- The Lake Placid home of famed Olympic luger athlete Joe Burrill has been listed for $28.5 million.
- If the home sells for close to the asking price, it would set a record for the most expensive home ever sold in the Lake Placid area.
- The property has a private 5-acre pond with a waterfall and small stream and is adjacent to the West Branch of the Ausable River.
- The Bariles spent seven years on initial construction and moved into the five-bedroom, seven-bathroom, 15,000-square-foot home in 2015.
Famous Olympic luger Joe Burrill has listed his Lake Placid mansion for $28.5 million.
Mr. Barile, 64, and his wife, Pat Barile, have put their 70 acres in the mountains on the market.
The completed Lake Placid home features hand-hewn stone walls, intricate ironwork, flying buttresses, and bronze windows and doors, all the result of more than 20 years of construction.
If the home sells for close to the asking price, it would set a record for the most expensive home ever sold in the Lake Placid area. The current record was set in 2005 when an adjacent ranch was sold for $13 million.
Located at the base of the Southern Adirondack High Peaks, this property includes a 5-acre private pond with a waterfall and small stream. It also borders the west branch of the Ausable River.
Basil, who also owns White Face Lodge and its parent company, Lake Placid Group, paid $5 million for the property in 2007 from the estate of the late auto carburetor maker and inventor George Hawley, according to the Wall.・Told Street Journal.
The Bariles demolished their existing home and spent seven years on initial construction before moving into their new home in 2015.
The approximately 15,000-square-foot main home includes five bedrooms, a gym, wine cellar, 10 natural stone fireplaces, and a bowling alley. It also includes a two-family farmhouse and several outbuildings.
The facility's electricity comes from a hydroelectric power plant, which utilizes a dam on the river to provide most of the facility's power. Hawley knew Thomas Edison personally, and his company designed the dam after Edison's death.
The Hawleys have an oil painting of Edison that hangs in their home, and Joe said he plans to give it to a buyer.
Barile began work on the Lake Placid mansion in 2008. Rather than always collaborating with architects or following a predetermined plan, he added more flourishes as the building project progressed.
The lead roof was custom-built by craftsmen from England, who lived on the site for almost four years before completing the work.
Barile specifically hired Polish carpenters to complete the oak details and imitate the flying buttresses Barile had observed in European castles and churches.
Olympian said an on-site quarry provided all of the stones on site, as cutting a particular stone took almost a full day.
“When you're trying to create art, you can't rush,” he told WSJ.
Barile said his wife was unhappy with the plan and wanted the couple and their two children to move into the house before going to university.
“She kept saying, 'Let's just call it a day. Let's get rid of the workers and start enjoying this,'” Barile said.
The house's facade is still a work in progress, with Barile insisting on adding small details.
Now that their two daughters have moved out, the house is too big for Joe and Pat. But Joe said he doesn't care if the house doesn't sell.
“When you walk through the grounds, you feel like you’re in your own national park,” he said.
