Lenox — On September 6, at 7 p.m., the Lenox Zoning Board of Appeals will weigh in on Canyon Ranch Resort Lenox’s renovation and addition requests.
About a year ago, Canyon Ranch bought 215 Kemble Street, a property just down the road from the health and wellness center, said Managing Director of Canyon Ranch Lenox Mindi Morin. That property includes a house and accessory building. The company intends to convert the house into an extended-stay rental inn, with guests having full access to Canyon Ranch amenities. The accessory building is planned to be used for guest services, such as seminars, conferences, or recreation.
Originally a residential mansion known as Bellefontaine in the late 1800s, the property is now governed by Lenox’s Estate Preservation Area zoning category that allows for a mix of single-family and multi-family homes. The application requests a zoning variance for 215 Kemble Street that is required to have a 200-foot setback from abutting neighbors.
A few years prior, in 2017, Canyon Ranch purchased a tract at 197 Kemble Street abutting the main center, Morin said, removing a home in disrepair and leaving the land vacant. That tract is slated for a new archery site.
“Our goal with 197 and 215 Kemble is to have an increased presence that our great line can become greater,” Morin said, adding that the extended-stay inn will benefit local residents who host guests in the Berkshires.
The conversion of these two tracts will serve the community’s needs by preserving open space and adding recreation facilities and “further tourism in Lenox,” the applications state.
The proposed changes, filed on August 11, also include redeveloping the property’s GateHouse, currently used for administrative offices, into staff housing with five bedrooms, a living room, a dining room, with plans to retain the two current bathrooms but renovate one bathroom. Parking surrounding the GateHouse will serve the proposed staff residence. Morin said she is most excited about the GateHouse change as housing “is much needed in our County.”
If the requests are granted, the changes will increase Canyon Ranch’s residences from 19 to 20 units by converting the guest house to staff housing and will increase its guest rooms from 126 to 127 units by adding the extended stay unit, according to the filing.
Morin said no renderings of the proposed changes exist at this point and the timeline for renovations is to be determined based on approvals. Although she said no contractor has been selected yet, the resort has, in the past, used local services.
The Lenox Zoning Board of Appeals is asking for comments on the application to be submitted before the hearings to landuse@townoflenox.com.
