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Date: 2/26/2020
CHESTER – A group of enthusiastic friends hosted a meet and greet brunch at the Chester Railway Station Museum on Feb. 23, eager to share with residents a vision for properties the group is purchasing on Johnson Hill Road in Chester.
Chris Martenson and fiancée Evie Botelho bought 11 Johnson Hill Road in October, moving in only a few days before the Feb. 23 event. Formerly the Shlossberg-Kennedy homestead, Mortenson said he and Botelho walked into the field of the 160-acre property sometime around Thanksgiving and bought it without seeing the house. He said they had been looking for a while.
Martenson said he then learned the former Brookside Lodge YMCA camp across the street at 14 Johnson Hill Road was also for sale. He got other people involved and now a group of 15 or so friends is closing on the 80-acre property the third week in March.
“You have to move quickly,” Martenson said.
Botelho said the group buying the property across the street comes from all over the country, from California to Georgia. She said some of them are connections made through a book Martenson wrote called, “Prosper! How to prepare for the future and create a world worth inheriting.”
Botelho said one way to prosper is to have friends and neighbors you can depend on, and to create a regenerative, resilient community.
During the meet and greet, which was catered by the newly opened Carm’s Restaurant and Café, Martenson said he was excited about how welcoming the community has been. He then introduced Tim Yakaitis, the project manager for the group buying the YMCA property, who spoke about some of their plans.
Yakaitis, of Stonington, CT, which he called a community very much like Chester, said the group of friends is still getting their plans for the property into focus. One thing they do know – “We’re looking to become a vibrant part of this community and good neighbors,” he said.
Yakaitis said the lodge has 12 to 14 rooms available. He said their first plan is to reinvigorate the main lodge by bringing it up to code, insulating and heating it. They hope to have a dozen rooms for people to stay in who are visiting Jacob’s Pillow, Tanglewood and Chester Village.
“We’re not changing it that much; bringing it up to modern times,” he said
Behind the house in the back yard is a hill where he said they envision building a small amphitheater for a stage, and holding live concerts – not heavy metal, he promised. He also promised to check with other music series in the area before settling on a day of the week.
Other plans include a “glamping” – glamorous camping – area, a blues or folk festival once or twice a year and opening the lodge for weddings and other events.
“Everything that I’m talking about has not been presented to the Planning Board yet. We’ll be looking to get all things approved,” Yakaitis said.
He also spoke about Martenson’s property at 11 Johnson Hill Road, and its 30-acre field, which they envision surrounding with elderberry bushes for an organic syrup business. He said they would also like to have beehives on the property, which will be an all-organic farm.
“We want people to come and witness organic gardening, renewable energy, solar power, and possibly microhydro power on streams,” Yakaitis said, although one resident warned against damming up the water. He responded, “No dams.”
“We’re not millionaires. It took 15 of us with a common idea, to get back in touch with nature and the earth,” Yakaitis said. He also said they have no big corporation backing them, although they will be forming a corporation to buy the property as a group.
Another partner, Joseph Garofalo, said he has been in hospitality for 40 years, 20 of them with the World Trade Center. He now owns Irish pubs and ice cream shops in Georgia. He described Martenson as an economist, author and speaker, and said the plan is to work on both properties.
“This is a jewel,” Garofalo said about the project. “We have to get back to our roots of community. We’re separated from each other and other human beings, and from nature.” He said the goal is to bring the property back to what it was, offering events, weddings and conferences.
Martenson said they are in the process of finding an architectural firm to work on a master plan for both properties and have received three bids. He said once they have a plan, they will roll it out to the community.
“We want everybody’s buy-in,” Martenson said.
He also spoke about the "spirit of this great facility,” which he called “insanely beautiful.”
“I feel more like a steward than an owner. My instinct is to share it,” Martenson said.