The most expensive residential property in Vanderburgh County history is for sale

EVANSVILLE — Got $8.5 million? Steven E. Chancellor is selling his 45-acre Henze Road luxury estate, which has hosted high-dollar fundraising events attracting the biggest names in American politics, entertainment and the U.S. Armed Forces.

It is the highest list price for any residential property in Vanderburgh County's history, said Ryan Farmer, a veteran local real estate appraiser and realtor.

"That's by far and away the highest asking price ever noted," Farmer said, noting the property's website at 7700Henze.com.

Potential buyers for such properties typically must submit pre-approval letters seven days in advance and must submit to background checks, Farmer said. The property has an assessed value of nearly $5.9 million, according to the county.

"When you get into this kind of price range, you're dealing with titans of industry, and they've got a whole other level of layers of security they want you to go through," he said.

Chancellor, 75, declined by text to discuss the sale of his home, saying he "cannot at this time." He said he would contact the Courier & Press later.

The sale comes against the backdrop of financial trouble Chancellor may not have envisioned when he was hosting fundraising events for which patrons paid $10,000 per couple as a minimum.

Bankruptcy and unpaid taxes

In December 2020, White Stallion Energy LLC, the Evansville-based company Chancellor headed as chairman, president and CEO, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Chancellor and other White Stallion executives and 260 full-time employees were terminated ahead of the company's bankruptcy filing, according to documents filed in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware.

White Stallion Energy cited the distress of the COVID-19 pandemic on the coal market as severely impacting the company.

More:White Stallion Energy files for bankruptcy, terminates all 260 employees

Other American coal companies had shared similar concerns about the impact caused by COVID-19 on the industry. Bankruptcy filings showed U.S. coal production in the second quarter of 2020 was the lowest it had been in almost 50 years.

White Stallion was struggling in 2019, and the dire financial situation was exacerbated by the decline in coal consumption at power generation facilities caused by the economic slowdown resulting from the pandemic, according to the bankruptcy declaration.

The complex White Stallion Chapter 11 reorganization remains ongoing, addressing assets and liabilities in several states. It does not address the personal assets of management and shareholders such as Chancellor.

Meanwhile, American Patriot Group LLC, owner of the White House-style corporate headquarters that housed White Stallion at 250 Cross Pointe Blvd., is more than $28,000 in arrears on its Vanderburgh County property taxes. The county did not receive last fall's installment of property taxes on the structure, which had an assessed value of nearly $1.6 million at the time. With a 10% late payment penalty, American Patriot owes $28,137.

Under Indiana law, the property will go to tax sale in spring 2024 if American Patriot fails to pay two more consecutive seasonal installments of county property taxes, which would mean not paying for the remainder of this calendar year.

Another property also is delinquent on its county property taxes — the luxury estate Chancellor wants to sell. As of Tuesday morning, county data indicated Chancellor owes slightly more than $38,000 on last fall's installment of property taxes. Before that, according to the Vanderburgh County Treasurer's Office, he had been late paying property taxes just once — the fall of 2021.

'North of a $1 million' raised in event for Trump at home

In its heyday, Chancellor's opulent spread brought some of the most influential figures in American politics to Vanderburgh County.

Chancellor hosted a "Trump Pence Victory" fundraiser in August 2016, in the heat of Donald Trump's ultimately successful campaign for the presidency that year. Trump, running mate and then-Indiana Gov. Mike Pence and former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani attended the event, which Chancellor later said raised "north of a million" for Trump.

A January 2004 Republican National Committee event at his residence generated about $500,000. Guests included former President George H.W. Bush, former Vice President Dan Quayle, retired Gen. Norman Schwarzkopf and actress Bo Derek. Chancellor hosted a similar GOP event in July 2000 that generated more than $1.4 million.

Wayne Parke, a retired executive of Peabody Energy Co. and Black Beauty Coal Co. and an employee of Chancellor's for about 10 years, has attended several fundraisers in Chancellor's 33,000 square foot home.

Parke, former chairman of the Vanderburgh County Republican Party, told the Courier & Press in 2016 that attendees at a Chancellor-hosted fundraiser typically passed through a security checkpoint upfront, drove down to the house and handed off their keys for valet parking.

The scene inside was heady with access to power and the trappings of an obviously wealthy man, Parke said then.

Things typically began with a cocktail party — h'ordeuvres, drinks — preceded by warm greetings from Chancellor and his wife, Terri. Attendees were free to wander around the property and ogle Chancellor's collections of cars, big game trophies, guns and stabled horses.

Dinner was followed by formal introductions and remarks by candidates and others, Parke said. The local GOP chairman recalled once getting his photo made with former President George H.W. Bush and his wife, Barbara, at a Chancellor fundraiser. Parke's wife chatted with Barbara Bush.

On Aug. 30, 2018, when Trump flew to Evansville for a rally at the Ford Center while he was still president, Chancellor and U.S. Sen. Mike Braun and their wives greeted Trump's arrival on Air Force One at Tri-State Aero. The Braun and Chancellor parties joined Trump in his limo for the ride into town.

Parke, a major funder of local GOP operations when he was party chairman, said Monday he has heard of no fundraisers at the Henze Road property in years.

Parke was aware of Chancellor's financial trouble, but that was about it.

"I haven't talked with (Chancellor) for a long time," he said.

This article originally appeared on Evansville Courier & Press: Steve Chancellor's Evansville-area estate is for sale