Asking price for this SC mansion was $13.9M. It was under contract in days. Here’s why
A 14,726 square-foot house built in 1845 overlooking Charleston Harbor for sale at an asking price of $13.9 million was under contract within a few weeks.
Charles Sullivan, the listing agent for the house at 13-15 East Battery St, said there was a lot of interest as soon as the property went on the market.
If the property sells for the asking price or more it will be the most expensive house bought on the Charleston peninsula.
Sullivan said the portions of the property are now used as separate residences and the person who has the contract on the house wants to return it to one residence. There are a number of outbuildings, including a kitchen house and a carriage house.
The house was built by William Ravenel, a partner in Ravenel & Stevens shipping company. Back then, the property was a new section of Charleston formed by the completion of the southeastern sea wall known as High Battery.
Ravenel and his wife, Eliza Butler Pringle Ravenel, whose father was once mayor of Charleston, had 11 children who were raised in the house. It was said that Ravenel enjoyed sitting on his patio looking at his ships in the harbor. He also had an unobstructed view of Fort Sumter, which was still under construction.
The Charleston earthquake of 1886 destroyed the front portico and four massive Corinthian columns, which were never rebuilt.
The Ravenels owned the house until the late 1930s. It fell into disrepair until it was bought by Edith and William Corry in the 1960s. That year, it was the most expensive home bought in Charleston.
Edith Corry owned The Calhoun Co., one of the most active real estate offices in Charleston at a time when the industry was dominated by men.
The house was placed in a trust and when she died in 2013 at 97 her niece Christine Ray became the sole trustee.
She and her husband, Ted, formerly of RIchmond, Virginia, live in the house, which they have spent eight years restoring.
“Along with its original outbuildings, the house has been meticulously preserved following the extensive interior and exterior renovation by the current owner,” the real estate listing says.
One fact mentioned by most everyone who has written about the house, which Sullivan pointed out as well, is the second floor drawing room. It runs the entire 36-foot width of the house and has a fireplace at both ends with 12’ to 14’ ceilings. It is likely the largest drawing room in the city.
The property is a deep narrow lot of about half an acre.
The Rays used historically correct materials, installed a new shutter system, roofing, HVAC systems, lath and plaster walls and ceiling medallions, kitchens and baths throughout, the listing says.
Sullivan declined to say much about the person who has it under contract. Asked if it was someone well-known, he said it’s someone who loves the house and wants to make it whole.
He also said it once was that homes of this price and size were typically built by someone from out of town. That’s not the case anymore.
“There’s a lot of wealth here,” he said.
And most often, buyers are paying cash.
