Lundy's 5,200-acre Catskills estate to be sold at auction

Real Estate Weekly, Nov 20, 1996

The court has tapped Chicago-based National Real Estate Clearinghouse (NRC) to conduct the sale, with a bid deadline of December 12.

Lundy bought the original farm in the 1920s. He acquired more land from farmers during the Depression and regularly spent weekends there. His estate sold it to Litas International, Inc. in 1981. After Litas filed for bankruptcy in 1994, a liquidating trust was created to dispose of assets to pay creditors. The property is being offered free and clear of all liens and back taxes.

After a 1926 kidnaping, numerous armed robberies, a shoot-out at the restaurant, and finally, the suspicious death of his sister and her husband, Lundy became a recluse. He lived above the cavernous restaurant with 14 Irish setters and a servant. An elaborate scheme to defraud him of $11 million kept his name in the headlines for years after his death.

The property is located in Ulster County, in the towns of Wawarsing and Rochester, approximately 90 miles north of New York City and 50 miles south of Albany. It adjoins the southern boundary of the Catskill State Park and Forest Preserve. Access from I-87 is 25 minutes away via Route 299, Hwy. 44 and Hwy. 209.

The surrounding area has many recreational amenities, including numerous resorts, golf courses, hiking trails and rock climbing faces. Because of the resort nature of the area and because of its proximity to New York City, the state legislature has regularly considered this area of the Catskills as a potential site for legalized gambling.

The property consists of four contiguous parcels and buyers may bid on one or a combination of all parcels. Parcel 1, consisting of 1,500 acres, has an airplane landing strip, horse barn, trout stream with waterfalls and manor home that is not habitable. Parcel 2, consisting of 920 acres, has a 60-acre private lake, an estate complex with a 5,400 square-foot home, extensive landscaped grounds that connect to a boathouse and dock, icehouse, dairy and poultry barns. The house, known as Lyons Lodge, has a stone farmhouse at its center with French provincial additions of grand proportions. There are six bedrooms, four bathrooms, three fireplaces and a vaulted-ceiling living room with wood floors.

Parcels 3 and 4 are very mountainous with rugged terrain, providing prime habitat for many game animals. Parcel 3 consists of 2,110 acres with a farmhouse, cabin and barns. Parcel 4, consisting of 670 acres, adjoins the Catskill State Park and Forest Preserve, and has several small hunting cabins. Parcel 4 is situated in Rochester township, while all other parcels are in Wawarsing.

"There are many possible uses for this property, including subdivision into private estates, corporate retreats, conservation investment or for recreational use. The Trustee is highly motivated to sell the property by the end of the year," said Evan Gladstone, managing director of NRC.

The deadline to place bids on the property is 2 p.m. Eastern time on December 12. Bids should be submitted to National Real Estate Clearinghouse, 720 N. Franklin, Suite 300, Chicago, IL 60610.

Bidders may call National Real Estate Clearinghouse at 800-747-3342, ext. 677 to order a property catalog and due diligence/bid package which includes information needed to bid. The auction hotline is open for calls on weekdays between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. In order to bid on the property, bidders must submit an initial earnest money deposit of 2.5 percent of the bid price. This deposit is returned to unsuccessful bidders and becomes part of the earnest money for the winning bidder.