Long Island’s famed Oheka Castle, one of the largest private residences in the country, has found a new caretaker.
The 127-room French Renaissance mansion is set to sell for $72 million after a live auction at The Dominick in New York City on Tuesday. The auction was held by the Modlin Group’s Adam Modlin and Concierge Auctions, which is charging a fee to the buyer of 6 percent of the sale price, according to Concierge’s website.
The 23-acre spread in Huntington solicited seven bidders, and a hearing is set for Thursday morning to approve the sale.
The pending buyers are Ronald Browning and Paul Alflen, Long Island Business News reported. The two are partners at Long Island-based Gold Coast Property & Estate Management.
The pair is taking over a property of epic proportions. The roughly 113,000-square-foot estate operates as a hotel, restaurant and wedding venue, serving as a backdrop for celebrity nuptials like Kevin Jonas and disgraced former congressman Anthony Weiner.
It has also featured heavily in various media, including “Citizen Kane,” HBO’s “Succession” and Taylor Swift’s “Blank Space.”
Some of the best of its 127 rooms include a 72-by-32-foot ballroom with 24-foot-ceilings and a library with hand-restored faux bois walls.
“Oheka Castle is an estate that simply could not be replicated today,” Modlin said in a statement. ”This sale marks an exciting next chapter for Oheka and an opportunity for its next owner to preserve that legacy while bringing a new vision to the estate.”
Alflen told LIBN that he and his partner plan to preserve the castle.
Built starting in 1914 for banker Otto Kahn, the property has fallen on hard times in recent years. Developer Gary Melius bought the estate in 1984 for $1.5 million and poured more than $40 million into renovating it over two different ownership stints.
Last year, an entity tied to Melius filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in an effort to prevent Oheka Castle from being sold. Court documents showed the property owed $64 million to creditors and had just $58 in a checking account.
The bankruptcy court eventually ruled that the owner of the property’s debt, Taconic Capital Advisors, could proceed with a foreclosure auction.
The auction offering also includes a neighboring five-acre plot with approved plans to build a 95-unit, four-story condominium.
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