The Cooper’s Point mansion built for Frederick F. Peabody in 1913 and owned by the Pitcairn family from the 1930s through the 1950s, will be restored to its original, stately grandeur, say its owners, Bolton Landing residents Joe Russell and John LaSalandra.
The couple purchased the three-story Gilded Age “cottage” in 2023 for $6.5 million. The renovations, as conceived by Phinney Design Group, are an architecturally and historically sensitive restoration of the original, said John LaSalandra.
“After reviewing several iterations of plans, we chose those which most closely replicate the original appearance of the house,” said LaSalandra.
The owners declined to estimate the cost of the restoration.
“If our interest in this property were simply economic or financial, we would knock down the house and replace it with three McMansions,” said Joe Russell.
Located in an area designated by the Town of Lake George as a mixed use zone, one where both commercial and residential activities are permitted, the project is currently under the review of regulatory bodies.
“Every component of this project — safety, sewage capacity, infrastructure, traffic, and environmental protection — is being evaluated thoroughly and responsibly. Stewardship is not secondary; it is the framework shaping this restoration,” the owners said in a prepared statement. Even the New York State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO) is reviewing the project, studying the house’s history and the previous owners’ modifications over the years.
The owners’ statement continued, “Our goal is straightforward: to restore this legacy mansion to a level that truly honors its history and significance. To guide this effort, we have retained a highly experienced and respected professional team, including Phinney Design Group and our environmental and engineering partners at EDP. They bring a proven track record of successfully navigating complex regulatory processes while upholding strong environmental stewardship and sensitivity to surrounding communities.”
“We’ve done our best to keep the project’s impact as low as possible,” said Joe Russell.
Once the renovations have been completed, the property will become something of a hybrid – classified as a “tourist accommodation” although the owners have no intention of engaging in many of the commercial activities permitted by the Town’s Zoning Code for that category of property, said John LaSalandra.
“We applied for that land use designation as a matter of convenience rather than as an expression of our intentions,” said LaSalandra. “We have no interest in renting the property daily or by the room.”
Russell and LaSalandra expect the property to be used primarily as a corporate retreat or as a destination for family reunions, with on-site luxury accommodations and boat slips. In the off-season, the ballroom and grounds will be available for fund raisers for local non-profit and charitable organizations.
To comply with all and any requirements established by the Town for a “tourist accommodation,” the owners commissioned a traffic study, consulted with the state’s Department of Environmental Conservation to ensure that the community sewer system can accommodate flow from the property and incorporated the most advanced fire suppression technology available. They have also secured off-site parking for visitors.
“I would never have gone forward with a plan of this breadth and scale if we hadn’t conducted in-depth reviews in advance of approaching the regulatory authorities; it is a project that has been two years in the making and in the course of which, we’ve reached out to everyone,” said Russell.
“We know we’re being held to the highest standard and we not only accept that, we welcome it. And that’s because we love the lake,” said LaSalandra.
Restoring the house to its original appearance and repurposing it for use in the 21st century “is a great way for us to give back to the community,” said LaSalandra,
The demolition of a colonial revival mansion in Bolton Landing, built on the site of Bayview, the home of opera star Marcella Sembrich, was a cautionary tale, said Joe Russell.
LaSalandra said saving Green Harbor mansion complimented the architectural preservation efforts of Lake George officials, who prevented a developer from razing a Lake George mansion on the National Register of Historic Places and subdividing the grounds, as well as the Lake George Club Historic Preservation Foundation, which has created an endowment to maintain the appearance of that 1909 building into perpetuity.
Frederick F. Peabody (1859-1927), president of Troy-based Cluett, Peabody and Co., the manufacturer of Arrow collars and shirts, owned the house until 1923. Harold Pitcairn purchased the property in 1934. Pitcairn and a business partner developed and refined the autogiro – a rotary-wing aircraft invented by Juan de la Cierva, a Spanish aviation engineer, according to historian Joseph W. Zarzynski.
According to the late Bill Gates, “the main reason Pitcairn selected Green Harbor for his summer home is that Cooper Point has a large area where his autogiro could land. For many decades, a landing beacon illuminated the end of the point.”
The Town of Lake George’s Planning Board is currently reviewing the owners’ plans to restore and repurpose the mansion.
