Former Yankee Candle Mansion In Pocomo Proposed For Demolition To Make Way For New Mansion

A massive mansion in Pocomo perched high above Nantucket Harbor has been proposed to be demolished. But this time it's not because of erosion. The new owner - a trust that paid $18 million for the compound in September 2023 - is seeking a demolition permit in order to build a new mansion on the four-acre property.

The existing dwelling was previously owned by the late Michael J. Kittredge, the founder of the Yankee Candle Company who passed away in 2019 at the age of 67. It has since changed hands a couple of times, selling in April 2019 for $11.6 million and again last September for $18 million to 72 Pocomo Nominee Trust.

The trust has filed plans with the Nantucket Historic District Commission to demolish the 11,000-square-foot main house, along with the 2,800-square-foot guest house, outbuildings, and the pool.

The compound also features a basement movie theater and at one time had a 2,000-bottle wine cellar. All of those structures were built on the property in 1990, making them 34 years old.

In their place, a new mansion, guest house, garage, gym, and pool would be constructed on the site. The plans have been designed and submitted by the renowned architecture firm Workshop/APD.

The owner behind the trust is not listed on the deed for the property, however, the documents submitted to the HDC refer to it as the "Bramley residence."

Attorney Steven Cohen, who represents 72 Pocomo Nominee Trust, said the structures proposed for demolition will be advertised as available to be moved - a requirement under Nantucket's so-called "demolition delay bylaw." However, Cohen added that given the size of the structures on the property, it is likely they are too large to be economically moved. It's still a possibility that some of the structures could be reused, Cohen said. 

The home was once rented by Kourtney Kardashian.

In a 2005 New York Times article entitled "Old Nantucket Warily Meets The New," Kittredge - then 53-years-old - was interviewed in the home about the changes "new money" was bringing to the island.

"Successful people want to be with other successful people," Kittredge told the Times nearly two decades ago. "Birds of a feather. On Nantucket you don't feel bad because you want a nice bottle of wine. If you order a $300 bottle in a restaurant, the guy at the next table is ordering a $400 bottle."

Kittredge told the Times that Nantucket was dividing into two types of people: "the haves and the have-mores."

The house was originally built and designed by Gerhard Andlinger, who sold it shortly after his wife passed away in 1994.