One of Berkeley’s best mansions is on the market once again after sitting vacant for more than a decade. The12,000-square-foot house is asking $7.5 million.
Sitting on a rare three acres, the house was purchased by John Park, the founder of Fortiss, a company that runs casinos and card clubs, in 2005. He paid about $6.3 million, according to Bloomberg.
But soon after, Parker moved to Los Angeles, hiring a caretaker to maintain the property. Over the years he would occasionally put the house on the market. Then in 2015, Park updated the house’s mechanical systems, paint and skylights.
“It’s not a full restoration, which would have taken a lot more effort, time, and focus,” he told Bloomberg. “Basically, I made it a little more livable.”
Now, he says it is time for another try. Herman Chan and Elizabeth Stein of Sotheby’s International Realty are listing the 100-year-old property. It features seven bedrooms, six-and-a-half-bathrooms and views of San Francisco Bay and the Golden Gate Bridge.
Built in 1914, the home was modeled after Empress Elizabeth of Austria’s Achilleion Palace in Corfu and was later occupied by a school.
