First Posted: 1/10/2014
Staff report
T. Kyle Swicegood, with the Swicegood Group Inc. Auctions & Real Estate. announced Friday the closing on Andre the Giant’s former estate in Ellerbe.
“The property transferred today to the highest bidder on the day of the auctions that was held in November,” Swicegood said in a news release to The Daily Journal. “We are extremely pleased with the results achieved.”
In a Nov. 2 live auction at the property, situated off Highway 73, bidding came down to Floridian author Randy Wayne White, with his uncle, Hamlet resident Levon Wilson, against Rockingham resident George Ewing and his family.
White’s maximum bid for the property was $260,000. Ewing capped his bid at $270,000 but it, too, failed to meet the owners’ undisclosed reserve amount. The property was reportedly assesses at $358,000 and includes a three-story home, gazebo, barbecue building and a workshop.
The home still belonged to James and Bonnie Sugg after the auction but “our auction was successful using post-sale negotiations,” Swicegood said.
The amount of the sale was not immediately available, but Ewing said at the auction his bid was “close to” the owners’ reserve price.
This 46-acre property gained tremendous attention during the wrestling reign of André René Roussimoff, best known as André the Giant, a French professional wrestler and actor who stood 7-feet, 4-inches tall and weighed nearly 500 pounds, chose to call Richmond County home.
Later purchased by the Sugg family, the property was restored and improved to it current state, which resembles a home that would be pictured in the mind of famed architect Andrew Loyd Wright.
“To be a part of this famous estate makes us exceptionally proud,” Swicegood said.
The Swicegood Group is a North Carolina-based auction firm located in Mocksville.