Two of the three mansions formerly owned by Mary Knackstedt that sold today at auction.
A decade-long saga came to a close today as the “Mary K mansions” sold at auction for a total of $756,000 to two buyers from the west shore.
On a sunny, cool day, multiple bidders dueled for about 2 1/2 hours at the outdoor auction, held on one of the four lots near the corner of Front and Manor streets.
In the end, Mike and Sally Wilson of Lisburn paid $361,000 for two of the properties at 2909 and 2917 N. Front St. Rob Edwards of Dillsburg paid $395,000 for 2901 N. Front St., which includes a large house and a parking lot off of Division Street.
Mike Wilson, the owner of Integral Construction, said that he and his wife intend to renovate and live in the mansion at 2909 N. Front, but he wasn’t sure what they’d do with 2917 N. Front, a dilapidated building that long served as an office building.
“We wanted it for the river view,” Wilson said of his future home.
Edwards said he has no plans yet for his properties. He said he often buys and sells properties at auction and was attracted to these houses because of the location on the river.
“It’s so beautiful here and so serene,” said Edwards, a retired builder who developed Montadale Crest, a 49-lot development outside of Dillsburg, in the 1980s.
Previous owner Mary Knackstedt attended the auction, shielding herself from the sun under a large umbrella as she paced about, keeping track of the bidding. She bought the properties in 2004, planning to raze them and build a 32-unit condominium development. However, her land use plan met fierce resistance in the neighborhood, and City Council ultimately rejected it.
She later defaulted on her mortgages and declared bankruptcy. A last-ditch effort last year to sell the properties for $2.5 million failed, leading to today’s auction.
The auction was unusually complicated because it was divided into two rounds. In the first round, parties bid on individual parcels. In the second round, they bid on multiple parcels, which included every possible property combination.
Harrisburg Mayor Eric Papenfuse, who lives nearby, dropped by and then stayed as the bidding escalated. He said he was pleased with the result of the auction.
“We are glad to get these properties back on the tax rolls,” he said.
According to Dauphin County, property taxes for the parcels are about $220,000 in arrears.
Want to know more? Read senior writer Paul Barker’s award-winning feature on the Mary K story from June 2013.
