Mansion turned nightmare

[n2doc]

The Villa Taj, 6501 S. County Line Road, Burr Ridge, originally listed for $25 million. Some neighbors mistakenly believed a mosque was being built, but the owner, who is beset by liens, described his mansion as a monument to cultural integration. It's current asking price is $13 million, after pipes burst in February and caused $6 million in damage in the unoccupied home. The main entrance is at right. (Chuck Berman, Chicago Tribune / April 1, 2011)


By Ted Gregory, Tribune reporter
6:15 p.m. CDT, April 1, 2011

Dr. Husam Aldairi envisioned his dramatic mansion as a monument to the blending of cultures. He named it Villa Taj and made it hard to miss.

Situated on a prominent intersection in the exclusive Chicago suburb of Burr Ridge, the home has a gold Jerusalem limestone exterior done in neo-Byzantine Moorish revival. The interior, appointed in Brazilian wood and Italian marble, features nine fireplaces, a soaring ballroom and 20-car basement garage.

But the path to completion became a nightmare. Residents who mistakenly thought a mosque was being built phoned Village Hall and complained. Aldairi, a dentist, says officials unfairly imposed excruciating construction delays. Then came a sexual harassment judgment against his business — not him — and a bankruptcy filing.

Finally, in late February, pipes burst in the unoccupied mansion and an estimated 6 million gallons of water soaked the home.

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http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-met-villa-taj-20110401,0,2379728.story

[spinbaby]

1. It's actually a very attractive building

Perhaps the owner could sell it to a mosque--seems like the best use for it.

[Shagbark Hickory]

2. Yeah for a mosque.

[spinbaby]

6. Exactly

It would make a gorgeous mosque.

[Shagbark Hickory]

11. OR a synagogue or church even. Or shit, even a dentists office. In my malzoned area, why not..

have a dentists office or a church as an outparcel to a single family home subdivision?

[spinbaby]

12. It could be any of those

But the Moorish architecture seems especially well suited for a mosque.

[Lorien]

27. It doesn't look anything like a Mosque. Hell, there are Moroccan inspired

mansions near me that are far more traditionally Middle Eastern than that rather bland design (sporting GOTHIC arches, no less).

[aquart]

7. Make a nice school or theatre, too.

But $6 million in pipe repair? Nuh uh.

[Liberal_in_LA]

10. yeah, nice school, cultural center, maybe a homeless shelter? But high end neighbors would never

allow it.

[angstlessk]

14. Don't ALL Mosques have domes???? I see no dome

[Lorien]

28. Generally, yes. Which is one of the many reasons why it doesn't look like one. nt

[Sonoman]

3. There is one like that right around the corner from me.

Right outside the city limits and nothing can be done.

We wish the Earth would just swallow the monstrosity.

Sonoman

[Shagbark Hickory]

4. This is why we have design review boards that everyone hates.

[redwitch]

5. Museum.

The burst pipes damage is a total bummer.

[aquart]

8. Yeah. I prefer move in ready.

[Liberal_in_LA]

9. Never build the fanciest house in the neighborhood. 6 million gallons!

That's a lot of water.

[DJ13]

13. Can someone explain how a dentist can afford to build a $25m mansion?

[dionysus]

15. he probably owns a large practice. we've got a guy here who has 4-5 large offices

[Blue_Tires]

20. One of his side jobs was real estate hustler...

It wouldn't surprise me if most of his "wealth" was on paper only...

[Curmudgeoness]

16. How stupid do you have to be to have pipes burst in a new home?

Did he have the heat turned off to save money? Or just use inferior pipes?

[Mariana]

17. I wonder if it was sabotage.

Maybe someone helped the pipes to break.

[Curmudgeoness]

18. That would be even more brilliant. If neighbors hated the looks

of this house, they would hate it worse to have it sit there forever, deteriorating year by year.

One man's mansion is another man's eyesore. This happens all the time when ungodly wealthy people try to one-up each other.

[Blue_Tires]

19. could have been a shitty contractor...?

[cate94]

22. Actually, the house was vacant

and on the market. The good dentist and his family moved to a warmer climate per his wife's request. The realtor said it was checked every few weeks. Not smart in this climate. I assume the heat went out right after the blizzard. They are going to have to strip the house to its' studs on the first floor...

It looks like it would work as an apartment building. And the location is on a busy intersection. Who in their right mind would spend that kind of money for a house in a shit location?

And yeah, where does a dentist get that kind of money for a house? Crazy all the way around.

[Curmudgeoness]

26. To have no heat in a house of that cost is insane.

If there were power problems, the realtor should have been checking at that time to make sure all was ok there.

As to it working as an apartment building, I doubt it. In an upscale neighborhood, they would never allow apartments.

What bothers me more than anything is the waste. The amount of wasted resources all now just trash.

[Hassin Bin Sober]

32. Heat or no heat, shut the plumbing off in un-occupied buildings.

I have two friends who came home from vacations to unplanned swimming pools in their basements.

One was the result of a lighting strike arcing a hole in a basement copper pipe, and the other was, IIRC, a failed water heater.

My father-in-law flips the breaker on his well pump. I just installed ball valve cut-offs in my condo and a friends condo.

You are correct about that area not allowing apartments. I grew up a couple towns over from the OP subject house. That area, Hinsdale, had million dollar homes back when a million dollars was a lot of money.

[TheMadMonk]

31. Or the plumber got distracted and didn't do up a joint tight enough.

Unoccupied, so heat could well have been off, or in maintenanace mode.

[NCarolinawoman]

21. Why does this man not believe in trees?

Did he consider solar energy for this giant block of concrete? Oh, that's right, it also includes "Brazilian wood" (rain forest by any chance?).

Sorry, but this newly built "home" annoys me.

[SoCalDem]

23. Probably bulldozed a bunch of trees to build the monstrosity

:grr:

[NCarolinawoman]

25. Yep. It's the old McMansion formula.

Same mentality. Built to impress.x(

[Mimosa]

24. Seriously bad architecture.

Moorish, Gothic, bauhaus, whatever. That 'building' is an unintegrated mess of blockiness.

[Lorien]

29. Yep, it's a hodge podge of bad design that ends up being downright dull. nt

[lumberjack_jeff]

30. So... why are medical costs so high?

Every doctor deserves a $25 million mansion, you know.