Talk about buyer’s remorse.
Seven years ago, a small Massachusetts town purchased a majestic 1886 mansion for the bargain price of $1.75 million, saving it from demolition — but residents still don’t know what to do with the historic building whose upkeep is costing an arm and a leg.
The 32-room White Cliffs estate was bought by the town of Northborough, about 45 miles west of Boston, in 2017, according to the Worcester Telegram & Gazette.
It was built at 167 Main St. by Daniel Wesson, co-founder of Smith & Wesson firearms manufacturer, as a summer home for what would be $9.5 million today, the outlet reported.
The estate — which sits on 100 acres and boasts 17 fireplaces, stained-glass windows and intricate carvings, according to its website — sits unoccupied and has cost Northborough millions to maintain.
Officials have tried partnering with a business to develop the 139-year-old building into a restaurant, concert venue or apartments to no avail.
Northborough has also been passed up for grant money that would have funded a rehabilitation, the Telegram & Gazette reported.
The historic mansion has fallen into disrepair, and the bills are adding up. Experts have said it would take $10 million more to completely renovate the White Cliffs estate “just to make it habitable,” Northborough Planning Direct Laurie Connors told the Boston Globe last month.
The town has also considered transforming the structure into a new town hall.
The White Cliffs estate is believed to be one of the last designed by the Herter Brothers, interior decorators who famously did work for the Vanderbilt family and the White House, according to the Globe.
The grounds around the White Cliffs estate need infilling to maintain the building’s structural integrity — which carries an $88,000 price tag, the Telegram & Gazette reported.
