A PGA golf pro and his wife bought the Western Massachusetts compound for $4.55 million after it spent years on the market with a $23 million asking price.
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A western Massachusetts estate featuring its own water park, golf course, bowling alley, arcade, and climate-controlled car barns has a new owner at a sale price nearly $18.5 million below its original asking price.
The Leverett compound, built by Yankee Candle founder Michael Kittredge II, sold for $4.55 million on May 26, according to land records, after spending four years on the market at $23 million.
The new owners, a PGA head golf professional and his wife, David and Kerry Reasoner, say they plan to preserve the property and turn it into a luxury getaway and event space.
The New Jersey couple also bought an abutting property at 6 Amherst Road, dubbed the Lodge at Juggler Meadow, for $1.1 million, according to property records, way below the initial $3.99 million listing price.
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“We feel incredibly fortunate to be involved with Juggler Meadow and look forward to being a part of its next chapter,” wrote David and Kerry Reasoner in a message to Boston.com.
The sale also squashes any hope of redevelopment of the site. Developers previously discussed plans to build hundreds of homes on the property for people 55 and over.
In 2024, developers touted Pioneer Pointe as a project that could help alleviate the Massachusetts’ housing shortage by creating a community around the estate’s 16-bedroom main mansion and amenity spaces.
“That makes more sense than trying to find one person to take over this property, which is like owning Disneyland pretty much,” developer manager Joshua Wallack said at the time.
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But, ultimately, it never took shape.
Michael Kittredge II, who died in 2019, bought the original property, which included a three-bedroom Colonial, in 1984 for $144,000, records show. He then went on to transform the estate into a half-dozen properties and amenities, including a main house with five bedrooms, 11 baths, and 11 fireplaces.
After he bought the property, Kittredge II sold his majority stake in Yankee Candle in 1998 for about $500 million. The family is no longer affiliated with the company. His son, Michael Kittredge III, started Kringle Candle in 2009.
Krittedge III told the Wall Street Journal in 2022 that he was selling the property because, “This place is just too big for one.”
After the property went on the market in 2022, one of Michael Kittredge II’s daughters, Kylie, took to TikTok to show what life was like living at the estate.
@notkyliekitt #stitch with @zillowtastrophes #greenscreen #realestate #yankeecandle #kittredge #realestatetok #waterpark ♬ Luxury fashion (no vocals) – TimTaj
She describes having to travel the property by golf carts, communicating with people through a paging system, hosting massive Christmas parties with a three-story-tall Christmas tree, and having a mermaid-themed birthday party in the water park.
“There are a lot of happy memories attached to this place,” she said in the video.
Beth Treffeisen is a general assignment reporter for Boston.com, focusing on local news, crime, and business in the New England region.
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