The out-sized home near the southern mouth of the Kenai River is finally out of the city of Kenai’s hair. Known as the Dragseth Mansion, the sale was finalized earlier this month, according to City Manager Paul Ostrander.
“We did receive on February 5th the remainder of the funds for the Dragseth Mansion, so that’s been completed now,” he said. “It actually was received on time, so we are no longer the owner of that.”
The city had purchased the property and six other nearby parcels a way to clear access to the south beach, mostly for the July frenzy of the dipnet fishery. The funds used, Ostrander said, would go back to the dipnet improvement fund from which they came.
“Right now the language says ‘south beach,’ but we’re definitely looking to get that expanded to allow for some improvements on north beach as well,” he said.
The new oner of the Dragseth Mansion, Ron Hyde, is the President and CEO of PRL, or Pacific Rim Logistics, and also owns the near by Cannery Lodge. He has plans to operate airships and occasionally small aircraft from an airstrip on the property. The sale price was reported as $825,000.