Lake St. Louis, Estate of the Day

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed)
Apr 21st 2010 at 1:01PM

Kenny at Homes of the Rich drew our attention to this one, the home of Darain Atkinson the founder of the now bankrupt US Fidelis, a company that dealt in vehicle service contracts. This sprawling home on Lake St. Louis in Missouri is a nine-bedroom compound that has a beauty parlor, bowling alley, observation tower, meditation room, art studio, gym, safe room and more. Reports say that the listing price of $14.9 million is at least $2 million short of the anticipated construction and land-acquisition costs.

While the home was being built questions on how Atkinson could pay for the home began to arise. According to an article in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, the bankruptcy filing of US Fidelis shows 331 payments totaling about $7.2 million on expenses related to the compound's construction including charges from an architectural blacksmith, a landscaping company, a home theater company, lighting and millwork companies. A bankruptcy judge has frozen Atkinson's assets, he and his brother, Cory are accused of defrauding US Fidelis to the tune of around $100 million. Ironically, in an interview last year, Atkinson said he was building such a lavish manse to accommodate the charitable fund-raisers he planned to host. The home is on 6.7 acres with indoor and outdoor swimming pools and an eight-car garage.

Tags: darain atkinson, estate of the day, fraud, missouri real estate, us fidelis

Filed under: Estates

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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)

Mark Perkins Apr 22nd 2010 1:16AM

I usually don't like european design, but this one is stunning.

Karen Apr 23rd 2010 11:31AM

I agree.

Rae Apr 21st 2010 2:22PM

Very nice. Needs some touches to make it homey but you could do some real entertaining in this home.

C.K. Dexter-Haven Apr 21st 2010 3:27PM

The garages are nice.

alias Apr 25th 2010 2:36AM

Garages and that's about it. The rest of the house is nauseating.

Spectacular Bid Apr 21st 2010 5:06PM

You can see a view of it from a news helicopter too: KMOV from St. Louis

http://www.kmov.com/news/local/US-Fidelis-co-founder-sells-home-91670664.html

The place is seemingly stock and trade "McDream Mansion" that lacks a lot of architectural skill. Yes it has custom bits and pieces but they're options out of a standard high-end contractor catalog.

It does little to stir the soul.

reallytorkedoff Apr 21st 2010 10:08PM

I tend to agree with the previous comments, but I have a bit of trouble with new houses that try to look like classics, and never manage to pull off the blend of old and new.

I love the the garages, too (more is better when it comes to garage space).

But that all-black bar has got to go. How about some nice medium-dark walnut.

Goto98 Apr 21st 2010 11:05PM

Thanks Kenny,

It looks like a pretty expensive place. The realtor should have taken a clear shot of the view; the limited shot looks very scenic.

chad.dawkins Apr 22nd 2010 2:02AM

It's my second favorite house posted.

pdawgpatrick Apr 22nd 2010 2:48PM

The main thing is not the house itself, but the fact that this guy spent so much money on an obvisouly lavish item and couldnt afford it. It is a shame! Nice work of art though, but a shame that one would defraud a reputable company of $100 million, knowing it, and facing bankruptcy, while trying to build and scam out a multimillion dollar home! Whats wrong with people these days?

KELLIE~ Apr 22nd 2010 3:32PM

Quite tawdy when it comes to it's millwork. Hallways seem very narrow and lack of comfort for a family. Seems sort of a museum that you'd have to pay $25.00 at the door, just for looking at it.
Architect wouldn't get a dime out of me if he solely took his ideas and completed this project himself and thinking this "piece of art" would be a complete surprise to me.
I'll pass!!

hd Apr 23rd 2010 7:39AM

How FAT IS your REAR end if you cant get down that hallway ... at LEAST 3 NORMAL sized people could stand side by side ... YOU MUST BE A PIG. Im not a fan of the Metal Grates in the Living Room and the cabinets flanking the fireplace appear a bit short (unless they were going to put in LARGE REAL OIL PAINTINGS verses the metal grates) ... but the view, chandelier, and window is PHENOMENAL. The millwork in the 2 story library is FIRST RATE (as is the beautiful stone facade on the libraries fireplace). The lighting is CLASSIC, the Kitchen is nice (I dont like the overdone ceiling because it seems to be a potential dust/grease catcher, as are the exposed cabinet tops ... but if you have 15 mil you can afford a maid to clean it and a painter to repaint yearly) .. and although the more than 1 color cabinet in Kitchens is popular, I personally prefer ONE real wood stain verses painted cabinets but the painted white cabinets are nice and if it was the white with one other color stain I think it would have looked nicer but thats not the "current style" That said, overall its a great home on a nice piece of land ... Im not a fan of St. Louis but allot of people live there and the Missouri side has some beautiful well kept neighborhoods. I cant afford it but its a lovely home and if I could afford to add on to my home I would LOVE to add that beautiful 2 story library ... it looks like the PERFECT ROOM.