John Rebchook is a former Rocky Mountain News reporter with more than 30 years of experience in writing and communications... 
In four decades as a Realtor, Jim Nussbaum has never listed a more fantastic home than this estate, which is on the market for $18.9 million.
In 40 years in selling houses, Jim Nussbaum has never seen one like the home he is listing in Cherry Hills Village.
“This is the best,” Nussbaum, a broker and co-founder of the Kentwood Co., said last week, during a broker-open house of the home on 5000 East Quincy Ave.
“An appraiser looked at this house, and he said he had never seen anything like it,” added Nussbaum.
The home that Crowe built
The home – or rather estate – is owned by Jim Crowe, the CEO of the struggling Level 3 Communications in Broomfield. Level 3 is a diversified communications company that provides Internet and network broadband services.
“Jim has never told me why he is selling it,” Nussbaum said.
Nussbaum has priced the 21,335-square-foot home on almost 8.7 acre at $18.9 million, down from $22.9 million, when he first started to list it about a year ago. That equates to about a 17.5 percent drop in the asking price. Another way to look at it: You could buy 17 average priced homes in the Denver metro area for the $4 million price reduction.
Taking in the fountain area, one may wonder if this is a resort or a home.
“This isn’t the biggest home in the Denver area, but I think it may be the most expensive home on the market right now,” Nussbaum said. According to Cohomefinder.com, only two homes on the market carry higher price tags -one in Parker for $22 million and another in Sedalia for $19.995 million. However, both of those homes are part of ranches, so the are not directly comparable to Crowe’s home.
Replacement cost $40 million
Even at the original price, it may have been a bargain by one metric – replacement cost. Nussbaum estimated it would cost north of $40 million to replace it, if you were starting from scratch to build it, a process that took four years.
The home was one of six luxury homes being presented at open houses last week by Kentwood Co. agents. In total, the six homes carry a total value of about $61 million, with Crowe’s home topping the list. About 15 people toured the Crowe home.
“I love this home,” said Lyn Drake, of RE/MAX Masters, and one of the brokers who toured it. “Just walking around the grounds gives me such a sense of joy.”
Simply Incredible
This is Jim Nussbaum's favorite room in the home priced at $18.9 million.
Nussbaum has created a brochure – titled, “Simply Incredible – with 20 pages of glossy photos and dozens of single-spaced lines highlighting features including:
* A 912,000-gallon pond with a giant fountain that cost more than $900,000.
Another view of the fountain.
* A four-boiler heating system.
One of the water features of Jim Crowe's home.
* Copper downspouts.
* French ‘Benouvile” limestone on the lower wall.
* Solid mahogany trim work and crown moldings.
* Roman walnut Travertine marble floors.
* A living room custom mahogany paneling and two second-story balconies, and a Great Room with Travertine tile floors, a wet bar and access to a covered patio with bar and grill an another wet bar. (This is Nussbaum’s personal favorite room.)
* A gourmet kitchen with Travertine tile floors, slab granite countertops, cherry cabinets, skylight, speakers, TV cabinet, and Thermador double ovens, warming drawer, 6-burner gas stove, five sinks, three dishwashers, and two sets of pocket doors to close off the kitchen from the Great Room.
The sink a downstair's bathroom is more regal than the sinks in many master baths.
The kitchen in this $18.9 million home has five sinks, three dishwashers, a skylight, and a TV cabinet.
No need to join a health club, with this room in your walk-out basement.
* A 2,531-square-foot gym with more than 30 athletic-club caliber pieces of fitness equipment. One of the few unfinished spaces is near the exercise room, which would be perfect for a self-contained theater room.
In the library, Nussbaum demonstrated how one of the giant bookshelves swings out, to reveal a hidden entry into the master suite area. Another hidden door is behind the second-level bookshelves, which leads to the balconies in the living room.
Jim Nussbaum shows a hidden passegeway behind a bookshelf in Jim Crowe's mansion.
Few buyers can afford a home like this
And while Nussbaum thinks the overall luxury housing market is still pretty slow, he notes that even in a red-hot market, a home in this price category really is a market on to itself, and it would not be snapped up quickly. Indeed, they would need to find a buyer who would not blink at the $90,396 annual property tax bill. Whoever buys it likely will be able to write a check for it, and would only put a mortgage on it for tax reasons and to keep cash available for other opportunities.
“That’s absolutely right,” Nussbaum said. “When you look at the traditional buying pyramid, homes that are in the price range are right in the tip of the top of the triangle.”
For more details of luxury homes in Cherry Hills, please visit this Cohomefinder.com link.
Listening to the rushing water through this man-made brook, it would be easy to imagine you are in the middle of the woods.
Contact John Rebchook at JRCHOOK@gmail.com.
The view from the backyard of Jim Crowe's estate.
You want a BIG house, then get one with some land (1/2 section to be exact).
http://www.zillow.com/homes/890-south-josephine-Street,-Denver,-CO_rb/#/homes/for_sale/Lakewood-CO/5519_rid/39.678814,-105.070713,39.669086,-105.085519_rect/15_zm/1_rs/1_fr/
If Prince Philip or (then) President Clinton are coming for dinner, you will have the space for both dining and helicopters.
“I love this home,” said Lyn Drake, of RE/MAX Masters, and one of the brokers who toured it. “Just walking around the grounds gives me such a sense of joy.”
Why, Lyn, I do believe you have confused your terms – joy? “Joy” comes with having the buyer. Perhaps a better choice would have been, “awe”. That is, unless, you are the buyer.
Congratulations to Jim! What a great listing for a truly fantastic real estate broker!
Go get’m Jim!
ONwards and UPwards!
[...] Crowe, the CEO of Level 3 Communications in Broomfield is selling his Cherry Hills Mansion for $18.9 million. For those of you looking to expand your family and need more space, you are [...]