Lockerbie mansion ‘off the hook’

Locally based Sparks Restorations has spent more than $1.5 million to buy and renovate an Italianate mansion in Lockerbie that was built in 1876. The mansion is now two giant townhouses that carry pricetags of just under $1.1 million each. Jeff Sparks, the developer, said he paid $475,000 in August for what amounted to a brick shell next door to the James Whitcomb Riley home. He said the mansion had been a national fraternity headquarters and was in Animal House condition, with amenities like Astroturf. The project now is called “Crown Jewel of Lockerbie.” Each side has 3,900 square feet with 4 bedrooms, 5 bathrooms, a theater room and two fireplaces. Features include Brazilian cherry floors, porcelain bathroom fixtures, slate floors, exposed brick walls, 12-foot ceilings and a $30,000 appliance package. Sparks isn’t worried about the slow residential market. “If you just build it off the hook, people will buy it,” he said.