Mary Reynolds spared little expense in bringing luxury to the northern edge of Lancaster city more than a century ago.

Reynolds, widow of prominent attorney Samuel H. Reynolds, had a three-story, nine-bedroom Colonial Revival mansion built.

But Reynolds didn't stop there.

She added gardens to the 802 N. Duke St. property as well as a solarium, with a stained glass ceiling that's valued at more than $200,000 today.

D. Ray Broderick, his wife, Darla, and daughter, Tina Stoltzfus, soon plan to share that luxury with their customers, one day at a time.

The Brodericks, owners of Visage á Visage Day Spa & Salon, bought the vacant site and are renovating it in a project costing more than $600,000.

Ray Broderick said their bold plan is to convert the 114-year-old estate into the most prominent day spa in the country, or at least on the East Coast.

"We're hoping to be the envy of all day spas from New York to California," he told members of the Lancaster city Zoning Hearing Board on Monday.

The zoners approved a special exception to allow Visage to operate in the historic Reynolds Mansion, empty for two years.

The business will shift to the 8,000-square-foot mansion from its longtime location at 616 N. Lime St., more than doubling its space.

Stoltzfus, the salon's operations director and manager, said many of the salon and spa clients already come from outside the area.

Saturday customers are almost exclusively people staying at hotels and bed & breakfasts, she said.

Limousine service is offered and brings customers from as far away as Baltimore, she said.

They hope to have clients coming to the mansion via the nearby Amtrak station, now undergoing renovation.

The roomy mansion, likely to open next spring, will allow for more of everything, Broderick said.

More space for more clients. More space for more employees. And more space for more services.

The spa now serves 125 to 225 clients a week, Broderick said. Sometimes, he said, it has to turn away prospective clients.

That popularity has prompted Visage's work force to grow from 15 when the Brodericks bought the business in 2003 to 24 today.

Broderick said Visage plans to add at least six employees with the move to the mansion.

Visage, which opened in 1989 a block from its current address, offers the hair styling of a typical salon and much more.

There are different kinds of massage, seaweed treatments and facials for skin, manicures and pedicures for finger and toe nails, and cosmetic consultation and application.

Lunch is provided in the day spa tea room or rooftop patio for customers coming for lunch-time treatments or four- or five-hour spa sessions.

The five-hour session tops the price list at $347.

Stoltzfus said in the larger space of the mansion, they would like to bring in a doctor to do Botox treatments and possibly offer skin treatments not offered in the area, such as infrared therapy.

Despite the recession and the feeble economy that has lingered afterward, Broderick said the day spa business has continued to grow.

"No matter how bad the economy gets, people still want to look beautiful," he said.

"Everybody is working six days a week, and everybody wants to go and look beautiful, especially women.

"They work hard for it and are willing to spend it on themselves," Broderick said.

Business also has grown in tandem with other developments in the city.

Visage gets many referrals from the Lancaster Arts Hotel and the Cork Factory Hotel, according to Broderick.

Both upscale hotels opened in the city in recent years.

For hotel guests coming from New York for weekends in Lancaster, a day spa experience is an added amenity, he said.

And, for guests familiar with New York prices, Visage's rates are a bargain, Broderick contended.

They are even more of a bargain for people familiar with day spa prices in Las Vegas, Phoenix and other western cities, he said.

What will keep them coming back will be the customer service and the unique atmosphere Broderick plans to create in the mansion.

"It's a fabulous place. It's perfect for us," he said.

As it stood empty recently, however, it sustained water and cosmetic damage. Thieves stole copper pipes. Shrubs became overgrown.

"It's a shame it was left go, but we'll get it back the way it was. We'll do it right," pledged Broderick.

The half-acre property, which includes a 2,000-square-foot finished carriage house, was last the offices of Old Guard Mortgage.

Previously, it was the real estate office of Ammon K. Graybill.

Broderick has been a prominent local businessman for more than 30 years. He's the founder of Superior Homes, Superior VIP Limousine and Synthetic Turf Design.

bharris@lnpnews.com