In 2004, a partnership of Italian and American developers purchased the palazzo (it had been headquarters to an Italian bank for much of the last century) and set about restoring it into 36 furnished apartments, offered in one-eighth shares: $227,000 for a studio, $294,000 for a one-bedroom and $546,000 for two to three bedrooms.
That's why it decided to restore it into a traveling exhibition.
Unfortunately, it was bombed in 1944 but Andrew, from England and Carlo, his Italian partner, have restored it into a gem of a place.
He bought it for $70,000 and moved it to Galveston, Tex., where he sank about $700,000 into restoring it, he said.
But it's beautiful, I realize, because someone a lot newer to town than the Crosses has put a lot of money into restoring it.
The consultant considered everything from high-end condos to a boutique hotel before concluding that only a museum made sense for the building, both because of its splendor and because so much public money was going into restoring it.
Since much history is saved into the Windows Registry, restoring it to a previous state will restore file and program history.
The ultimate goal is to restore it taking into account environmental pollution.
He moved the main house, dating to 1690, from its original site, restored it and turned it into the tasting room — the only Long Island shop selling Harmony wines — and an art gallery.
She purchased the Lanaux Mansion in the 1980s, restored it and turned it into a B&B.
The developer, who wishes to remain anonymous, wants to buy the building, restore it and turn it into a performing arts centre.
