Massive Bishop Mansion, once priced at $9M, heads to auction after no sale


If you’re in the market for the largest private residence in Detroit by square footage, you’re in luck. The 31,192-square-foot Bishop Mansion, on a 2-acre parcel in the historic Palmer Woods neighborhood, will be auctioned Monday after being on the market without a sale for over a year.

The Bishop Mansion at 19366 Lucerne in Detroit.

The mansion, which is being renovated, features 12 bedrooms, 11 bathrooms, multiple fireplaces, a move-in ready 2,057-square-foot guest house and comes with a set of engineering plans to finish the job.

The stately three-story brick and limestone structure, at 19366 Lucerne Drive, was completed in the mid-1920s and was once owned by the Catholic Archdiocese of Detroit and home to Catholic Bishop Michael Gallagher. It was sold to a private owner, Detroit Piston John Salley, in 1989 before being sold in 1995 to Great Faith Ministries International.

Bishop Wayne T. Jackson of Great Faith Ministries International and president and founder of the Impact Network, the largest African-American Christian television network in the country, sold the landmark property to a California investor for more than $2.5 million in 2017.

The mansion was initially listed for sale at $9 million in May 2023, then reduced to $7 million, and finally $6 million earlier this year. Now it’s set to be auctioned by Schrader Real Estate and Auction Company Inc. based in Indiana.

“This is going be a sealed bid auction, so the advantage in this scenario for the buyers is that it’s a very confidential auction method. It’s not like a live auction where you go stand and hold your hand up in a crowd,” said Luke Schrader, an auction agent for Schrader Real Estate and Auction Co. Inc.

More: Bishop Mansion, largest private residence in Detroit, sees $2 million price slash

The auction site notes that the exterior brick and stone have been cleaned and polished, the building has new windows, new tile roof, new copper gutters, and that strategic demolition has taken place in the main house paving the way for a new HVAC system, plumbing and electrical.

The auction site reports that substantial construction has been completed on the estate, but it appears to be in disrepair. This is evident in a YouTube video walkthrough by Paul Wolfert from Century 21 Row, who showcased the mansion’s current condition.

In the video, you’ll notice unkept grounds and once inside the symmetrical grand mansion, there’s intricate detailing in ceilings, construction lighting, vaults, unique craftmanship in rooms and around fireplaces, intercoms in walls, wood-paneled walls, hardwood floors, marble features, a large gutted kitchen area, dumbwaiters off of the kitchen, stained-glass windows in the chapel, an elevator shaft, wooden ceilings, exposed brick walls, wood planks in rooms, cement floors, open spaces plumbed for bathrooms, high ceilings, some damage to ceilings and walls, solid wood stairs, and more.

“There is a set date and time that all bids need to be submitted,” mentioned Schrader.

Sealed bids are due by 5 p.m. on Monday. They can be delivered to 19366 Lucerne Drive in Detroit from 1-5 p.m. Monday or by email to luke@schraderauction.com.

Brendel Hightower is an assistant editor at the Detroit Free Press. Contact her at bhightower@freepress.com. Support local journalism: Subscribe to the Detroit Free Press.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Bishop Mansion, once priced at $9M, heads to auction after no sale

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