Raj Bhakta, the eccentric booze baron who bought the defunct Green Mountain College campus in 2020, has begun a process to give away the Poultney property to an organization — or person — that “has a vision aligned with the revival of the United States and Western Civilization” and is committed to the “spiritual revival of our Christian faith.”
Bhakta has created a website and put out a request for proposals in an effort to find the right steward of the approximately 115-acre property, which he bought for about $5 million. Though he had a big vision for housing, hotels and a school in the years since he purchased the former college, little has come to fruition. Bhakta did not immediately respond to a request for an interview.
A press release from a New York City public relations firm associated with Bhakta says he seeks to give “select campus buildings and surrounding land” to a “Catholic organization with the vision and capability to use it for good — to serve people, purpose, and faith.”
“It’s a gift of opportunity — the chance to revive a campus for mission, formation, and future generations of the Catholic Church,” Bhakta said in the release.
It’s unclear whether Bhakta intends to give away the entire property. The press release describes eligible applicants as Catholic universities, dioceses, faith-based nonprofits or religious orders.
Reached on Tuesday morning, Poultney Town Manager Paul Anderson said he was aware of Bhakta’s plans.
Seven Days profiled Bhakta in December 2020, months after he won the property at auction.
“Deep in my bones,” he said then, “I love the idea of taking things that were failing and broken and bringing them back.”
Bhakta made his fortune at Shoreham-based WhistlePig Whiskey, which he founded in 2010. But his relationship with investors soured and he was forced out, eventually selling his stake in the company in 2019. He went on to create Bhakta Spirits. Its website offers bottles of booze, some of which retail for several hundred dollars, plus paid tastings and tours of headquarters at the Green Mountain College campus.
In 2024, Bhakta’s company applied for an Act 250 permit to spend some $5 million on redeveloping parts of the campus with nearly 100 hotel rooms and about 20 condos, a microdistillery, restaurants and, eventually, a spa and fitness center. But the company withdrew the application last September.
That application includes documents that say Bhakta was spending as much as $2 million per year on upkeep. Some of the buildings were used for the spirits business, while others were used to house guests, employees and the private K-5 Green Mountain Community School, which is run by Bhakta’s wife, Danhee.
“Previous owners completely mismanaged the maintenance of the campus and it needs tens of millions of dollars in repairs in order to be brought up to code and provide useable space,” one letter from an environmental engineer says.
The request for proposals, which was published on Tuesday, warns prospective applicants that the property will cost at least $1 million per year to maintain, assuming the new owner is granted nonprofit, tax-exempt status. More realistically, it says, are costs of about $1.5 million per year to also keep up with deferred maintenance.
“Eligible recipients must be able to demonstrate sufficient resources to maintain the property,” the site says. “Detailed surveys, environmental reports, and building condition assessments may be made available to shortlisted Respondents.”
When Bhakta bought the property in 2020, it was appraised at about $20 million. It features Georgian architecture and about 20 buildings, including dorms, a commercial kitchen and dining area, a gym, pool, and athletic fields.
“The Property will be transferred as-is, where-is, with a deed restriction limiting its use to causes supporting the Mission,” the request for proposal says.
A “town hall” and campus tour is scheduled for March 12. Applications are due by March 31, the website says, followed by interviews with shortlisted candidates. The plan, subject to change, would be to announce the winner on April 20, the site says.
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