December 14th 2024.
Last week, Mary Starkey made the bittersweet decision to sell her beloved mansion in Cap Hill. As she said her goodbyes, she couldn't help but feel a twinge of gratitude towards the grand building that had served as the headquarters for her business, the Starkey International Institute for Household Management, for many years.
Reflecting on the mansion's role in her life, Starkey expressed her happiness that it will continue to serve others even after she has moved on. For decades, her business had trained butlers and maids to serve in the homes of high-class families, and the approximately 12,000-square-foot mansion at 1350 Logan St. had been both her residence and classroom.
However, in 2018, Starkey made the difficult decision to close the school, although she still assists in household help placements. With a heavy heart, she put the mansion up for sale in 2017.
After patiently waiting for the right buyer, the mansion was finally sold last week to the Boulder Housing Coalition, a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing low-income housing. The building will be converted into a cooperative, and Starkey couldn't be happier for its new purpose.
"It's a big deal. It needs to serve," she said with a smile.
Starkey, originally from South Dakota, had come to Denver to make a life for herself. At the age of 32, she started a humble house-cleaning business, and in 1994, she purchased the Logan Street mansion for $605,000. Her business flourished, with a revenue of $2 million in its best year. However, Starkey claims that her students weren't the only ones who showed up at the mansion.
She recalled a time when there were 63 ghosts haunting the building. Each one had a story to tell, and they were all former residents of the aristocratic areas of Capitol Hill. As Starkey was teaching service, which was important to these "blue-blood" people, they found their way to her house.
Unfortunately, the ghosts caused problems for Starkey and her students. One butler was so frightened that he slept in his car. To solve the issue, Starkey hired a medium who spent 10 days in the mansion and eventually told her that she could tell the ghosts to leave.
"I brought in Michael the Archangel and Christ, and in a very loud and completely authoritative voice, I told them they had to leave and that Michael would show them what to do. At the count of three, there was a wisp in the air, and you just knew someone had left. After that, they were all gone," she explained.
However, the ghosts were not the only challenge that Starkey faced at the mansion. Three years after purchasing the house, she helped make it a city landmark. Looking back, she admits it was a mistake.
"I agreed to make it a landmark, stupidly. At the time, I didn't understand how it would hurt me. Since it was 30 years ago, I didn't realize the consequences," she said.
A friend had convinced her to do it, taking her to cemeteries and telling stories of other Cap Hill houses that had been moved to make way for modern apartment buildings. Little did she know that the landmark designation would make it much more difficult for her to make changes to the home and, more recently, to sell it.
Her broker, Jeff Bernard, explained that the landmark status made the property challenging to sell. Although the site has zoning for up to eight stories, the house cannot be demolished.
Bernard had the listing first in 2017, when the asking price was $3.5 million. However, Starkey replaced him with another broker who convinced her to raise the price. As a result, the property sat on the market for a while.
In the end, Starkey's broker believes that the landmark status cost her thousands of dollars and made it difficult to find a buyer. However, Starkey doesn't hold a grudge against the mansion or the ghosts. She has made peace with the past and is happy to see the building continue to serve in a new way.
This story was originally reported by BusinessDen. Stay updated on the latest business news by signing up for our Economy Now newsletter.
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