| Ksyrup |
11-10-2010 12:50 PM |
Holy crap, I thought for sure this thread was going to be about the castle 5 minutes from my house:
Quote:
Kentucky castle is up for sale
VERSAILLES, Ky. (AP) — Want to be king of the castle? There's one in the Bluegrass region for sale.
The landmark castle on U.S. 60 in Woodford County is surrounded by 50 acres of land.
The Lexington Herald-Leader reports owner Tom Post is advertising the property for sale. That's according to Charles Martin, general manager of The CastlePost and Versailles attorney Bill Moore.
The newspaper reports an Internet posting advertises the castle for sale at $30 million, but Martin indicates price is negotiable.
Martin said at least two people in South America and one from the Middle East have expressed interest in the property.
"We haven't got a contract on it yet," Martin said. "If we can get top dollar or a good price for it, we're going to try to sell it."
The ad describes the property as "Kentucky's premier luxury tourist inn" near Keeneland and Blue Grass Airport.
The Woodford County Property Valuation Administrator's Office lists the castle's assessed value at $4.5 million.
The structure near the Fayette County line has attracted interest for more than four decades.
Lexington contractor Rex Martin Sr. began building it in 1969, but never finished and it sat empty for decades.
Post, a Miami lawyer and a graduate of Lexington's Lafayette High School and the University of Kentucky, bought it in 2003 for $1.8 million and began restoring it.
It opened in 2008 as The CastlePost, a luxury bed-and-breakfast complete with swimming pool, tennis court and grand ballroom.
It has attracted royalty and hosted several fundraisers, but the traffic has raised the ire of local neighbors who have sued to reverse the decision of Woodford County officials, who allowed an unlimited number of events at the castle.
The suit is pending. Judge Rob Johnson is scheduled to hear a motion next week that seeks to have Lexington lawyer Bruce Simpson removed as attorney for the plaintiffs because another attorney in his firm represented Post on a separate matter.
The lawsuit doesn't have anything to do with Post's willingness to sell, Martin said. Rather, it has to do with being an out-of-state owner, said Martin, adding that Post wants to continue living in Miami.
Simpson said the $30 million asking price seems high.
"If you can get $30 million for 50 acres in the rural part of Woodford County, more power to you," Simpson said.
But Martin said the castle has captured the imaginations of people in the area for decades.
"It's a unique piece of property," he said. "It's like buying a landmark."
If it doesn't sell, Martin said, Post will continue operating it as an inn and event facility for charities.
But Martin said, "We're going to keep trying to see if we can find somebody willing to pay the price."
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The story behind this is pretty interesting. Apparently the original builder/owner started building this castle after he and his wife returned from a honeymoon in Europe where she became infatuated with castles. It was not completed because they divorced several years later and apparently (the story goes) he had a broken heart and couldn't bear to complete it.
It was bought several years ago by a Miami attorney who wanted to turn it into a high-priced bed and breakfast/wedding chapel and reception hall, but the house portion of it "mysteriously" burned down on May 10, 2004 (which is, coincidentally, the day our youngest daughter was born) during renovations. Anyway, he finally finished the renovations and opened it for use, but the neighbors bitched about it and the county would only approve it for use once a month for charity events or weddings. I think recently, they loosened those restrictions up a bit.
But it's quite the landmark on the way from Lexington to Versailles. Almost every day someone's pulled over on 60 taking pictures of it. |
