Obici mansion will take a king’s ransom to renovate

Michael Kelly, a planner for the city of Suffolk, stands in an upstairs room of the Obici mansion damaged by a water leak. (bill tiernan/the virginian-pilot)

By AARON APPLEGATE
The Virginian-Pilot

SUFFOLK - Since 1925, the historic Obici mansion - built by the Italian immigrant who founded Planters Peanuts - has sat on a bluff overlooking the Nansemond River.

After various updates over the years, the white home, with its tile roof and Italian stained glass, has fallen into disrepair. The situation for the city-owned property has reached a critical point, officials said.

The back porch is crumbling and the roof is failing.

"It's raining inside the building," Gerry Jones, Suffolk's capital projects manager, told the City Council at its retreat last week. He warned of rotting.

Water damage is obvious on second-floor ceilings and walls.

Once popular as a rental site for weddings and parties, the home where Amedeo Obici and his wife, Louise, once held charitable parties was closed a year ago because it was considered dangerous. People haven't been allowed on the back porch, with its commanding view of the river, for years.

Officials in Suffolk, who bought the house along with the Sleepy Hole Golf Course from Portsmouth in 2002, are trying to figure out what to do with the deteriorating house.

Obici, who adopted Suffolk as his hometown and financed a hospital named for his wife here, bought the 263-acre Bay Point Dairy Farm Estate in 1924 after moving his peanut operation from Pennsylvania.

A year later, he moved an 1870s farmhouse on the property to a knoll by the river and built a 7,000 square-foot showplace around the original house, which became the living room. He installed stained glass, parquet floors, ornate chandeliers and imported Italian tile.

After Obici died in 1947, the estate had a series of owners until the city of Portsmouth bought it in 1972 and built a golf course. The Ladies Professional Golf Association held tournaments there through the late 1980s, popular partly because of the charm of the Obici House. Portsmouth spent some money on its upkeep, but relied mainly on volunteers.

Suffolk officials got the house on the National Register of Historic Places in 2003, a distinction that would qualify a private party who wanted to fix it up for tax breaks. But in 2005, city officials didn't get a response when they solicited the project. They estimate renovations at $1 million.

Now, they're working on a second request for proposals that would go out in two or three months, said Lakita Frazier, Suffolk's parks and recreation director.

Suffolk officials painted the house, but no major work has been done. They hope someone will invest in the building and work with the city to fix it up.

Some options include turning it into a museum, a bed and breakfast or a restaurant.

Council members agreed it should be largely a private effort.

"Let somebody's imagination work," Mayor Linda Johnson said.