Hartland
Re/Max Upper Valley has listed the Sumner Mansion, which has five bedrooms, for sale for $749,000.
Re/Max’s website describes the property as “one of the finest Federal Mansions in New England, and (it) graces the National Register of Historic Homes. For over 20 years, the Sumner Mansion has been operated as a bed and breakfast inn with a sterling reputation. Most recently, the owners have re-established the Mansion Inn as a premier event and lodging venue.”
Ken Lucci purchased the property with his sister, Brenda Bradley, in 2014, through Brenken Realty LLC of Hartland, and the pair then purchased what had been known as the Juniper Hill Inn in Windsor in 2015.
Lucci was released from jail last month after serving 90 days following a guilty plea to charges he had stalked two employees and fired a gun into one of their vehicles. His lawyer filed a sentencing memorandum that indicated Lucci may have symptoms of bipolar disorder and wasn’t taking his depression medication at the time of the incident. Lucci has apologized to the victims.
Lucci said recently he has been dividing his time between Vermont and Massachusetts, where the investor group he has been associated with the last 20 years is located.
“We are selling the (Hartland) business and the property,” Lucci said, adding that they are selling because he no longer wants to make the mansion in Hartland his permanent residence.
With five bedrooms, Lucci described the mansion, which was built by lumber baron David Sumner around 1810, as a “lifestyle property,” meaning whoever owns it would not only run the business but also live there as well.
“It is going to take the right kind of buyer,” Lucci said. “You have to want to absorb the lifestyle. It is the perfect property for that.”
Since buying the Hartland property in 2014 with his sister, Lucci said, they have invested $250,000 in exterior and interior improvements, including adding an outdoor patio with room for about 90 people. They also created formal gardens.
“This is now a premier wedding venue. The revenue potential here has more than doubled,” he said.
The current assessment is $576,700, according to Hartland assessing records. It has not been reappraised since the improvements.
Lucci said he is going to turn his attention to larger properties with 15 to 20 rooms that differ in atmosphere from the Sumner Mansion.
According to Lucci, the Sumner Mansion is booked solid for 2017, and even though they have put the property up for sale, they are taking bookings for 2018, he said.
Lucci and his sister also invested heavily in the inn in Windsor, now known as The Windsor Mansion Inn.
The inn manager last month said Lucci had resigned as the managing partner of that property. The Windsor Mansion Inn continues to operate and market itself heavily, including in the spring issue of Vermont Life magazine.
Patrick O’Grady can be reached at pogclmt@gmail.com
Correction
The Sumner Mansion is listed by Katie Ladue Gilbert of Re/Max Upper Valley. An earlier version of this story incorrectly named another real estate firm.
