HOLLADAY, Utah - Next weekend, one of the highest-priced homes in Utah will be auctioned off.
Ron Gunnell, a long-time local philanthropist who currently serves as the assistant to the president of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, is selling his Holladay estate, appraised at $21 million.
The 29,000-square-foot house features things like golden doorknobs and a surround sound movie theater. There are more than 11 miles of crown molding, 80 tons of steel and an entire room for air conditioners.
"The chandelier is from Italy, the chairs were custom made in Paris, France, the walls have 28-carat gold lightly brushed on the wood," Gunnell said.
[View photos of the interior and exterior of the house]
The house features seven bedrooms, 15 bathrooms, nine fireplaces and a six-car garage, all built upon nearly four acres of gardens and ponds.
"Every floor has one main hall; I got this idea from Versailles. And everything flows off the hall, that's why it flows so well," Gunnell said.
But Gunnell says it's time to move, so he's putting the estate up for auction.
"The opportunity is in the eyes of the beholder, and how many beholders we have we won't know until Saturday morning at the time of the auction," said auctioneer Daniel DeCaro.
The estate has been on the market for a few years, originally with an asking price of more than $30 million, so a bidder could get a deal.
"There are no comps for a property like this, so what will the buyer or the market recognize as the value here," DeCaro said. "It's no longer the seller standing up here dictating the price. It's the buyer here recognizing price, or establishing value."
DeCaro says the advantage of his auctions is attracting high bidders from around the world to compete for multi-million dollar homes, then quickly close a sale.
There will be an open house at the Gunnell estate on Saturday, April 27, from 1 to 4 p.m. and anyone is welcome.
The estate is located at 2545 East and 6200 South in Holladay.
The auction is on May 4 and is only for pre-approved potential buyers. For more information about the auction, visit decaroauctions.com.
