Dilapidated 110-room estate on market for $20M in Philadelphia needs millions more in repairs

PHILADELPHIA – A dilapidated 110-room, 70,000-square-foot estate in Philadelphia is on the market again, but an architect says the $20 million price tag doesn’t include the tens of millions more it needs in repairs.

The Philadelphia Inquirer (http://bit.ly/1ondcxa) reports Sunday that the 34-acre Lynnewood Hall estate has been in decline since the original heirs sold it in 1944.

Lynnewood was completed around 1900 and once held one of the nation’s largest private art collections. But the subsequent owners of the property declared bankruptcy or couldn’t keep up the property.

Some of the rooms have been destroyed by water damage and broken windows.

Architect Mary DeNadai says it would take about $50 million to restore Lynnewood’s former glory, but she notes that more neglect could make the home unsalvageable.