New foreclosure: Williamsburg to auction Halsey Minor mansion
Minor nearly lost another sprawling estate to foreclosure–- Fox Ridge Farm in Albemarle–- in early 2010.PHOTO BY MELISSA WILKINS
There's new financial trouble for embattled Internet wizard Halsey Minor. Just a week after a key courtroom loss involving the unfinished Landmark hotel in Charlottesville, the entrepreneur who gave the world the CNet news source and who funded the predecessor to GoogleVoice could now lose his purchase from the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation.
Carter's Grove, a historic 750-acre mansion/estate in James City County, hits the courthouse auction block on February 15, according to a report in a Williamsburg newspaper.
The Virginia Gazette reports that the Foundation, which holds a note in an original amount of $10.3 million, notified employees Thursday afternoon of the planned sale. The Gazette notes that West Coast resident Minor, who has been named California's greatest tax delinquent, also owes back taxes on Carter's Grove.
Last week, an Atlanta-area court ruled against Minor on all counts in litigation between him and his lender on the Landmark, a proposed 101-room luxury hotel in Charlottesville. Although Minor may appeal, the ruling could pave the way for completion of what has been widely seen as an unfinished eyesore towering over the Downtown Mall
As Carter's Grove LLC, Minor paid $5 million in cash toward the 2007 purchase price of $15.3 million, the Gazette reports. A Hook email to Minor's publicist seeking comment was not immediately returned.
(Public commenting on this story has been turned off, as there is a fresher story on the contretemps.)
8 comments
Like Icarus he tried to fly too high. What a schlemiel.
both----starts with $150M loses art $25M; Bel Air house -$12M, CA. Taxes -$14M-IRS -$10M--Sotheby's -$8.5M--legal fees---$25M---housekeeper - $7K, horses -$8M, Landmark -$7M, lifestyle -$1M/monthly-
SF House -$10M, Carter's Grove -$7M, various contractors -$4M,and
POOF no more money but everyone was out to screw him....I believe it is called paranoia, pathological, psychotic. I call it SICK
He got lucky with that Cnet thing and succumbed to the delusion that he was a genius. Stand by and watch him lose it all just the way some lottery winners do.
For a supposedly astute business man, he sure picked the wrong time to borrow against real estate.
Maybe he can donate the estate as a park, have it assessed at double his purchase price and use the subsequent tax credits!
@meanwhile....
I guess we will see if this guy is keeping up with his political donations. If he is then we taxpayers will end up footing the bill, if not then he is doomed - maybe.
Sounds to me like Mr. Minor has mental health and/or substance abuse issues.
I am saddened that the beautiful properties Mr. Minor purchased with promises of making them a source of pride for the communities in which they are located. They have been seemingly forgotten...Carter's Grove Plantation was built in the 1900's and has 18,000 plus sq. ft. with over 700 acres of land on the James River! This Estate deserves to be rescued by a loyal and dependable buyer the Williamsburg,VA community can trust with such a unique and rare piece of our history. Clearly Mr. Minor leaves much to be desired! Julie Casey, William E. Wood and Associates Realtors
I am saddened that the beautiful properties Mr. Minor purchased with promises of making them a source of pride for the communities in which they are located have been seemingly forgotten...Carter's Grove Plantation was built in the 1900's and has 18,000 plus sq. ft. with over 700 acres of land on the James River! This Estate deserves to be rescued by a loyal and dependable buyer the Williamsburg,VA community can trust with such a unique and rare piece of our history. Clearly Mr. Minor leaves much to be desired! Julie Casey, William E. Wood and Associates Realtors