Innovators - Stanmar
Pioneers in Design & Construction Since 1912
The Present
Stanmar focuses on the design and construction of projects across a wide range of markets, including education, hospitality, country club, and residential. Through our affiliate company, Little Gem Resorts, we also own and operate three hotels we designed and constructed through Stanmar.
What clients experience today is the result of over 100 years of evolution, innovation, and passion for planning, designing, and building.
Here’s our story—in reverse—reaching back from the Stanmar you see today to our humble roots as a material supplier with offices in the suburbs and downtown Boston.
Steve Tisch Sports & Fitness Center
The Nantucket Hotel + Resort
Wellesley Country Club Racquets Facility
1990s - 2010s
Nation’s Leader in the Design and Construction of Athletic Facilities
By the early 1990s, Stanmar’s design and construction division began to specialize in athletic and recreational facilities and entered the private college, university, and independent school markets across the country. Stanmar became a true specialist across a wide range of facility types, including Division 1 basketball arenas, natatoriums, squash courts, fitness and more—including performing arts, dance, multipurpose, science, and dining facilities.
1999 - Present
Stanmar’s Affiliate Company
Little Gem Resorts
In 1999, Stanmar expanded our operation on Martha’s Vineyard by building and opening the Winnetu Oceanside Resort. In 2012, the company developed a sister property on Nantucket Island, the Nantucket Hotel. In December 2020, the company opened a third property, Lovango Resort & Beach Club, in the US Virgin Islands. Stanmar's affiliate company was branded Little Gem Resorts.
Each property has built on and supported each other, creating a more stable, dynamic operation for our staff and guests. Our ongoing hospitality division’s challenges and successes inform Stanmar’s perspective and approach with clients regardless of facility type.
1980s
End of Prefab
Natural Expansion to Institutional Work
Amidst booming mortgage interest rates in the early 1980s, Stanmar made the challenging decision to exit the prefabricated home business. Throughout the 1970s, Stanmar organically expanded within local communities to design and construct hundreds of churches and a growing list of YMCAs and Boys & Girls Clubs.
It was also during the 1980s that Stanmar developed the Farm, a seven-building residential community in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts. This successful development endured the late 1980s real estate recession; our success was due to our commitment to logical layouts, high-quality materials, and building a cohesive community, an approach that would serve the company well as we began working with institutions across the country.
1960s - 1970s
New Opportunities to Develop Community
Out of the vacation home business came two opportunities: first, Stanmar was approached to develop, plan, design, build, and then operate Smuggler’s Notch Ski Resort in Vermont. Ultimately, Stanmar purchased the resort outright at the completion of the development and ran it until the mid-1990s.
Stanmar also purchased and developed 150 acres of land in Katama on Martha’s Vineyard, building over 100 homes and creating an oceanside vacation community. Stanmar’s success with clients is strongly impacted by our development roots and approach. We consider clients' future operating costs and revenue opportunities as part of every project.
1958
Stanmar Founded
Stanmar Innovates Modular Building Design and Construction
In 1958, Stanley Snider split Mass Lumber with his brother, Elliot, taking the lumberyard and land outside Boston in the suburbs. Stanley moved out of material supply and into the design and construction of prefabricated vacation homes and established the Stanmar company name.
Over the next 20 years, Stanmar became one of the market leaders in prefabricated vacation homes, building thousands of homes east of the Mississippi. Stanmar perfected a lump-sum, Guaranteed Fixed Price approach that delighted clients used to endless change orders and cost overruns. Stanmar established a reputation for delivering cost-controlled projects without compromising on quality.
1912 – 1958
The Early Years
Harry Snider founded the Massachusetts Lumber Company and grew it to be one of the larger lumber suppliers in the Northeast. Our roots are in material and working with subcontractors; observing the cost and time inefficiencies between subcontractors, general contractors, architects, and owners drove Harry’s son, Stanley, to believe early collaboration and a deep analysis of materials, finishes, and subcontractors could deliver more value to clients.
The Future
While the world of design and construction has changed in the over 100 years we’ve been in business, the core challenges—determining a project's purpose, budget, and program—remain the same. By pulling together a collaborative team to ask the tough questions upfront, we help clients realize the best version of their projects—facilities that they can afford, that get built, and that delight with their versatility and high-quality construction for years to come. If you are looking to jump-start your project, please contact us!