Platinum Luxury Auctions Managing Sale of 32-Acre Estate on Oregon’s Willamette River
When Hollywood Video founder Mark Wattles purchased 32 acres on Oregon’s Willamette River in 1994, the entrepreneur had a vision to create a dream estate on the sprawling parcel. Although he began to execute that vision – obtaining permits and beginning construction on a 49,000-square-foot mansion with an indoor basketball court and dual automotive galleries – his plans eventually changed, and construction was halted almost 20 years ago, prior to completion.
Fast forward to this Thursday evening at 7pm PT, wherein the property will be sold at a live auction without reserve – meaning the highest bidder prevails regardless of the price – to find its new owner. Wattles originally purchased the land for $1.25 million and stated he has invested more than $12 million into the project to date. “I don’t owe anything on it, so I could have sat on it for another 20 years…but it’s in my interest to auction it to have the widest audience,” Wattles said.
To conduct the auction, Wattles retained veteran real estate auction house Platinum Luxury Auctions. The Miami-based firm specializes in multimillion-dollar real estate auctions on behalf of clients who – like the former movie rental mogul – are not in distress, but rather elect to sell their property in a way they deem to be more expeditious and effective as compared to traditional sales methods, especially when the given property is unique or difficult to value.
“Wealthy sellers like Mr. Wattles are not an exception to our luxury auction® process, but are instead the norm,” stated Trayor Lesnock, Platinum’s founder and president. “That said, what is unique in this case is that he chose to enter the marketplace with an auction, as opposed to many other sellers who waste valuable time – often many years – failing to sell their property traditionally before electing our services. Mark and his listing agents are savvy enough to realize that his special property is best suited for a special sales approach.”
Lesnock and his team are offering the property in cooperation with listing brokerage Luxe Platinum Properties, an exclusive affiliate of Christie’s International Real Estate based in Lake Oswego, Oregon. Luxe is represented in the transaction by its CEO, Terry Sprague and co-listing agent Kendra Ratcliff.
The 32-acre property consists of a peninsular (or “point”) lot with approximately 2,700 linear feet of frontage on the Willamette River. It sits at the end of a quiet road in rural-suburban West Linn, located about 40 mins from the heart of downtown Portland.
While the dream home Wattles planned for the site was never completed, the existing framework is in impressive condition. “It looks like a project that was started only 2-3 years ago. It’s unbelievable how well maintained it is,” Lesnock noted.
Built by Tom Avgerakis, one of the Pacific Northwest’s most sought-after luxury homebuilders, the structure boasts “commercial-grade” construction, with extensive use of steel beams, concrete and treated wood. Original build plans envisioned a sprawling, tri-level estate with +/- 49,000 sf of gross constructed area. Planned features included an indoor racquetball/squash court, indoor basketball court, elevator, and a sprawling master suite with a 1,200-sf closet and private theater. The home’s lower level was designed to include two automotive galleries, each with room for up to 20 vehicles (which is in addition to the 8-car garage adjacent to the main entry).
Thanks to an active building permit, which was secured prior to the current land-use regulations that increased the setbacks for waterfront properties, the homesite offers 270-degree river views that cannot be reproduced. The property also enjoys an agricultural tax abatement that substantially reduces its tax bill.
Final previews of the property will be held from 12-4pm PT daily, through Wednesday, June 13th. For information on property previews, bidder registration or other auction procedures, interested parties may visit OregonLuxuryAuction.com, or contact Platinum’s project manager for the sale at 800.484.2513.
About Platinum Luxury Auctions
Platinum Luxury Auctions is responsible for developing the luxury auction® model for high-priced real estate auctions, and owns the trademark rights to the term “luxury auction.” The firm specializes in the non-distressed sale of multimillion-dollar properties within and beyond the United States. Platinum’s team has closed more than $757 million in luxury real estate auction sales to date, while consulting on more than $2.25 billion in additional luxury properties worldwide.
