Massive 36,000-acre Adirondacks estate sold for $125M. Is a golf resort in the works?

USA Today

09-07-2025

A 36,600-acre Adirondack property will be sold to a Texas-based luxury developer for a reported $125 million in one of the largest private land sales in New York state history.
Whitney Park, home to 17-bedroom great camp Deerlands, is considered a crown jewel of the Adirondack Park. The estate includes dozens of lakes and ponds, more than 100 miles of shoreline, and spans over 57 square miles. It is home to a diverse range of wildlife and carries deep historical and environmental significance.
The buyer, Todd Interests, is known for upscale real estate projects. CEO Shawn Todd has said he plans to develop only a small percentage of the property, about 1,000 to 1,500 acres, with the rest preserved. He has floated ideas including a luxury resort, golf course, fine dining, lodging, a ski hill and guided recreation, though no formal development plans have been filed with the Adirondack Park Agency, which oversees land use in the region.
The deal also includes the Cady Hill estate in Saratoga Springs, with Todd Interests potentially adding a restaurant and deluxe lodging.
The sale ends more than a century of Whitney family ownership, a lineage that stretches from the Vanderbilt and Whitney dynasties to Marylou Whitney, the philanthropist, horse racing owner, and social icon known as the 'Queen of Saratoga.' She was regarded as one of the last great Gilded Age socialites.
Her first husband, Frank Hosford, was an heir to the John Deere fortune. Her second husband, Cornelius Vanderbilt Whitney, helped found Pan American World Airways and came from a family whose wealth spanned oil, railroads, and tobacco.
Before her death at age 93 in 2019, Marylou Whitney was the largest private landowner in New York state. Her third husband, John Hendrickson, inherited the property and strongly opposed selling it to New York, citing frustrations with how the Department of Environmental Conservation had managed previous Whitney lands. Hendrickson, chairman of the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame, died in August 2024 at age 59.
In November 2024, eight environmental organizations urged Gov. Kathy Hochul to pursue a conservation easement or partial acquisition to protect the land's ecological value. The estate links wildlife corridors, supports rare species, and contains some of the most pristine lakeshore in the park. No conservation easement was finalized before the sale, though state officials have expressed interest in negotiating one with the new owner.
According to Hendrickson's estate, all net proceeds from the sale will go to the town of Long Lake in Hamilton County, which has a population of 791 and an annual budget of about $5 million.
Developer's history of large-scale property acquisitions
Todd Interests often acquires historically significant or high-profile properties and transforms them into luxury destinations. Its projects tend to blend high-end amenities with conservation or preservation themes, such as: