Connecticut Man building 50,000+ square foot mansion

[NewJeffCT]

It includes a 33,500 square foot basement on 2 levels that has a complete 103 seat movie theater...

Larger than Bill Gates' place, and only slightly smaller than the White House.


WEST HARTFORD, Conn. - The enormity of the house Arnold Chase is building on Avon Mountain isn't fully apparent from the outside, where only 17,000 square feet of it lies in plain view.

It's the two-level, 33,500-square-foot basement complex, complete with a 103-seat movie theater, ticket booth, concession stand, game room and music annex, that will make it New England's largest occupied single-family home.

At nearly 50,900 square feet, the Chase home will be slightly larger than billionaire Bill Gates' home in Washington, about 4,000 square feet smaller than the White House and 20 times larger than the average-size home in America.

The average U.S. home measures about 2,500 square feet — up from 1,995 square feet in 1988 — according to the National Association of Home Builders. But while houses are getting bigger, rarely are they built as big as the new Chase house.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070901/ap_on_re_us/mammoth_mansion

[Midlodemocrat]

1. There was an article in the NYTimes not that long

about the mega mansions like this being built in Greenwich. Tearing down 10,000 square feet homes and replacing them with 20,000 square feet homes. It was unreal.

If I can find it, I'll PM it to you. Real eye opener.

[Lorien]

5. Unless they have a small army of servants the home they possess can

turn around and possess them. A 10,000 square foot home seems insanely unmanageable to me, 20,000 square feet is just plain mental. What's the point of so much excess? How much time do they spend there, and are their jobs so secure that they'll always be able to afford the huge staff it would take to keep up such a monstrosity? I have a hard enough time keeping on top of everything with my 1,700 square foot 1925 Craftsman. Even when I had disposable income, the hassle of calling contractors and landscapers regularly almost made me miss renting. Mega homes like these seem more like a liability than an asset. Thoreau was right: "simplicity, simplicity, in all things simplicity". Following his advice can make life a lot happier.

I'll bet that the 10,000 square foot homes that were torn down were historic properties, too. That's happening everywhere. It's a real shame, as quality construction and character like that found in older homes is very rare today.

[kestrel91316]

8. It's known as conspicuous consumption, and is the equivalent of

bragging about one's (usually UNearned) wealth and ability to hire armies of servants. Tasteless, IMHO. And a HORRIBLE waste of natural resources to build and maintain.

I look at these as proof that America is suffering from a dearth of guillotines.

The Gilded Age with its robber barons has returned.

[Warren DeMontague]

34. "America is suffering from a dearth of guillotines"

Good fucking lord. Yeah, Chairman Mao, put him to death because you think his house is too big.

Do people ever think before they post this garbage?

[Midlodemocrat]

15. Exactly.

A friend of mine just moved from here to Chicago. She was a world class hoarder. It took eight packers four full days to pack her house. Two trucks.

Roughly 3000 square feet full of crap. Talk about someone being owned by their possessions.

Sad thing is, she has so much stuff, she has no idea where anything is. I can't imagine living like that.

She is definitely mentally ill, but there is a component of entitlement as well.

[leftchick]

2. cute isn't it?

:eyes:

[Blue Fire]

4. I wonder how many illegal aliens were hired

to shingle the roof?

[pscot]

6. That roof wasn't shingled by illegal aliens

It was shingled with illegal aliens.

[Blue Fire]

27. Damn!....that's gotta hurt!

[Fla_Democrat]

19. Looks sharp

Can't wait to see a finished photo. :thumbsup:

[NewJeffCT]

20. the scary part is

there is more BELOW ground than there is above ground - 33,500 square feet are in a two-level basement.

[Warpy]

3. In a just world, that place would be turned into a suitable prison

for every fat cat who has been gaming this country for decades. Let them have their marble and gilt. Just keep them confined in it and never let them see the light of day again.

[Warren DeMontague]

31. You could just chop their heads off, and be done with it.

:eyes:

[TankLV]

7. Good for him!

Glad that he can afford it.

As long as there is no public tax-payer money involved, good for him.

And he will certainly be paying more in property taxes...

There is no accounting for his "sense of taste", but it's his money, not mine or yours...

[Subdivisions]

11. Gee. That's nice. You're right, it is his money.But I just wonder

how many Habitat for Humanity homes that money could have built instead of being wasted on a single-family home.

[RB TexLa]

32. I bought a more modest house, I'm sure I could have paid for something with habitat as well

Should I put it back on the market?

[Warren DeMontague]

35. I think my spaceship got lost, and I ended up on the planet of the finger-waggers.

I'm sure I don't belong here.

[oldhippie]

12. Exactly...........

He took his money and employed dozens, maybe hundreds of local craftsmen and tradesmen to build it. He will probably employ many servants, groundskeepers, and others to maintain it. He'll pay big property taxes to support the local schools. It's his money. Would we rather have him spend it locally, or invest it in a villa in France, or a company in China? Oh, yeah, we'd rather he gave the money to homeless people. C'mon, sometimes the class envy is palpable.

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

22. Supply Side Jesus? Is that you? -nt

[JerseygirlCT]

29. And to be fair, he and his family are known locally as very

generous philanthropists.

