money A Detroit mansion once owned by Aretha Franklin is for sale
A Detroit mansion once owned by the Queen of Soul, the late singing legend Aretha Franklin, is back on the market. The house, listed for sale earlier this year for $1.2 million, had a price change last week and is now listed at $975,000.
The 5,623-square-foot mansion at 18261 Hamilton Road in the Detroit Golf Club Community backs to the seventh hole on the golf course.
“The house needs quite a bit of rehab, but it has a ton of original character,” said listing agent Arlita Harvey of Alite Realty about the three-story brick home built in 1927 on about half an acre.
A circle driveway leads to the front of the mansion that sits on a private road with 24-hour security across from Detroit’s Palmer Woods Historic District near 7 Mile Road and Woodward.
Franklin purchased the five bedroom, 4 ½ bath house with an attached three-car garage and slate roof in 1994.
She lived there when she recorded her Grammy nominated album “A Rose Is Still a Rose.”
When developer Anthony O. Kellum, who currently owns the house, saw it for sale four years ago, he thought it was an opportunity of a lifetime and something he wanted to be a part of, knowing that it once belonged to musical royalty like Aretha Franklin.
“It was her home, as in Detroit, and it is off the golf course,” said Kellum as he recalled memories of listening to Franklin’s music as a kid.
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The house had been vacant for 10 years and needed extensive work, according to Kellum.
Reminders of Franklin’s time in the house are still present, like the red clawfoot bathtub in the main bathroom near the primary bedroom, along with chandeliers and curtains in the living room.
Full of Old-World charm, the home has three fireplaces, wood beams and carved woodwork, original hardwood floors, tall casement windows, elaborate tiling in bathrooms and unique archways and doors.
The first floor has a library, family room, two-story living room, kitchen and breakfast area and a solarium with stone-arched walls overlooking the terrace and golf course.
A grand central staircase leads to the second floor that has five bedrooms and a third floor that can be finished for additional living space.
The back of the house has brick paver walkways and patios along with open views of the golf course.
Franklin died Aug. 16, 2018 of pancreatic cancer at 76 years old. She was living at Riverfront Towers in downtown Detroit at the time of her death.
The mansion was sold by the entertainer’s estate in October 2018 to Kellum for $300,000, who has made renovations since owning the property.
Brendel Hightower is an assistant editor at the Detroit Free Press. Contact her at bhightower@freepress.com. To subscribe, go to freep.com/specialoffer.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit mansion once owned by Aretha Franklin is for sale
