Several mature trees were removed from the property – the latest indicator of activity at the formerly neglected mansion. (Jonathan Spiers)
While some recent tree-clearing has made the house more visible, the fate of the former West End home of imprisoned developer Justin French remains shrouded in mystery.
It’s been a year since the 10,000-square-foot, Georgian-style mansion at 330 Oak Lane was sold at a foreclosure auction for $1.5 million. In that time, work on the house has been going on inside and out, most visibly with the recent removal of several mature trees from the property’s front yard.
What the future holds for the house, however – much like the identity of its new owner – remains unclear.
The house was purchased by an entity called 330 Oak Lane LLC. Its registered agent, S. Brian Farmer of law firm Hirschler Flesicher, did not return a call seeking comment.
Builders involved in renovating the house, including locally based Mako Builders and Clark Robins Design Build, did not provide any insights when contacted in recent weeks. A message left for Clark Robins was not returned, and Mako Builders’ Rick Kastelberg said he was not authorized to discuss the project.
The LLC lists its principal office as the address of an optometrist office in Forest, Virginia, just outside Lynchburg. A call to that office was not returned. A mailing address listed for the LLC is that of a residence in Lynchburg.
The Georgian-style mansion at 330 Oak Lane was built in 1919 and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
When the house was sold at auction in July 2015, it was sold to a corporation called H.E. Leasing, which was one of at least four bidders that vied for the property.
At that time, Steve Wilkinson, a CPA from Danville who bid on the property as the company’s agent, declined to discuss the company’s plans for the property but said neighbors “will be very happy.”
“Their intention is to make it a real asset for the city of Richmond,” Wilkinson said last year. “A historical asset, as it should be.”
The property had been on and off the auction block since 2011, when French was sent to federal prison for a massive real estate tax credit scheme. Several foreclosure auctions were attempted over that time, and the neglected property became overgrown with weeds and other vegetation.
Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the eight-bedroom, 7½-bathroom mansion was built in 1919 for Abram McClellan, a Richmond businessman. It was designed by Duncan Lee, a well-known Richmond architect of the time, and later served as the home of Douglas Southall Freeman, a Pulitzer Prize-winning biographer and onetime editor of the former Richmond News Leader.
The 2-acre property is located in the Hampton Gardens neighborhood between Grove and Patterson avenues.
French is scheduled to be released from prison in 2027 after a 16-year sentence.
Several mature trees were removed from the property – the latest indicator of activity at the formerly neglected mansion. (Jonathan Spiers)
While some recent tree-clearing has made the house more visible, the fate of the former West End home of imprisoned developer Justin French remains shrouded in mystery.
It’s been a year since the 10,000-square-foot, Georgian-style mansion at 330 Oak Lane was sold at a foreclosure auction for $1.5 million. In that time, work on the house has been going on inside and out, most visibly with the recent removal of several mature trees from the property’s front yard.
What the future holds for the house, however – much like the identity of its new owner – remains unclear.
The house was purchased by an entity called 330 Oak Lane LLC. Its registered agent, S. Brian Farmer of law firm Hirschler Flesicher, did not return a call seeking comment.
Builders involved in renovating the house, including locally based Mako Builders and Clark Robins Design Build, did not provide any insights when contacted in recent weeks. A message left for Clark Robins was not returned, and Mako Builders’ Rick Kastelberg said he was not authorized to discuss the project.
The LLC lists its principal office as the address of an optometrist office in Forest, Virginia, just outside Lynchburg. A call to that office was not returned. A mailing address listed for the LLC is that of a residence in Lynchburg.
The Georgian-style mansion at 330 Oak Lane was built in 1919 and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
When the house was sold at auction in July 2015, it was sold to a corporation called H.E. Leasing, which was one of at least four bidders that vied for the property.
At that time, Steve Wilkinson, a CPA from Danville who bid on the property as the company’s agent, declined to discuss the company’s plans for the property but said neighbors “will be very happy.”
“Their intention is to make it a real asset for the city of Richmond,” Wilkinson said last year. “A historical asset, as it should be.”
The property had been on and off the auction block since 2011, when French was sent to federal prison for a massive real estate tax credit scheme. Several foreclosure auctions were attempted over that time, and the neglected property became overgrown with weeds and other vegetation.
Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the eight-bedroom, 7½-bathroom mansion was built in 1919 for Abram McClellan, a Richmond businessman. It was designed by Duncan Lee, a well-known Richmond architect of the time, and later served as the home of Douglas Southall Freeman, a Pulitzer Prize-winning biographer and onetime editor of the former Richmond News Leader.
The 2-acre property is located in the Hampton Gardens neighborhood between Grove and Patterson avenues.
French is scheduled to be released from prison in 2027 after a 16-year sentence.