BY HARRY WEINHAGEN
The stately Crandall Mansion at 552 Glen St.,
Glens Falls, is being proposed for conversion into a
bed and breakfast facility.
An application for a city zoning variance has been
filed by Rodney Schmidt of Richfield, Minn., with
the Glens Falls Zoning Board of Appeals.
A variance is needed because commercial use is
not permitted under zoning for the property. The
matter is on the agenda for the Sept. 21 meeting of
the board at City Hall.
“It will be a major improvement, as the property
is currently overgrown and in disrepair and looks
like an abandoned property, which is an eyesore to
the community,” Schmidt wrote in the application.
According to the application, the home has been
on the market since 2008, but potential buyers have
been “daunted” by two things: the taxes and the high
cost of repairs.
The application signed by Schmidt says the
building is over 7,000 square feet and has nine
bedrooms and seven bathrooms. Buyers these days,
it contends, are not looking for residences that big.
“The character, setting and layout of this home
lends itself beautifully to the use as a bed and
breakfast,” the application says.
The document also states, “Each year that the house
has remained on the market it has deteriorated.” The
roof is in dire need of repair and other portions of the
home have been damaged by weather over the years.
The listing price, the application states, has
dropped from nearly $1.5 million to $549,000 “all to
the ongoing deterioration. Repair estimates range
from $250k to $750k depending on the work and
updating to be done to make the home meet current
living standards.”
The house also has four fireplaces and a three car
garage with a chauffeur’s residence above it. It
has views of the ponds at Crandall Park. It sits on
a 2.6-acre lot.
The proposed variance, the document states,
“would not alter the essential character of the
neighborhood. The potential owners are planning to
restore the once prominent landmark to its former
beauty and are interested in maintaining the historical
character of the home.”
The property purchase is contingent on getting
the variance, the document says.