07/08/03
Damian Guevara
Plain Dealer Reporter
A
local developer plans to convert the unoccupied Franklin Castle in Ohio City
into a private social club that will open next May.
Renovations will include restoring the original interior design of the 26-room Gothic mansion at 4308 Franklin Blvd., said Charles Milsaps, 31, the local developer behind the project.
The historic home, built in 1881 by wealthy banker Hannes Tiedemann, was last owned by Cleveland native Michelle Heimburger, who now lives in San Francisco. Heimburger purchased the mansion for $350,000 in 1999.
An arson later that year made the house uninhabitable. Heimburger restored the mansion's roof and turret but decided to sell the house to Milsaps for $650,000, he said.
Milsaps, who grew up in Lakewood and now co-owns 25 rental properties in Lakewood and on Cleveland's West Side, said in a phone interview that owning the castle was a longtime dream. He said he will move into the mansion when the club opens.
"I get to fulfill this dream and restore the house, and I also get to share it with the rest of Cleveland," Milsaps said.
Milsaps has enlisted local architect Robert Maschke, who assisted Heimburger with her renovations, and interior designer and preservationist Sharon Piscalko to work on the restoration.
Although stories have long circulated that the castle is haunted, Milsaps said he hopes it one day will be known more for the club, than for its ghosts.
Makeovers will include new plumbing, heating and electrical systems and the rebuilding of the mansion's 62 windows. While previous owners have added their own touch-ups to the mansion, Milsaps hopes to recapture the original look.
"It will definitely look like what I think it looked like in 1881," Milsaps said.
When complete, the club will offer daily meals and dining, and banquet and meeting spaces for members. Fifty memberships had been sold by yesterday, Milsaps said, but he declined to give the membership fee.
Other perks for members will include guest suites for overnight stays and limousine and concierge services. A package including an overnight stay and dinner also will be available for nonmembers, Milsaps said.
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