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Kush's mansion near Gretna targeted for move or demolition

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By ALGIS J. LAUKAITIS / Lincoln Journal Star

Monday, Jun 30, 2008 - 12:38:03 am CDT

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.

Story Photo
Developer Kevin Irish sits in front of the former Rod Kush mansion 11010 S. Hwy 6 in Gretna. Irish plans to develop the land that comes with the mansion. (Cody Duty)

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Rod Kush mansion photo gallery

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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Yup wrote on June 30, 2008 7:17 am:
" I guess this shows what a wasteful society we've become. On one hand we have a beautiful house that will be torn dowm because they want to repurpose the land, and on the other hand, we have people who can't afford homes because of the economy. "

 Tracy wrote on June 30, 2008 7:49 am:
" Why demolish or remove the house from the land at all, if you are going to build on the land, and the land all ready has a three-hole golf course on it, why not just add on to it, using the home for a club house, I am sure that would attact more home owners then anything else. "

 pretty wrote on June 30, 2008 8:40 am:
" what a beautiful place to hold weddings/receptions. The front staircase is wonderful place for the bride to walk down, plus wedding pictures. if i had the money i would focus on renovating the inside for more bedrooms, bigger area for a reception room, the outside would be a great place too for weddings. "

 Ditto wrote on June 30, 2008 8:42 am:
" What a wasteful society we have become. Why does a perfectly good house that's barely more than 10 years old have to be torn down? Making it a club house would be awesome. It sounds like it has all the amenities: pool, sauna, exercise room, basketball court. I'd like to know why the agreement was to tear it down or move it. Is it too close to the highway now? "

 Snowflake wrote on June 30, 2008 9:17 am:
" I agree. It's a shame that someone would demolish such a pretty place. I too think it would make an awesome clubhouse. "

 JB wrote on June 30, 2008 9:56 am:
" "We grew up with our boys there". "...Is worth lot of money". "He doesn't really care what happens to the house now". They should have known better then building such a "pink elepant" with such short-term mindset.JB "

 Class Envy wrote on June 30, 2008 12:01 pm:
" Class envy is a bitter thing, as shown by many of the previous posts. "

 me wrote on June 30, 2008 3:13 pm:
" I hope that if it is demolished they recycle everything that they can. So many resources go into building a house, it would be a shame to just throw useful, reusable items away. "

 whos envious wrote on June 30, 2008 5:58 pm:
" I think most of the previous posters are not motivated by class envy so much as they are by a profound sense of pointless waste. Waste and excess don't signify class, they signify crass. "

 furniture wrote on June 30, 2008 8:47 pm:
" Doesnt look like Rod furnished the house with product from his stores. Wonder why "

 Unbelievable wrote on June 30, 2008 9:39 pm:
" Wow. You all are right, this mansion would make a terrific clubhouse. What a complete waste of one of Nebraska's finest properties. Just goes to show people will do anything with enough $$$$. "

 peb wrote on July 1, 2008 8:29 am:
" I'll throw in my agreement that it's a waste and almost a sin to destroy a 11 year old house. And, no, it's not class envy for me--there is no class to be envious of. Someone with true class would not have built such an extravagent house in that location and someone with true class wouldn't leave after 11 years. "

 Nina wrote on July 1, 2008 8:43 am:
" It could be the most fabulous bed & breakfast ever, or an expensive spa, a wonderful children's home, a replacement monastery for the one damaged by the storm last week, or a clubhouse, which has already been mentioned. "Waste not" should be our mantra, because the world does not offer unlimited resources. We should realize that by now, but instead, waste abounds. Recycling can apply to big ticket items as well as our measly efforts of saving cans, plastic, paper, etc. "

 Soylent Green wrote on July 1, 2008 11:02 am:
" Get over it people! If you want to save this house then buy it. Regardless of what YOU WANT and what YOU THINK IS THE RIGHT THING TO DO, the person that coughs up the money gets to decide. Deal with it and quite whining about it... "

 Keep It wrote on July 1, 2008 11:58 am:
" The last thing we need is another cheesy development project. Especially in this economy when there are too many homes availabe as it is. I say keep the land in tact, the beautiful home intact, and don't let some developer move in. "

 KC wrote on July 1, 2008 1:00 pm:
" No wonder Rods furniture was so over priced! And can someone please tell me why someone needs 17 rooms and 10 bathrooms? And this guy could never afford to deliver for free? "

 funny wrote on July 5, 2008 1:12 am:
" You guys are funny about the him not furnishing with his own store's furniture, the high prices and no free delivery. ha I have to say that I hope they do move it, and not destroy it. But money runs this country. period. "

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