Redstone, Colorado's historic Redstone Castle has been successfully sold following a live auction held at the property site on October 7, 2016, according to Platinum Luxury Auctions, the auction house that managed the transaction. The sale was held in cooperation with Aspen-based brokerage Aspen-Snowmass Sotheby's International Realty, represented by listing agents and top producers Ted Borchelt and Jana Dillard.
Although the price of the sale has not yet been released, representatives for Platinum stated that the high bidder satisfied all of the terms of the auction sale, and that the transaction should close shortly. The auction required that a reserve bid of $2 million be met in order for the property to be sold. The purchaser is also required to put forth an additional 10% in commissions and other transaction fees to consummate the sale.
"We have been quite impressed with PLA since day one!" exclaimed Borchelt, adding that he and the property seller interviewed several luxury real estate auction firms before selecting Platinum. "I cannot imagine the competition doing a better job."
"We were incredibly pleased with the makeup of inquirers for this auction, which included two billionaires and a sizable pool of wealthy individuals from both U.S. and foreign markets. One would be hard-pressed to think any stone was left unturned in the marketing outreach," stated Aaron Carmody, Platinum's project manager for the sale. "Selling an historic property is never an easy feat, especially when that property is a 24,000 square foot castle that is largely original per its 1902 build date."
To be sure, the property enjoyed a tremendous amount of exposure in the media, such as a televised feature during FoxNews Denver's primetime evening segment, in addition to articles in Bloomberg, The Wall Street Journal and a series of local and regional publications based in and around Colorado.
A spokesperson for the Aspen-based company that owned and sold the property expressed satisfaction with the sale, stating via email that Platinum and Sotheby's, "…put forth the best effort possible," and that the company, "truly appreciated working with" the parties throughout the process.
While the company's ownership originally had grand plans for the estate, those plans were shelved and the company instead decided to open the property for public tours, relying on the knowledge and experience of a caretaker who has lived at the Castle for nearly twenty years. The tours have maintained public interest in the Castle, continuing its long-held role as centerpiece of the small mountain hamlet of Redstone, located about 30 minutes outside of Aspen, CO.
Built in 1902 for John Cleveland Osgood, a powerful coal and steel industrialist who became the sixth wealthiest person in the country by 1900, the castle was named for the town of Redstone, Colorado, which was in fact founded by Osgood. Also known as "Cleveholm Manor" and "Osgood Castle," the estate served as Osgood's personal residence, and as such played host to members of the era's high society, including American icons such as John D. Rockefeller, J. Pierpont Morgan and Teddy Roosevelt