Former Colonial Manor resort hits the market for just under $3 million
By Robin K. Cooper – Reporter, Albany Business Review Dec 6, 2020, 7:50pm EST
Colonial Manor, a former resort overlooking the Catskill Mountains that for decades served as a summer retreat for families looking to escape life in New Jersey and New York City, is on the market for $2.99 million.
Goldstar Trust Co. of Amarillo, Texas, has listed the 64-plus-acre property in Westerlo, in southern Albany County, with Mitch Muroff Hospitality Group.
Goldstar took possession of the property at 203 county Route 405 after the previous owner, Heavenly Vision Christian Center of The Bronx, ran into financial problems and filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. The transfer was part of a court-approved settlement.
Broker Mitch Muroff listed the property for sale this month and already has received interest from a group in New York City that is searching for property for a school.
“There is a lot of history on that property between the hotel and resort and the religious organizations that have owned it,” Muroff said.
Susan May and her three sisters were still in school when their parents, Kurt and Irene Kent, bought the Colonial Manor in 1974.
The family ran the property as a seasonal resort for 15 years, hosting softball tournaments against other resorts. Colonial Manor was a place for reading, tennis, swimming and shuffle board tournaments. During its peak season, the resort staff would serve turkey dinners, meatloaf, mashed potatoes, salad and pies to as many as 125 or 150 guests who paid less than $135 a week per room.
The Kent family sold the property in 1989 and took it back over about three years later after the buyers fell behind on the mortgage. The family sold again and at least two religious groups have operated the property as a summer retreat over the past 25 years. The property was last occupied about six months ago.
May and her sisters toured the former Colonial Manor property this month. It was the first time in decades they had visited the property.
The resort includes a complex of nine buildings with a swimming pool, main lodge, an annex, a one-story motel, a barn and a pond. Currently, there are about 50 guests rooms on the property. At one time the number was more than 70.
Muroff will market the site through LoopNet and several national websites.
“There is a tremendous amount of activity in the seasonal hospitality market right now,” Muroff said.
Last month, he brokered the sale of the 400-acre Daggett Lake Campsite and Cottages in the Adirondack Mountains town of Thurman. That property was purchased by a Connecticut investment adviser for $2.8 million in cash.
