Pink castle, haunted jail among unusual properties now on the market

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Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Florida Network Realty’s listing at 16 May St. in St. Augustine, known as The Pink Castle, will be showcased in a special charitable event on May 1.

Two unusual properties go on the market in North Florida

The St. Augustine historical landmark “The Pink Castle” at 16 May St. is being represented by Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Florida Network Realty, according to a news release.

The unique 99-year-old house was designed and lived in by sculptor C. Adrian Pillars, most known for his statue titled “Spiritualized Life” in Jacksonville’s Memorial Park of a bronze winged youth rising above a globe.

Wayne Wood, author of “Life: The Untold Story of Charles Adrian Pillars,” will offer a lecture, violist and current homeowner Marcy Jean Brenner will give a balcony concert, and a guided tour of the house and garden will be offered.

Limited tickets are available from the Jacksonville Historical Society at https://bit.ly/2Qrx08N. Suggested donation is $30 per person to benefit the St. Augustine Historical Society, Jacksonville Historical Society and Memorial Park Association.

“Pillar’s Pink Castle is a spectacular home with an impressive Great Room which was once his studio,” Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Florida Network Realty President and CEO Christy Budnick said in the release. “The home includes original tiled floors, grand pillars, a splendid gallery staircase and stained-glass windows. I encourage everyone to experience this distinctive architectural treasure.”

For more about the home listing, contact [email protected] or call (401) 474-1861.

Meanwhile, over in Gilchrist County, just west of Gainesville, a bit spookier property is up for sale.

For just $139,990, the old Gilchrist County Jail at 313 N.W. Second St. in Trenton, known by some ghost hunters as the most haunted building in the Sunshine State, can be yours.

“I’d have to say this is one of the more unique ones that I’ve ever seen,” listing agent Matt Perry told real estate and travel writer Tiffani Sherman for a story on Realtor.com. “It doesn’t get much weirder than this one.”

Eerily, the Gainesville’s online MLS system crashed for several hours when the listing first appeared, the agent said in the report.

The two-story building was constructed in 1928 and decommissioned 40 years later. Arlene Hale, a paranormal enthusiast, is selling the property after owning it for several years, according to Realtor.com.

The 2,078-square-foot concrete block/stucco structure on a 0.23-acre lot has eight bedrooms and eight bathrooms — actually prison cells with beds, toilets and sinks, according to the MLS listing.

“Home to years of grisly standoffs, killings and much more, it’s no surprise this location is loaded with visible and audible paranormal activity,” the listing ghoulishly states. “The Old Gilchrist county jail is still operating tours and having paranormal ghost club meetings. This is an awesome turnkey tourist-related business opportunity!”

For more photos and details, check out the full listing, brokered by Watson Realty Corp-Tioga, at https://bit.ly/3xtkMgt.

In other news:

● The new 153,000-square-foot, $75 million JEA headquarters building, situated on one square block at 225 Pearl St. downtown, has been topped out by Ryan Cos.

The seven-story building has a $62.9 million construction loan from Wells Fargo and should be done in the second quarter of 2022, according to a report by Commercial Property Executive.

The not-for-profit utility will have an initial 15-year lease, the report states, and the structure will also include 9,325 square feet of street-level retail and a seven-story parking garage. The project is designed for LEED Gold certification and WELL Building standards.

● Charlotte’s Madison Capital Group LLC recently bought about 11 acres in St. Johns along the County Road 210 corridor near Ascension St. Vincent’s new $115 million hospital.

The multifamily company said in a news release it will develop the 280-unit Madison Nocatee apartment complex consisting of four-story buildings, a two-story clubhouse, swimming pool and fitness facility. Construction is expected to start this year.

Madison Capital said the complex is its first development in the Jacksonville area, and that it has similar suburban garden multi-family projects underway in the Carolinas, Virginia, Tennessee and Florida, as well as five other active deals in Orlando, Tamp, and Bonita Springs.

Homes are now for sale at Richmond American Homes of Florida’s Walkers Ridge community near Oakleaf Town Center.

Among the models, the Ruby offers a modern layout and is part of several “Seasons Collection” floor plans available at the project by Richmond, which is a subsidiary of M.D.C. Holdings Inc.

Floor plans start from the mid-$200s, with ranch and two-story homes with flexible layouts, according to a news release. Homes with three to five bedrooms and from 1,560 to 2,380 square feet are being offered.

The development is at 5203 Sawmill Point Way on the Westside. Visit RichmondAmerican.com for more information.

● The Real Estate Finance unit of New York’s CIT Group Inc. is the lead arranger on a $27 million loan to aid in the purchase of a warehouse and distribution center in Green Cove Springs.

The 782,000-square-foot facility has about 209,000 square feet of refrigerated space and was bought by an entity managed by PKY Special Situations LLC, according to a news release. It will be managed by Parkway Property Investments.

“Demand remains high for warehouse and distribution space to serve the Southeast and Florida markets,” PKY Special Situations President Al De Olazarra said in the release. “We were pleased with CIT’s expertise and agility in arranging the financing to complete the acquisition.”

● The free Northeast Florida Parade of Homes running through May 9 features a couple of designer model entries at Beacon Lake in St. Johns County, from builders Dream Finders Homes and Toll Brothers Homes.

The models are the farmhouse-style Boca II by Dream Finders and the two-story, contemporary-style Roseberry Elite by Toll Brothers.

The builders’ seven models are open for tours, with home prices starting in the low $300s. Beacon Lake is on the south side of County Road 210 between U.S. 1 and Interstate 95.

For more information, visit BeaconLake.com.

● Jim McGowan has been named regional president for Jacksonville’s GreenPointe Developers LLC. He will oversee the company’s daily operations and land acquisition efforts for areas including Manatee and the greater Tampa, Lakeland and Orlando areas.

Previously, McGowan was vice president of land at KB Home and vice president of land acquisition at CalAtlantic. He also has done land sales consulting for landowners, lenders, borrowers and government officials.

●Jacksonville has jumped seven spots, to No. 36, on Orkin’s third annual Top 50 Termite Cities List.

The ranking measures the metro areas where Orkin performed the highest number of first-time customer termite treatments from Feb. 1, 2020, to Jan. 31 of this year. It includes residential and commercial treatments.

Other cities in the Sunshine State making the list were No. 1 Miami (again), No. 3 Tampa (no change) No. 6 West Palm Beach (+1), No. 9 Orlando (+1) and No. 32 Fort Myers (-11), according to Orkin’s news release.

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