MONEY

You can live in Aaron Rodgers' neighborhood, if you've got a few million bucks to bid on this chateau

Green Bay Press-Gazette

HOBART - One of the most expensive homes in the Green Bay area will be auctioned off to the highest bidder next month.

The French chateau-style property at 4735 Fonda Fields Court has previously been listed for sale for as much as $8.4 million and Zillow currently lists it for sale for $6.9 million. Brown County property records indicate the unfinished home has an assessed value of $1.6 million and a 2019 property tax bill of $29,423.

Elite Auctions will sell the property to the highest bidder in an auction at 11 a.m. Feb. 8 at the property. The chateau is owned by Gary De Caster under the company name Golden Pond Development LLC.

Tara McLean, president of Elite Auctions, said the property features high-quality design and construction that separates it from any other homes in the market. She added that whoever buys it will almost assuredly get a deal as an estimated $12 million has gone into the home so far.

"This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and someone will get an amazing deal on this home," McLean said. "It’s so fabulous, this home needs to be lived in. It needs a new family in there."

The auction listing touts an additional perk to purchasing the property. Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers would be your neighbor, which it said turns the chateau into "one of Wisconsin's most desirable areas and a perfect abode for a Green Bay Packers player or an ultimate fan."

Which is true, to a point. Records indicate Rodgers lives in Hobart, but there are no other homes on Fonda Fields Court, so don't expect him or Danica Patrick to be stopping over to borrow a cup of sugar.

Elite has scheduled previews of the property for Jan. 18-19, Jan. 25-26 and Feb. 1-2. All preview sessions begin at 1 p.m. and end at 4 p.m. McLean said anyone can show up at the house and walk right in to view it those weekends.

You might want to plan two visits, though, because there's a lot to see in the massive three-story mansion.

The 22,590-square-foot house includes seven bedrooms, which each have their own bathrooms. The mansion also includes an additional full bathroom, three half bathrooms, a cedar shake roof, copper gutters, an elevator, art gallery, ballroom with 25-foot ceilings, theater, fitness room, wine cellar, lounge, an unfinished sauna and hot tub room, an exterior terrace and two attached garages with space for eight vehicles.

The property also includes a multi-use sport court, wooded areas, a private pond, a salon with a fireplace, a buffet built into the dining room, three islands in the kitchen and a 15-foot-long cooking counter.

And that "ultimate Packers fan" will probably appreciate the games room big enough for a 100-inch television and a billiards table.

If you actually intend to bid on the property, you will need to bring a couple of things with you on Feb. 8. McLean said to get a bidder paddle, you have to bring a certified cashier's check for $50,000 made out to yourself and a signed copy of the bidding terms and conditions.

She also reminded potential bidders that the property will be sold as-is and that the seller expects to close the deal within 30 days.

The auction is the latest development in a 16-year effort to construct and sell a home on Fonda Fields that has seen a foreclosure, multiple mortgages and the work of at least two different developers to finish the job, according to Brown County property and Register of Deeds records.

The mansion was designed by Green Bay area architect Jim LaPlant, but has never been lived in, as work has not been completed on the property.

Golden Pond Park II LLC, a company registered to Thomas Juza, bought the land in 2004 for $294,000 and took out a $1.75 million mortgage from Pioneer Credit Union against the property in October 2004. That mortgage was paid off in June 2006, but a new, $2.5 million mortgage from Pioneer Credit Union was recorded by the Register of Deeds in September 2006. Another mortgage, subordinate to the credit union's, was filed with the Register of Deeds in January 2008.

In September 2010, Pioneer foreclosed on its mortgage in Brown County Circuit Court. After the foreclosure was upheld, Pioneer Credit Union bought the property at a sheriff's sale in summer 2011 for $2.8 million. The Juzas would file for bankruptcy protection from creditors in April 2014. The couple listed assets of less than $1 million and debts of $69.7 million.

Golden Pond Development, De Caster's company, bought the property for $1.2 million in 2015, according to county and Zillow records.

Zillow indicates the property was listed for sale for $8.4 million in June 2018, but was then removed from the market in January 2019. It was listed for sale for $6 million in April 2019 before it was taken off the market in July. It was re-listed for sale for $3 million in November before the price was increased Jan. 7, ahead of next month's auction.