ORANGE — The Revival Wheeler Mansion’s owner is offering guided tours of her business in an effort to help cover her tax bill following a spike in her property valuation.
Cynthia Butler took to social media this week to explain she was blindsided when she learned about the increase and that she must pay $10,314 by Feb. 5. She said in an interview that an identical payment is due May 4, and the total tax bill of $24,000 for the full fiscal year is a sum that her mansion’s business model cannot sustain, but she does not want to sell the property and relocate her family.
“I’m going to have to hire an attorney — I already 100% know that,” Butler said. “I don’t know how I’m going to do it by myself.”
Though Butler plans to file a tax abatement, in the meantime, she is selling tickets to two-hour tours of the North Quabbin region’s only Gilded Age mansion, which was built in 1902 and 1903. Butler bought the property, sight unseen, at auction for $150,000 in June 2020.
Butler, a California transplant, said the email from the Board of Assessors “took [her] by surprise so badly.” The board’s statement to Butler explains that the 75 Main St. mansion had fallen into disrepair and decay by the time of its 2020 purchase. While the assessment account retained a base value in the $1 million to $1.5 million range, abandonment and extensive neglect had brought that total assessment down to the $300,000 to $450,000 range. A property valuation range is essentially an estimated price bracket reflecting a building’s location, condition, size and features.
“Since 2020 there have been efforts to revitalize the Wheeler Mansion,” the assessors stated. “According to the property’s website and from an in-person cyclical inspection, the property record was updated accordingly this year to account for its current status. The property’s use was updated to include its use as a business, not just a residence, and the 70% value reduction was removed.”
Butler said her previous property taxes were based on a $409,000 valuation, but the valuation has changed to $1,445,800 in one year. According to the state Department of Revenue, Orange set its tax rate at $16.60 per $1,000 valuation.
Butler’s ownership of the mansion has been strained and fraught with difficulties in dealing with Orange. She early on expressed frustration over the length of time it was taking to open the facility for business and what she perceived as a lack of guidance from town officials. Three years ago, she publicly clashed with Fire Chief James Young and then-Building Commissioner Jeffrey Cooke over safety codes.
Young told Selectboard members at a February 2023 meeting that he had “heard several different variations of what this business or this building is supposed to be,” which made it “difficult to provide accurate guidance as to what needs to be done.” But Butler shook her head in disagreement when Young said her plans had changed.
Young also took issue with events having already been hosted in the mansion. Butler had held community Halloween and Christmas events as well as a paranormal investigation in 2021. The mansion opened as a bed and breakfast with a ribbon-cutting ceremony on April 1, 2024.
Butler recently wrote on Facebook that she thought her difficulties with the town were over until she opened her email this week to see a tax bill she initially thought had to have been an error. The vast majority of comments on Butler’s Facebook posts have expressed sympathy and frustration, though some asked for help in understanding why her tax bill should not be increased if the mansion’s property value has gone up significantly.
In addition to scheduling the tours, Butler has also set up a GoFundMe crowdfunding page (tinyurl.com/3vhy3f74) to accept donations to help cover the tax bill.
Tour guests will be able to see the majority of the mansion (besides Butler’s private living spaces), and she will host a question-and-answer session before walking the floors.
The mansion’s new event bar will be available to guests after the tours, though drinks are not included in the cost of the ticket. Tickets for specific days can be purchased for $28.52 at eventbrite.com/cc/winter-tours-1436019.