Oheka Castle Hits Auction Block After Foreclosure
Long Island developer Gary Melius’ stewardship of the famed Oheka Castle on Long Island is weeks away from its end.
The 127-room, 113,000-square-foot chateau in Huntington is expected to hit the auction block on Oct. 27, according to Forbes. The auction is being held by Concierge Auctions and Adam Modlin of The Modlin Group and does not include a starting bid at this time.
The castle is one of the largest private residences ever built in the United States, dating back more than a century and featuring a storied history. The castle was built in 1921 for banker Otto Kahn and Melius originally bought the property in 1984 for $1.5 million and spent more than $40 million renovating it across two separate ownership stints.
It operates as a hotel, restaurant and wedding venue, and has been featured in various media, including “Citizen Kane” and Taylor Swift’s “Blank Space” music video. It’s also been the venue for celebrity weddings, including musician Kevin Jonas and disgraced congressman Anthony Weiner.
A strange chapter unfolded more than a decade ago, when Melius was shot in an apparent assassination attempt outside the castle in 2014. The case remains unsolved.
Melius filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy last August in a bid to prevent Oheka Castle from being sold. According to the bankruptcy filing, the property owed $63.5 million to creditors and had just $57.27 in a checking account. Its assets totaled $92.8 million, including the property itself, machinery, equipment and vehicles.
Interestingly, the auction offering includes an adjacent five-acre plot with approved plans to build a 95-unit, four-story condominium.
The condominiums were the source of a 2023 lawsuit brought by the Cold Spring Country Club, which alleged the town board “abused its authority” after approving a permit Melius needed due to the chateau’s location within Huntington’s historic building overlay district.
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