I cannot even imagine a 50,000 sq. ft. home, but just building one does not make a person a monster. I haven't met him, but from what I've heard and read, he's a pretty interesting guy.

[lastliberalintexas]

38. Actually, I don't envy him- I pity him

It must be very sad to have such a small imagination that he can't come up with something better to do with that kind of money. A missed opportunity to create a real legacy, to do something for which his *good* name would be remembered for generations even if just locally, rather than just trying to compete with Biltmore. Yep, I actually pity him.


I also personally could not handle that much guilt. Just our normal sized home and comfortable, middle class life in the US often weigh on me. I've often wondered what people in luxury cars think when they pull up to a stoplight where a homeless person is asking for food/money. I feel guilty enough pulling up in my almost ancient Ford Taurus, I'd want to crawl under a rock if I was driving a Beamer. But then I'm probably just odd. :)

[SammyWinstonJack]

25. He obviously doesn't need any tax cuts! Doesn't deserve any either!

:grr:

[OPERATIONMINDCRIME]

9. Sounds Like A Cool House. I'm Jealous.

But alas, he has the money to do so and I don't. Sighhhhh, maybe someday.

[JackintheGreen]

10. If it's a private home?

Why on earth does he need a ticket booth and concession counter in his theater? Is he planning on charging his kids' friends for the privilege of being in his home? :wtf:

[oldhippie]

13. Maybe just for fun.....?............

Maybe rich people like to have fun, too? You've never done anything strange, just 'cuz you wanted to?

[jmowreader]

18. I am envisioning Charity Fundraisers in this place

All the stairs on the outside of this home, and the balcony, have commercial-grade handrails. I can see 'em in the pictures.

The typical Rich Bastard wouldn't use this stuff because it's ugly. He'd use balustrades--those really massive railings on classic mansions--or some other form of residential handrails.

But if you're a Rich Bastard who wants to hold a lot of charity fundraisers, you'd put the commercial stuff in to ward off lawsuits. "Your Honor, the defendant that cowers before you in the dock today knew he was going to host parties for thousands, but he put (holds up Exhibit A, a broken residential handrail) this cheap piece of crap on a balcony thirty feet off the ground. My client's deceased father leaned against this thing, fell through and died on the sidewalk he landed on."

[JerseygirlCT]

30. They ARE involved in a number of local charities.

For years, he put together a big haunted house (in G. Fox for a year or so after G. Fox closed) to benefit Juvenile Diabetes. He built most of those haunted houses himself.

So I wouldn't be in the least surprised if that's been part of the thinking.

[Crunchy Frog]

14. Good thing he's not running for president, or this could be a real liability.

Of course, then everyone on DU would be defending it.

"The home is a monster. It's way over the top," Johnson said. "There's no way that a normal family could ever need a house like that. It's only going to hurt him. I don't think he's going to be able to sell his story that he's for the poor people." (Said about somebody else's big house.)

[Cameron27]

28. Yep, you got that right.

[NoPasaran]

16. Glad I don't have to vacuum it

[L. Coyote]

17. Is it above the 70 foot elevation line.

As such a huge, single contributor to global warming, I hope they built it above the future shoreline :rofl:

[NewJeffCT]

21. the house itself

is not 70 feet tall, if that is what you mean - over 2/3 of it is below ground.

if you mean 70 feet over sea level, the home is on top of a very large hill / small mountain (Avon Mountain, it's called, but I'm guessing that people that live within shouting distance of the Rockies would laugh at the idea that Avon Mountain is called a mountain)

[AnotherGreenWorld]

23. This is the new John Edwards brand of populism I've been hearing so much about.

[billyoc]

24. Dayum, I have a 150 square foot studio apartment

and I can't find my other shoe! :rofl:

[Adelante]

26. Good Christ

I hate this shit. Do they ever look at themselves?

[Warren DeMontague]

33. "Hangin's too good for him! Burnin's too good for him! He should be torn into little bitsy pieces

and buried aliiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiive!!!" :eyes:

[Nye Bevan]

36. Fine by me

He's creating hundreds of jobs for local people, which would not be the case if his money was sitting in stocks or hedge funds.

The property taxes will be *enormous*, giving a big boost to the local municipality's coffers.

And as far as I know he is not running for the Democratic presidential nomination with the divide between rich and poor America as his main theme.

[bklyncowgirl]

37. Don't worry Comrades, when the revolution comes we can turn it into a homeless shelter. nt

[praeclarus]

39. WTF do they need a goddam ticket booth for ...?

Eh? I kind of get the idea them having their own movie
theater in the house. They start to lose me with 103 seats.
But the ticket booth....

[AX10]

40. At least the money isn't going into some scam hedge fund.

Some people are building this house and are getting paid to do so.
On the other hand, why the HELL does he need so much space and a ticket booth for a HOME MOVIE THEATER! :wtf:

3,000 would be more than enough house for me.

[AX10]

41. Also, it's better than when Hollywood comes around and...

makes movies here. They get tax breaks for making movies here. They don't bring in much money either. They also

Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet were here a few weeks ago filming. They shut down a section of Fairfield so they could film "Revolutionary Road". :puke: Small businesses had to be shut down for the day too. :eyes: They also shut down a section of route 25 in Trumbull to film too. :argh:

So yes, I prefer this man build this house with his own funds and resources rather than take from the public as those assholes from Hollywood did.