Redstone Castle new owners are experiencing “a dream come true”

April and Steve Carver twice passed on the opportunity to purchase the historic Redstone Castle in Pitkin County. But when it was offered at auction in 2016 for $2 million they bid and soon were able to begin overhauling the 42-room Tudor-style manse built by coal baron John Osgood. The work included lengthy negotiations related to the commercial uses of the property that were restricted by preservation easements applied after the castle was seized by the federal government during a Ponzi-scheme investigation.
Nina Riggio, Special to The Colorado Sun

RFor years, April and Steve Carver would pass this riverside hamlet and admire the iconic Redstone Castle from afar. They had spent decades restoring the historic shine to the Hotel Denver in Glenwood Springs, but the castle seemed beyond their financial grasp.

“Then we watched it sell for $6 million and said nope, not in our reach,” Steve said. “Then we watched it sell for $4 million and said nope, still not there. And then we got a card in the mail that they were having an auction with a minimum bid of $2 million.”

The couple — certified public accountants by trade and historians by passion — won the Redstone Castle at that October 2016 auction, spending a little more than $2 million for the stately manor, which was built by a coal baron between 1899 and 1902.

Tapping their 27 years of expertise amassed overhauling the Hotel Denver, the Carvers launched a sweeping renovation of Redstone Castle, spending well more than their purchase price to restore one of Colorado’s historic jewels.

Redstone Castle in Pitkin County, Colorado, has numerous historic preservation easements that cover the building, its grounds and the main floor rooms, including the dining room, which has Russian red velvet on its walls and gold leaf on its ceiling.
Redstone Castle new owners are experiencing “a dream come true”

Ask anyone who has dug into a century-old home, and a vast majority will express moments of regret. It’s one of the stages of a lengthy restoration. But it was worse for the Carvers, who tackled a property that had as many as 10 previous owners who made occasional upgrades. And because the federal government imposed conservation easements for part of the property. And because local land-use code forbade events that could help reimburse the investment in renovations.

Read more via The Colorado Sun.

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via:: Post Independent