Kush's mansion near Gretna targeted for move or demolition
GRETNA — Moving the Kush mansion, built by furniture dealer Rod Kush and his wife, Kathy, on the north edge of Gretna, won’t be as easy as moving a Steinway.
So far, two people have expressed an interest in buying and re-locating the 14,384-square-foot house with 17 rooms so construction can begin on a new subdivision near this Sarpy County community.
“Some people want to buy the house and move it,” said Kevin Irish of Prudential Ambassador Real Estate in Omaha.
Irish and his partner, Sheila Kusmierski, want to build multi-family residential villas, apartments and commercial space on the 35 acres that includes the Kush mansion, hundreds of trees and a three-hole golf course.
But first, they either have to demolish or remove the house from the land, said Donna Lynam, zoning administrator/building official for Gretna. She said that’s a condition of the preliminary plat and rezoning approved recently by the Gretna City Council.
Irish confirmed that one of the persons interested in buying the house and moving it to a nearby acreage is Keith Rohde, owner of Metro Excavating, Inc. in Omaha. He declined to name the second person.
Rohde could not be reached for comment.
No decision has been made on the future of the Kush mansion. Irish said it’s under contract and his company is in the process of closing on the property.
Irish declined to disclose the purchase price. The property was put on the market about four years ago for about $3.2 million.
According to the Sarpy County assessor, the Kush mansion and the 35 acres are valued at about $2.27 million. The figure includes: $1,878,357 for the mansion and most of the land, $252,322 for a nearby caretaker’s residence, and $138,000 for an 11,000-square-foot pole barn.
Completed in 1997, the Kush mansion features: five bedrooms, 10 bathrooms, a six-car garage, a half basketball court in the basement (20-foot high ceiling), an outdoor swimming pool, lower level bar, and exercise room and sauna.
Irish said his preference would be to sell the mansion to someone who could move it elsewhere. If that doesn’t happen, he said, an auction will be scheduled to sell the built-in fixtures before demolishing the building.
In 2006, Rod Kush, a former University of Nebraska at Omaha and professional football player, closed his furniture stores in Norfolk, Fremont, Omaha and Lincoln. The latter store was at 3901 N. 27th St. At the time, Kush said he wanted to spend more time with his family. Kush continued to operate his rent-to-own, delayed-deposit and furniture-on-consignment businesses. He still operates a business in Lincoln called RK’s Rent To Own at 3830 N. 27th St.
Kush said he had the mansion and land sold a couple of times but the financing fell through. “The ground is worth a lot of money,” he added.
Kush said he doesn’t really care what happens to the house now. He and his wife are moving to Willow Point, a lake development near Ashland.
“It’s just a material thing. We grew up with our boys there,” he said. “It’s time for my wife and I to downsize.”
Irish said his firm is ready to begin construction on the subdivision as soon as the sale and zoning are finalized. And one of the first things they will do is bring in an arborist to determine which trees to keep or move.
“We will start work immediately, if we close in the next week or two,” he added. “In the next 60 days we could be moving dirt.”
Irish and Kusmierski named their proposed subdivision “Renaissance,” which means rebirth.
“Our thought is, if we are tearing down a structure of this magnitude ... we wanted something that would breathe life back into the property,” Irish said.
Plans call for 68 villas designed for people in their 50s or 60s who want “care-free living” without having to worry about mowing grass or snow removal, Kusmierski said. That type of work would be covered through assessment fees. The developers also want to build 60 multi-family apartment units and 30,000 square feet of office space.
Irish, who has built six subdivisions, said they chose the Kush property because of its proximity to Gretna, which is about 10 miles from Omaha.
“It’s also one of the prettiest, heavily-treed pieces of property around,” Irish said. “The ground is just gorgeous.”
Reach Algis J. Laukaitis at 402-473-7243 or alaukaitis@journalstar.com.
So far, two people have expressed an interest in buying and re-locating the 14,384-square-foot house with 17 rooms so construction can begin on a new subdivision near this Sarpy County community.
“Some people want to buy the house and move it,” said Kevin Irish of Prudential Ambassador Real Estate in Omaha.
Irish and his partner, Sheila Kusmierski, want to build multi-family residential villas, apartments and commercial space on the 35 acres that includes the Kush mansion, hundreds of trees and a three-hole golf course.
But first, they either have to demolish or remove the house from the land, said Donna Lynam, zoning administrator/building official for Gretna. She said that’s a condition of the preliminary plat and rezoning approved recently by the Gretna City Council.
Irish confirmed that one of the persons interested in buying the house and moving it to a nearby acreage is Keith Rohde, owner of Metro Excavating, Inc. in Omaha. He declined to name the second person.
Rohde could not be reached for comment.
No decision has been made on the future of the Kush mansion. Irish said it’s under contract and his company is in the process of closing on the property.
Irish declined to disclose the purchase price. The property was put on the market about four years ago for about $3.2 million.
According to the Sarpy County assessor, the Kush mansion and the 35 acres are valued at about $2.27 million. The figure includes: $1,878,357 for the mansion and most of the land, $252,322 for a nearby caretaker’s residence, and $138,000 for an 11,000-square-foot pole barn.
Completed in 1997, the Kush mansion features: five bedrooms, 10 bathrooms, a six-car garage, a half basketball court in the basement (20-foot high ceiling), an outdoor swimming pool, lower level bar, and exercise room and sauna.
Irish said his preference would be to sell the mansion to someone who could move it elsewhere. If that doesn’t happen, he said, an auction will be scheduled to sell the built-in fixtures before demolishing the building.
In 2006, Rod Kush, a former University of Nebraska at Omaha and professional football player, closed his furniture stores in Norfolk, Fremont, Omaha and Lincoln. The latter store was at 3901 N. 27th St. At the time, Kush said he wanted to spend more time with his family. Kush continued to operate his rent-to-own, delayed-deposit and furniture-on-consignment businesses. He still operates a business in Lincoln called RK’s Rent To Own at 3830 N. 27th St.
Kush said he had the mansion and land sold a couple of times but the financing fell through. “The ground is worth a lot of money,” he added.
Kush said he doesn’t really care what happens to the house now. He and his wife are moving to Willow Point, a lake development near Ashland.
“It’s just a material thing. We grew up with our boys there,” he said. “It’s time for my wife and I to downsize.”
Irish said his firm is ready to begin construction on the subdivision as soon as the sale and zoning are finalized. And one of the first things they will do is bring in an arborist to determine which trees to keep or move.
“We will start work immediately, if we close in the next week or two,” he added. “In the next 60 days we could be moving dirt.”
Irish and Kusmierski named their proposed subdivision “Renaissance,” which means rebirth.
“Our thought is, if we are tearing down a structure of this magnitude ... we wanted something that would breathe life back into the property,” Irish said.
Plans call for 68 villas designed for people in their 50s or 60s who want “care-free living” without having to worry about mowing grass or snow removal, Kusmierski said. That type of work would be covered through assessment fees. The developers also want to build 60 multi-family apartment units and 30,000 square feet of office space.
Irish, who has built six subdivisions, said they chose the Kush property because of its proximity to Gretna, which is about 10 miles from Omaha.
“It’s also one of the prettiest, heavily-treed pieces of property around,” Irish said. “The ground is just gorgeous.”
Reach Algis J. Laukaitis at 402-473-7243 or alaukaitis@journalstar.com.
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