Iconic, bankrupt LI wedding venue heads to auction with doors open to residential development
Long Island’s famed Oheka Castle will sell to the highest bidder next month — finishing its transition from grand Gilded Age manor to a gavel-ending auction.The Concierge Auctions sale, where prospective buyers must pony up $750,000 to even have a chance at the 113,000-square-foot mansion, will take the estate out of Chapter 11 bankruptcy — and give the buyer not only bragging rights as new lord of the manor, but also open doors to lucrative building opportunities.Curbed first reported news of the sale, which will conclude on Oct.
27.Located in Huntington, the town has approved 95 luxury condos for the easternmost 5 acres of the 23-acre property.At an expected $1.8 million and much more a pop, the residential addition could pull in millions annually and spur more condo development on a site adjacent to the Oheka property.The auction will leave by the wayside former owner Gary Melius, a local developer and political heavyweight who filed for bankruptcy last summer to try and keep his creditors at bay.The filing showed just how dire Oheka’s financial picture was — with the hotel, restaurant and event space having less than $60 in its bank account, no cash on hand and carrying more than $63.5 million in debt.Because Melius couldn’t pay off the massive balances under the Chapter 11 filing, the federal bankruptcy court signed off on a public auction.
Leading up to this outcome, Melius spend decades as Oheka’s owner, pouring millions into its restoration, even dodging a mid-day assassination attempt there in 2014.“Forty years here, $50 million in, and now nothing,” the 81-year-old Melius told The Post.Melius said he is still living at the 127-room estate and did not indicate what his future plans are.Hedge fund Taconic Capital is considered the frontrunner for the property since it holds the mansion’s $60 million defaulted mortgage.It can also use the amount as bidding currency while others will have to start from scratch, according to US bankruptcy...