Crestview Market Update

Good Morning. It is a beautiful day in Crestview, Florida. Today is the dayfor the largest real estate deal to ever take place in our local area. Baker, Florida is just 10-15 minutes West of Crestview.  Baker mansion, it is being called, but anyone that knows Bill and Jan McKelvy, will know that it was just "home'. It is absolutely stunning inside and out but you feel totally comfortable and warm from the time you walk in the door. Southern hospitality at its finest! The McKelvy's are dear friends of mine and will be missed, greatly. Bill taught me a lot of what I know about real estate and has always had the time to help when needed. They have played a huge role in the growth of our area. There doors were always open to listen to the needs of the community and they responded. We wish them well as they move on. Today's sell will make history in our are. The article below from The Crestview News Bulletin shows the aerial photo and details of the property. Bill and Jan, "God Bless"! J.P. King Auction Co. Quiet Meadow Farms is surrounded by formal gardens, gaslamps from the streets of Savannah, and walks made of reclaimed brick from Chicago. September 12, 2007 - 4:50PM

Baker mansion may fetch millions

71-acre estate features rare antiques, exquisite woodwork

Brian Hughes Thursday one of the county's most stunning homes goes on the auction block.

Tucked discreetly into the peaceful farmlands near Baker, Quiet Meadow Farms has been praised for its "pure rural beauty," and the mansion, sitting in its 71-acre estate, has won accolades for its craftsmanship and attention to detail.

The home of former golf pro-turned antiques dealer Bill McKelvy and his wife, Jan, the mansion was started in 1997 and took five years to build.

"He literally had 25 workers or more on the site for five years," said Carl Carter of J.P. King Auction Company. "I've never seen the kind of elaborate woodwork that this house has."

The Gadsden, Ala.-based auction house, founded in 1915, specializes in high-end properties and will be handling the 11 a.m. auction Thursday.

Located on Griffith Mill Road, the 5-bedroom, 8-bathroom home is filled with antiques. Walkways around its formal gardens are made from bricks recovered from turn-of-the-century Chicago industrial buildings. Gas lamps lining the curved, quarter-mile driveway used to illuminate streets in old Savannah, Ga., and though converted to electricity, still flicker with that warm gas touch.

With its steel frame, elevator, three-car garage, 2-bedroom, 2-1/2 bath servants' quarters, exceptional insulation and energy efficiency (electric bills average no more than $200 per month), five wells, and a generator capable of powering the entire estate, Quiet Meadow Farms would seem to be the home of the future.

But all these features are merely the infrastructure supporting a gracious southern mansion filled with antebellum and European fittings, furnishings and details.

"You look at a piece of furniture and it has a lot of ornate carving," observed Carter. "Well, you've got this throughout the whole house. He's a dealer in fine antiques and he built the woodwork throughout the whole house using the techniques in the antiques he sells."

Chamfered white oak paneling, Italian marble, French stained glass, and 5-inch wide pine flooring from the old Sears building in Chicago abound throughout the house.

"'Zipper cut' federal glass that hasn't been made in the United States since the Civil War surrounds the ornate front door," observed Carter.

"We've sold properties like Barbara Mandrell's house in Nashville and Karl Malone's house in Salt Lake City," Carter said, "but my jaw just dropped when I saw this house."

The McKelvy's, he said, "are very private people and they built it with privacy in mind. You have seemingly endless wide-open spaces right there. You can get attached to it if you're not careful."

Though Carter would not disclose the reserve price on house, the mansion, surrounding estate, and separate parcels of more than 200 acres of farmland are expected to sell for millions.