Downtown Minneapolis 'Urban Castle' On The Market For $2.9M
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- Tucked in along a brick broad, not far from the home of the Minnesota Vikings, is the home of Jeff Arundel.
"I think the evocative name that it gets called is the Urban Castle," he said of his house that's a short walk from U.S. Bank Stadium.
Surrounded by brick walls and elegantly filled with custom wood and iron work, Arundel turned his medieval dreams into his reality for 15 years. Candle light in lanterns adds to the ambiance, while stone and copper fireplaces add a historic warmth.
It's definitely not what you'd expect in downtown Minneapolis.
"People know it as the Wizard House," he said. "I have always kind of gravitated to castles."
And once again, he's ready to sell it.
"I'm excited to pass the baton on to whoever is gonna come next," said Arundel.
Featuring three bedrooms, two-and-a-half bathrooms and a room large enough to be considered a dance studio, the house is priced at $2,995,000. Arundel designed its one-of-a-kind look with artist Paul Teirney, bringing those ideas to life.
"We ended up working on it for different parts of seven years," Arundel said.
Arundel bought the house in 2002 from John and Sage Cowles. At the time, he said the home had a contemporary look. It at one point housed a business named Flash Electric Company, with its painted-on name fading on the walls outside.
With features like a unique, wooden staircase leading to a rooftop with a picturesque view to stained glass windows and decorations that make you feel you're literally in a castle, one might wonder why Arundel wants to leave.
"Anytime the idea of me selling it comes up, people say 'Well you're crazy to sell that, why would you sell that?', but I had 15 great years here," he said. "If anything, what I'd be tempted to do now is change it and there are people who think that would be bad."
Arundel, who owns Aster Café in Minneapolis, feels the home deserves a new chapter.
"There are people interested in seeing it as a retail store, as a private club, as a restaurant of event center," Arundel said.
That might mean his years of hard work could become a thing of the past. But he hopes whoever walks in the doors next will feel right at home.
"There is a curiosity about it, the idea that 'Hey, we can go in there' is exciting to me," he said.
Arundel had a tentative buyer in 2017. It would have been turned into a taproom, however the deal fell through. He liked the idea of a taproom because it might have allowed the home to keep much of the designs he created, but he understands the new owner could also remodel the place.
