FESTUS, Mo. — Nestled within the hills of Jefferson County, about 45 minutes south of St. Louis, sits one of the most unique properties in the state of Missouri, if not the Midwest: a 12,000-square-foot, Italian-style castle.
And the exclusive property can be yours for $24.75 million.
Michael Hanrahan of Cushman & Wakefield's St. Louis office and Paul Hilton of Hilton & Associates are marketing what they call a "once in a lifetime" property, known as Selma Farm, which sits on over 2,400 acres in Festus atop bluffs that overlook the Mississippi River.
The Business Journal was the first media allowed on the property, which also features an 18-hole golf course (once known as the Crystal Highlands Golf Club), a hunting and fishing lodge, horse stables, fiber optic Wi-Fi and more.
Union Pacific, which acquired Selma Farm in the 1980s through its merger with Missouri Pacific, is selling the property as part of the company's "general and administrative support cost reduction efforts," a Union Pacific spokeswoman said.
Built in the style of Lake Como’s Castello di Vezio in Italy, the Kennett family erected the castle in the 1850s. In the 1930s, when owned by the Schock family, a fire ravaged the property and was painstakingly rebuilt as close to the original design as possible. Much of the furniture, which comes with the sale, was bought from Italy, Hilton said.
So how does a commercial real estate broker determine the price of such a unique property? With no other nearby castles to offer comparative prices, Hanrahan and Hilton looked at a combination of golf course, large home and land sales in the area, Hilton said.
There isn't an ideal buyer. Hanrahan and Hilton said it could be a private residence, a plug-and-play golf course, corporate retreat site, a resort or many other uses.
“It’s rare for an investment property in any market to have such a wide-ranging group of potential buyers,” he said.
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