The Evergreen International Aviation empire, once one of Oregon’s largest employers, had its ups and downs, and so has the riverfront estate the bankrupt company’s late founder Del Smith erected alongside the Willamette River in Dundee.

More than $18 million was poured into the 46.6-acre property at 22111 Riverwood Road and yet, over the years, no one has stepped up to buy it when the price was $6 million in April 2017 or after it dropped to $5 million in August 2017.

Now, two years later, come Aug. 21, “someone will get a Monet for less than the price of a Monet,” says Todd Wohl of Premiere Estates, who will auction the property starting at $2.25 million. “What can you buy in Lake Oswego for that price?”

--Janet Eastman | @janeteastman

Premiere Estates

Wohl says his company markets grand properties to potential buyers across the globe, and he’s hoping to attract someone from “Portland, Seattle, Los Angeles, San Francisco or China” to want “a home, business opportunity like a bed-and-breakfast or a corporate retreat” that conforms to zoning restrictions.

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The name of the estate, Del Mar, hints at the original owner: Delford ("Del") Smith founded the Evergreen aviation empire, including Evergreen International Airlines and its subsidiaries. His pride and joy was the Evergreen Aviation & Space Museum in McMinnville, where Smith displayed the trophy of another big dreamer: Howard Hughes' WWII H-4 Hercules "Spruce Goose."

Smith's ambitious Evergreen empire crashed into bankruptcy and Smith died in 2014. His heirs, tired of the estate lingering on the market for years, hired the auction house to find a buyer this summer.

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“Del Smith spared no expense,” says Wohl.

In 2002, Smith set his sights on building a Mediterranean-style mansion, with five fireplaces, French doors and seemingly endless hardwood floors, in Yamhill County's wine region.

The high-flying entrepreneur’s villa has 26,480 square feet of living space, which is equal to the Pittock Mansion and the Oregon governor's mansion combined. The butlers’ pantry off the formal dining room has specialty cabinetry for fine china and felt-lined drawers for silver.

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https://vimeo.com/344732875

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Five bedrooms can be reached by ascending marble stairs or by way of the elevator. The 475-square-foot master suite, however, is on the main floor of the three-level house. The master suite's double walk-in closets can hold a boutique's worth of clothes.

In total, there are five full bathrooms and powder rooms, including those installed in staff quarters. A Victorian-era guest house, the remodeled 1906 J. D. Gordon house, is part of the sale.

[The remodeled 1906 J. D. Gordon house]

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A colonnade leads to the pool pavilion with conservatory-style windows. For more outdoor entertainment, there is a lighted tennis court and a sports court for basketball, badminton, or sport court hockey. A fire pit fronts a wisteria-covered arbor supported by classic columns. Water features and European-style garden elements are organized around trimmed-hedge borders.

Property taxes are more than $100,000 a year.

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An accepted pre-auction offer will cancel the auction. Otherwise, the highest amount received by sealed bid over $2.25 million by noon on Aug. 21, 2019 will be declared the winner.

A $25,000 deposit and registration is required to bid. Terry Sprague of Luxe Christie's International Real Estate can be contacted at 503-459-3987 to request a private tour.

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Premiere Estates

[The Villa]

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[The remodeled 1906 J. D. Gordon house]

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Steven Haning/Premiere Estates

--Janet Eastman | 503-294-4072

jeastman@oregonian.com | @janeteastman

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