The Real Housewives of New York City alum Dorinda Medley is selling a portion of her iconic Blue Stone Manor mansion.
People reported on Thursday, July 30, that Medley, 61, is selling just under 3.7 acres of her estate in Great Barrington, Massachusetts, for $1.2 million. The land comes with its own private entrance and access road, and is surrounded by protected conservation land on the sides.
“When you’re on this property, it’s unlike anything you’ve ever experienced,” Medley told the magazine. “I always say, the minute I go through the gates, time just stops. You leave everything behind. It’s like you’ve entered into a whole different world. It’s peaceful and calm and restorative, in a way words can’t do justice.”
Dorinda explained that she had the property professionally surveyed for the first time since her late husband, Richard Medley, purchased it in 2005, which led her to realize that the home actually sat on nearly 20 acres.
“I thought to myself, ‘Why do I need 20 acres?’” she said. “I’d been happy with nine! Now I found out I owned 19 and a half! It just felt excessive. And I thought to myself, ‘I don’t want to pay all these taxes on this land I’m not even using.’ It felt wasteful, because the land I own is so far away from the house. I don’t use the land like they did when the home was first built. It isn’t necessarily for the property anymore.”
Dorinda previously believed that the land had been owned by someone else.
“I go on a lot of long walks, especially in the fall. And for years and years, I’d been walking on that land thinking I was trespassing on someone else’s property the whole time!” she said. “I’d say to anyone who was with me, ‘We’re gonna walk the horse trails, but I don’t know who owns it, so we gotta be quick.’ Turns out, it’s me! I own it!”
Dorinda subsequently hired a law firm for a full evaluation of the land before reorganizing the property into three lots. One of those lots is now up for sale.
“I kept three acres behind my house for protective reasons,” she said. “But the property that I’m selling is far down there that no one would even notice it was meant to be connected to this land.”
For Dorinda, her hope is that the new owner feels a connection to the space. “I hope whomever buys it builds a beautiful historical home here,” she said. “Something that really fits into the spirit of this special, special place.”
