July 07, 2003
By STAN BULLARD
Franklin
Castle, an 1881-vintage mansion in Ohio City with a reputation for being haunted,
has a prospective buyer who hopes to spend $3 million transforming the structure
into a private social club.
For real estate investor Charles Milsaps, 31, securing an agreement to buy the Gothic building - empty since an arson fire in 1998 - is the first step in realizing his teen-age dream of owning the mansion with the imposing sandstone exterior.
However, neighbors of the boarded-up building at 4308 Franklin Blvd. have the willies about the potential impact of Mr. Milsaps' plan to use it as a private dining club offering banquet and meeting services. It also would feature three rooms for overnight guests.
Mr. Milsaps said he owns 20 rental condos and single-family homes through Milsaps Properties of Lakewood. He said his plan to sell memberships to the Franklin Castle Club is the best way to pay for the property's restoration and to achieve his goal of allowing the public to enjoy the structure - even if individuals must be club members or accompany one to visit.
Due to dead bolts on inside doors and a chance meeting with a man who said he roomed there in the 1960s, Mr. Milsaps said he believes the structure once was used as a rooming house. That's a vastly different station in life from when the structure was built by grocer and banker Hannes Tiedemann on Franklin Boulevard, which at that time served as the West Side's mansion row.
Today, the home has no water or sewer services. It only has electricity from wiring Mr. Milsaps installed to allow workers to start rebuilding it; the bare-bulb construction lighting gives Mr. Milsaps' face an appropriately shadowy appearance on a tour.
The structure was being restored five years ago as a home by Michelle Heimburger, a Cleveland native who lives in San Francisco, when a homeless man set it afire. The Cleveland Housing Court ordered the roof on the building restored to preserve it, but it has been empty since the blaze. Plaster ceilings are gone from the structure due to the water damage. The fire left ornate woodwork black as toast in some areas.
Mr. Milsaps said he has agreed to buy the building from Ms. Heimburger for $650,000, and she will hold a mortgage on the property for 18 months. Ms. Heimburger's attorney, Theodore M. Mann Jr., confirmed the parties have reached terms and are preparing to sign documents for the transaction to close this month.
Mr. Milsaps said he has reached enough people through word of mouth to sell 50 memberships to the Franklin Castle Club. That's 10% of the membership he plans to sell. Mr. Milsaps said he isn't seeking bank financing or city loans for the project, which he plans to do using equity. He wouldn't disclose the cost of memberships.
The house's first-floor parlor would become a 64-seat dining room, a lounge would be installed on its second floor, and the typical Victorian-era home's party room on the top floor would become a banquet and meeting room seating about 80.
The restoration planned by architect Robert Maschke draws on Mr. Milsaps' background buying and rejuvenating condos and homes in Cleveland and Lakewood. He also has experience as a restaurant manager to aid him in running the club.
Mr. Milsaps said the Franklin Castle Club is designed to cater to downtown business people and wealthy, newer residents of the neighborhood who are restoring homes nearby and want to belong to an urban club rather than a country club.
However, Councilman Joe Cimperman, whose Ward 13 includes the property, said Mr. Milsaps has not done enough homework about the neighborhood. Mr. Cimperman said he has a list of unanswered questions for Mr. Milsaps from a meeting Mr. Milsaps held with neighborhood residents in May to discuss the club's operations and its impact on parking.
"This is a primarily residential neighborhood," Mr. Cimperman said. "People live behind it and next door." While the property is zoned multifamily and once was a German social club, Mr. Cimperman said he's certain the project would need zoning variances for parking and other matters to meet neighborhood demands.
"There's a lot of tension about too much development, particularly commercial, in the neighborhood," Mr. Cimperman said.
John Wilbur, executive director of the Ohio City Near West Development Corp., said residents want to make sure the operation isn't a nuisance due to noise or parking. However, Mr. Wilbur said it's good to see some plan emerge for the property.
Mr. Milsaps said he's working through issues with neighborhood block clubs and plans to offer valet parking to keep members' cars from the street. He said the private nature of the club and limited seating will reduce its neighborhood impact.
Mr. Milsaps said he'll be particularly motivated to be a good neighbor because he plans to live in part of the house.
"Why own a castle and not live in it?" Mr. Milsaps said.