John Rebchook is a former Rocky Mountain News reporter with more than 30 years of experience in writing and communications... 
Tom Gordon and his wife, Brooke, paid $4.5 million for this Denver Landmark mansion.
Penny Parker’s column in today’s Denver Post, “Philanthropists reel in Petrikin Estate,” broke the news that philanthropists Thomas and Brook Gordon had purchased a mansion adjacent to the Denver Botanic Gardens and the home since 2003 of Kiki Vandeweghe, the former general manger of the Denver Nuggets, and his wife, Peggy. Kiki left Denver in 2006 after being let go by the Nuggets, and has been trying to sell the house for more than 1,000 days, Penny noted.
Penny’s scoop was full of details of the mansion built from 1917-1918 on almost a full-block by sugar magnate William Petrikin, who bought the land, almost a full city block, from William Iliff. The listing broker, Darrell Hamilton of the Kentwood Co. in Cherry Creek, described the 17,000-square-foot Georgian Colonial Revival-style mansion as “The Crown Jewel,” of one of the toniest neighborhoods in Denver.
This home next to the Denver Botanic Gardens sports a beautiful swimming pool in the backyard.
Sale price big discount
Penny had just about everything but the sales price in her column, so I thought I would help her out. The warranty deed shows that the Gordon’s paid $4.5 million for the home and the sale closed on June 28. The sales price is 43.75 percent less than the original asking price of $8 million, and a 23.7 percent drop from the latest asking price of $5.9 million.
Contact John Rebchook at JRCHOOK@gmail.com or 303-945-6865.
With lots of natural light flowing into the stately Petrikin mansion, you can see why Kentwood broker Darrell Hamilton described it as "The Crown Jewel."
This is the reason so many homes over 1M are selling. It’s not the sign of a healthy market, it’s a 50% off clearance sale.