that whom ever gets it should manage it with the best scientific resources available. No new roads, no new infra structure. Common sense must prevail. It must not be given a DEC wilderness classification, we already have too much of that. Limited logging. Hunting fishing, trapping, hiking allowed. No camping. I agree purchase money should go to town of Long Lake. Keep the state’s and lawyer fingers out of it. Bottom line is to preserve, but very carefully manage these unique lands.
Once again…the mega rich will come in & look for the fastest way to wreck the Whitney property! I look around & I see beautiful propert in Wilmington, which no one was buying…all timber cut. What we see is scars mud & the abence of those beautiful mature trees. It is so sad….ofcourse the wealthy with their grandiose plans such as what happened at Tupper Lake we do not need to reinvent the wheel…been there done that. The land must be managed. It must be protected we are the the Stewards of this land. I wish there wouldn’t be the taxes…in perpituaty….that’s the answer. Leave it… as is.