The new owner of an unfinished riverfront mansion that has been frozen in time for 20 years plans to create a Tuscan villa-style vineyard estate and perhaps open a wine tasting room.

Richard L. Stanley, who started Rick's Custom Fencing & Decking and owns lumber yards in Oregon, purchased the 32-acre property at 32020 S.W. Peach Cove Road in West Linn on July 16 after being the highest bidder at a no-reserve auction.

The price? No one involved in the cash transaction will disclose the sale price, which has not yet been entered into Clackamas County's public records.

Clackamas County assessed the property at $5.3 million. Annual taxes are $77,900.

Trayor Lesnock of Platinum Luxury Auctions, who conducted the auction held at the Nines hotel in downtown Portland on June 14, said the sale price was in the range of his expectations. The auction website lists the sale price at $2,270,000.

"I recognize a deal when I see it," said Stanley, who lives in Camas, Washington, but considers himself an Oregonian. He also owns the 1920 Historic Hotel Condon in Eastern Oregon. "I have roots here," he said.

The 59-year-old thinks he might spend the rest of his life living on the West Linn farmland that sits at a bend in the Willamette River, granting 270-degree views and 2,700 feet of water frontage.

"I like the river setting and can see a beautiful home being built there," he said, adding with a chuckle, "I will have to build up the courage to fill the garage."

The whole bottom level of the 50,000-square-foot structure was planned as a 60-car showroom, garage and mechanic space.

Another large part of the footprint was devoted to a 25-foot-tall gym with a full basketball court or it could have been used as an indoor pool area.

The property's previous owner Mark Wattles, best known for starting and selling then-successful Hollywood Video stores and buying bankrupt Ultimate Electronics, said he poured $12 million into the still-unfinished trophy home.

Wattles, who attended the auction and later had dinner with Stanley, paid $1.25 million for the undeveloped land in 1994.

Although the land is zoned exclusively for farm use, Wattles received a building permit in 1996 to erect a mansion about the size of the White House.

The next year, he won a highly publicized legal challenge filed by a neighbor, who was aided by land-use group 1000 Friends of Oregon and the Ball Janik law firm.

Soon after, construction stalled as Wattles moved with his wife and five children to Las Vegas to benefit from tax advantages and escape the spotlight. "The founder of a fast-growing business isn't the center of attention in Las Vegas as it is in Portland," he said.

Today, Wattles owns homes in Dallas, Texas, Punta Mita, Mexico and a French country-style estate at 25020 S.W. Valley View Road in West Linn that is for sale at $3,488,000. That 16-acre, gated property in Stafford Summit Estates is being sold in the traditional manner, not by auction, by Terry Sprague of Luxe Christie's International Real Estate.

Sprague and Kendra Ratcliff of Luxe Christie's International Real Estate listed the Peach Cove Road property and partnered with Platinum Luxury Auctions to sell it.

"I don't think there is a nicer place than that point," said Wattles, 57, who added that he went "overboard" with his plans for the house, explaining that he was in his 30s at the time.

"It would have been spectacular for the family," Wattles said, "tons of places for the kids and me to play on the river and in the house."

Now Stanley is thinking it's time "to play a little more." He hopes to start construction of the "extremely large" mansion this year and said it will take two or three years to complete.

The structure is just a shell. There are walls, long covered in waterproof Tyvek, but no windows or finished floors.

Over time, Wattles had the architectural plans for the house redesigned, from traditional style to a Northwest Craftsman with a stone facade. Stanley wants an Italian-style house surrounded by vineyards and he will update the old plans to reflect advances in building materials and technology.

The only work that has been done over the decades has been to maintain the wood and other materials exposed to the elements. Twice a year, documents are submitted to Clackamas County to keep the controversial building permits active.

"It was a challenge to get those permits," said Wattles. "And it would have been a shame to let them run out."

-- Janet Eastman with Elliot Njus



jeastman@oregonian.com

503-799-8739

@janeteastman



