Stockbridge Select Board endorses Elm Court Resort project

STOCKBRIDGE -- Round One goes to the developers of the proposed $50 million, 112-room Elm Court Resort on the residentially zoned Old Stockbridge Road.

By a resounding 3-0 vote, the Select Board endorsed the controversial project, much to the dismay of opponents from both Stockbridge and Lenox who attended the final, nearly three-hour public hearing that ended late on Monday night. Supporters congratulated members of the Travaasa Experiential Resorts team that would operate the hotel owned by Amstar Co. subsidiary Front Yard LLC.

At least 110 members of the public filled the gymnasium at the Town Offices -- formerly the Stockbridge Plain School -- to hear both sides present their final arguments before the Select Board on the special-permit application aimed at preserving the 1886 Elm Court mansion by building a connected 96-room addition, opening a 60-seat public restaurant and constructing a 15,500-square-foot spa.

Noting that she was "surprised by the public concern" that erupted suddenly at the board's initial June 23 public hearing following extensive previous discussions by several town committees, Selectwoman Deborah McMenamy credited the opponents for presenting their views in "an organized, consistent manner."

McMenamy, the longest-serving member of the board, also cited the supporters' efforts, which yielded 300 signatures on a petition favoring the resort.

"This was a truly democratic process and I think Norman Rockwell would be proud of us for that," she said.

While acknowledging that neighborhood concerns over traffic and safety impact "are real," she stated that, based on traffic studies commissioned by the applicants and validated through an independent peer review by the Tighe & Bond engineering and consulting firm in Westfield, "the causes for concern are minimal.

McMenamy cited another major project that had generated "all kinds of pulverization from people in the community" -- the 1993 relocation of the Norman Rockwell Museum from downtown to the Linwood Estate in the Glendale residential section. Concerns at that time about traffic impact "have proven to be unfounded," she said.

She also said that more recent, similar concerns over an 80-room addition to the Kripalu spa and resort were also "proven to be unfounded." McMenamy described both projects as "true assets to the town."

McMenamy characterized the Elm Court resort as a "large, but well-planned" project because the 96-room addition is "sited far from the road, nestled into the woods" with minimal visual impact from Stockbridge Bowl, which the 90-acre property overlooks. She also praised the developers' application for maintaining nearly all of the open space at the site.

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Stockbridge Select Board endorses Elm Court Resort project