Castle sells to Chicago buyer

By Ed Duggan

09/03/2004

A funny thing happened on the way to the auction.

The VanSon Castle, a historical circa-1922 house and cottage at 4211 Parker Ave. in West Palm Beach, is being sold by private treaty.

The seller is Wellington resident Jerry Ostry, who purchased the property in 1996 and began extensive interior renovations in 1999.

The purchaser is an unidentified Chicago resident and the final sales price won't be known until closing, which is expected in late September.

The house was originally listed at $595,000 and the cottage at $199,000.

The auction department of Palm Beach Gardens-based Illustrated Properties handled the sale.

When Marilou MacKenzie, Illustrated's corporate auctioneer, put her marketing machine in motion, it brought in a flood of inquiries. She had more 102 inquiries for the 8,000-square-foot house, now converted into an eight-plex, and the guest cottage, now used as a duplex.

At least 30 would-be bidders and cooperating brokers had an official look-see before the scheduled sale, but they were all beat out when the Chicago buyer made a pre-bid that couldn't be refused.

Aside from its eclectic classic pre-Art Deco looks, the buildings are built on Parker Ridge, the highest point in Palm Beach County. The location is a block south of Southern Boulevard, three blocks east of the planetarium and Dreher Park, and a mile from the Palm Beach Zoo.

The property was originally crafted by architect and builder Livinius VanSon and is the childhood home of James VanSon, author, speech therapist and post-stroke consultant to Joseph P. Kennedy, father of John F. Kennedy, the nation's 35th president.

A major building feature was the hurricane shaft leading to the basement - one of the few basements ever built in Palm Beach. It was designed to protect the VanSon family from fast-approaching storms. It seems to have worked well, as they survived both the 1926 and 1928 Florida hurricanes in the property.

The grounds also contain three working fountains and a rock waterfall garden.

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