9 Chambers Rd

A proud legacy meets major opportunity: Hudson Shore Estate, formerly home to one of Eleanor Roosevelt’s early passion projects, a pioneering vocational school for women, has now been masterfully restored to its former glory and offers the perfect setting for a luxury wellness retreat or high-end group rentals, 90 minutes by car from New York City in one of the nation’s most popular regions for weddings, weekend excursions and corporate retreats. A unique example of Arts & Craft design amongst its peer group of renowned Hudson River mansions, the 7,700-square-foot main house has been completely renovated in the past 5 years, and now features a gourmet kitchen, all new high-efficiency systems, and no less than six luxury bedroom suites, each with its own bathroom, plus a remarkable third-floor owners’ suite with an enormous spa bath and den. Restored covered balconies and bluestone patios offer a stunning view of the new multi-level heated-pool area with its fully outfitted cabana and open gourmet kitchen, plus, beyond, the Vanderbilt Mansion and seasonal glimpses of the Hudson River. A walkout basement level features a sauna, half bath, and multiple spa and exercise rooms. Meticulously preserved are all of the original details of the house, including chestnut wainscoting and beams, lozenge-paned casement windows, heart-shaped balustrade carvings, and ceramic tiles. The main floor’s grand Moravian-tiled living room played host in the 1920s to vocational classes for local women when heiress Hilda Worthington Smith founded the Hudson Shore Labor School. Eleanor Roosevelt, a longtime board member and instructor at the school, credited her own experience teaching at the property as inspiration for her future activism as First Lady. The property also includes a separate and fully renovated 2-level Carriage House building of nearly 3,000 square feet, newly reimagined and renovated to accommodate a luxury spa and wellness business, including a new ADA-accessible bathroom and kitchen on the first floor; and, above, a wonderful light-filled 2-bedroom luxury unit with a cathedral-ceilinged common room. The complex has proper zoning and special-use permits for a variety of hospitality uses plus an impressive rental track record for hosting corporate clients and guests at area vineyard and barn weddings. Both buildings are truly turn-key with all-new systems and virtually every square foot of space restored or overhauled by some of the most talented contractors and artisans in the region. Several cash-flow-generous concepts are possible here, especially for the hospitality or wellness entrepreneur who also wants an exceptional live-work situation. And it’s all only 90 minutes by car from Manhattan, and 5-15 minutes from the charming New Paltz village center, the MetroNorth station in Poughkeepsie, the waterfront Kingston Rondout district, and neighboring wineries and other Hudson River culinary hotspots. (Financials, floor plans and a detailed summary of improvements are available, on request, from listing broker.)