Skaneateles, N.Y. — Scrap metal magnate Adam Weitsman is buying Pyramid Cos. partner Bruce Kenan’s sprawling estate on Skaneateles Lake in what could be the highest-priced home sale ever in Onondaga County. And what does Weitsman plan to do with it? Absolutely nothing.
Weitsman confirmed in a text message to The Post-Standard | syracuse.com on Wednesday that he has a contract to buy Kenan’s estate on West Lake Street on the west shore of the lake in the village of Skaneateles.
Weitsman said he could not disclose the purchase price until the sale closes in about 60 days. But if it’s anything close to Kenan’s asking price of $15 million , it likely would be the highest price ever paid for a residential property in Onondaga County.
The estate contains a 154-year-old mansion, known as “The Mingo Lodge,” that Kenan bought about 40 years ago, a second neighboring home, a guesthouse connected to the main house by a tunnel, an underground three-car garage and a boathouse on the water that itself could be considered a mansion. They are situated on six acres, with 420 feet of waterfront access.
Weitsman, owner of Owego-based Upstate Shredding and two Skaneateles restaurants — The Krebs and Elephant and the Dove — is not lacking for lakefront accommodations. He lives in a 12,309-square-foot mansion that he built 11 years ago just three-tenths of a mile north of the Kenan estate. And he bought a 118-year-old home next to his mansion for $2.5 million in 2018, with the intention of tearing it down and replacing it with a pool.
He said he is buying the Kenan property as an investment and will lease it back to the Pyramid partner, who will continue to live there.
Kenan, a longtime business partner of the late Robert Congel , Pyramid’s founder and developer of the Destiny USA mall in Syracuse, will be 82 in September. He put the estate up for sale last year.
It is unclear why Kenan wants to sell the house but remain in it. He did not respond to a request for comment Wednesday.
But the sale would bring together prominent examples of Skaneateles’ old money and the new money that is flooding into the community, where lakefront property values are soaring .
The average home purchase price in the town has increased by 28% over the past year, from $497,100 to $638,000, with lakefront properties often selling for much more.
Weitsman has brought to the town a flamboyant lifestyle of business , charity and fun — often played out in plain view on social media. He has 8.8 million followers on Instagram and hosted Jimmy Fallon and Tom Brady at a Syracuse University basketball game at the Carrier Dome.
Weitsman said he was approached by a broker about buying Kenan’s estate and suggested the unusual sale/leaseback arrangement when he realized how much Kenan loved the property.
“He will be there for a good amount of time, with options to stay longer,” he said. “Bruce loves that house. I thought my idea was win-win for all. […]
