'Billion-Euro Home' Built by Unemployed Artist

Reuters — 2012-01-26T06:00:00 00:00

Filed under: News

By Conor Humphries

DUBLIN -- Giving new meaning to "money pit," an unemployed Irish artist has built a home from the shredded remains of 1.4 billion euros ($1.82 billion), a monument to the "madness" that he says has been wrought on Ireland by the single currency, from a spectacular construction boom to a wrenching bust.

Frank Buckley built the apartment in the lobby of a Dublin office building that has lain vacant since its completion four years ago at the peak of an ill-fated construction boom, using bricks of shredded euro notes he borrowed from Ireland's national mint.

"It's a reflection of the whole madness that gripped us," Buckley said of what he calls his "billion-euro home."

"People were pouring billions into buildings now worth nothing," he said. "I wanted to create something from nothing."

A wave of cheap credit flowed into Ireland in the early 2000s after Ireland joined the currency zone, fueling a huge property bubble that transformed the country.

The bubble's collapse since 2007 plunged Ireland into the deepest recession in the industrialized world, forcing the former "Celtic Tiger" to accept a humiliating bailout from the EU and the IMF.

Buckley was given a 100 percent mortgage at the peak of the boom to buy a 365,000 euro home on the far reaches of Dublin's commuter belt, despite the fact he had no steady income. (That's nearly $480,000 at today's exchange rate.)

He has separated from his wife who lives in the home, which has since lost at least one-third of its value.

Living in his "billion euro home" since the start of December, Buckley is working on adding a kitchen to the living room and hall.

The walls and floor are covered in euro shreddings and the house is so warm that Buckley says he sleeps without a blanket.

Pictures made from notes and coins decorate the walls, including one of a house that's made from Irish 5 pence pieces.

"There are houses in Ireland worth less than that," Buckley quips.

Buckley said that he wants Europe's politicians to solve the eurozone debt crisis without destroying its currency. But if the currency ultimately fails, he will happily use the euro zone's defunct notes as fodder for future projects.

"Whatever you say about the euro, it's a great insulator."

(Reporting by Conor Humphries; editing by Carmel Crimmins and Paul Casciato.)

Copyright 2012 Thomson Reuters. Click for Restrictions.

Also see:
Amazing 'Origami' Studio Unfolds Into 4 Rooms
Artist Constructs Victorian House of Legos
Artist Makes Luxury Home in a Dumpster

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Mitt Romney's 'White House North' Could Spur Local Economy

Reuters — 2012-01-11T15:10:00 00:00

Filed under: News

WOLFEBORO, N.H. -- If Mitt Romney gets his wish, the ranks of presidential retreats that include Crawford, Texas, and Rancho del Cielo near Santa Barbara, Calif., could soon be joined by Wolfeboro, N.H.

Big change could be coming to the rustic but affluent lakeside resort town on Lake Winnipesaukee (pictured above) if front-runner Romney becomes Republican nominee Romney, and ultimately President Romney after the November 2012 election.

Residents are already bracing for the good, the bad and the ugly that could accompany a "Northern White House."

The Romney's summer house on New Hampshire's largest lake (pictured below) is a three-story, six-bedroom, 5,400-square-foot contemporary home set on an 11-acre lot with a wide water frontage and estimated value of about $10 million.

The spread includes a large boathouse and a former stable that has been converted into a guesthouse. It sits well back from the road, up a long driveway, invisible to passersby.

The Romney clan, which includes five grown children and 16 grandchildren, often congregate in Wolfeboro in the summer. Empty-nesters Mitt and Ann Romney also own a townhouse in Belmont, Mass., and an oceanfront house in La Jolla, Calif., which is undergoing a fourfold expansion.

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Locals describe the Wolfeboro house, within walking distance of town, as tasteful and classy, which is also pretty much how they describe the owners.

Romney, the former chief executive of buyout firm Bain Capital and Massachusetts governor, is estimated to be worth some $200 million. He is the richest man to run for the White House since publisher and businessman Steve Forbes, who was worth about $430 million when he ran in 1996 and 2000.

Unlike Forbes, who made little headway in his quest, Romney won Tuesday's New Hampshire Republican primary, and is a strong favorite to become his party's nominee and have a fighting chance to take down President Barack Obama.

"We're already talking about how we might change this business if he is the nominee. We know things would change if he's the president," said Judith Colcord, co-owner of the Downtown Grille and Cafe. That might include adding staff or changing operating hours at the stylish coffee shop, with views of the lake from its back room and seasonal patio.

"I would like to talk to businesses in Kennebunkport about how it changed their community," said Colcord, referring to the coastal town in Maine where George H.W. Bush spent large amounts of time while he served as vice president and eventually president.

Almost everyone in Wolfeboro has a story of the Romneys, many about seeing the former Massachusetts governor cycling around town, helmetless (don't touch the hair!) on an old three-speed bike, or going to the town's popular ice-cream stand with various family members.

"I delivered him a pizza once, about five years ago, when he was governor," said Nick Sackos, 22, who works at Dive Winnipesaukee, an outdoor equipment store.

Geo-Caching With the Romneys?

A few hundred yards off the Romney property at Clark's Point is a sunken rowboat, the Bumble Bee, used for "geo-caching" -- a treasure-hunting game that involves finding targets, including submerged objects, using GPS coordinates.

"We go scuba diving right outside his house," Sackos added. "We would probably do even more dives if Romney were president."

Wolfeboro residents insist that they are not starstruck, given the many celebrities who visit the town each summer.

The roster has included actors Drew Barrymore and Leonardo DiCaprio; talk show host Jimmy Fallon; Duke basketball coach Mike Krzyzewski, recruiting at the elite boarding school Brewster Academy; and many current or former corporate executives who either own or rent properties here.

"We love the waterfront people in Wolfeboro. They pay almost 70 percent of the property taxes and don't put kids in the schools," said realtor Robert Hughes. "They are people who can live anywhere -- and this is a very nice 'anywhere.' "

A 2007 vacation in town by French President Nicolas Sarkozy is remembered more critically than interactions with the good-neighbor Romneys. Some locals spoke of an overly aggressive security detail comprised of local law enforcement and private bodyguards while he stayed at a $30,000-a-week rental.

Teachers Joshua and Jennifer Keaton, out walking the family labradoodle, have seen Romney and his wife Ann cycling through town. "One time we saw him at Mise en Place (a local upscale restaurant). Most of the people in town are used to him," Joshua Keaton said.

Driving through downtown takes just a few minutes in the winter, when many stores are shut and summer residents long gone. The town is congested in the summer, and some residents worry about presidential motorcades clogging narrow roads and nosy tourists taking up the good parking spots.

The candidate was introduced to the Wolfeboro area by members of the Marriott hotel clan -- not surprising since Willard Mitt Romney was named after J. Willard Marriott, the devout Mormon businessman who founded the company.

Romney bought the property in 1997 from Butch Cash, another hotel executive, for less than $3 million.

In 2004, realtor Hughes sold Romney, then Massachusetts governor, a small parcel of land abutting the main property. Hughes told him by overnight mail that the piece was available and being keenly sought by developers.

Romney quickly responded. "I dealt with him directly. I had his office phone, his private phone, his cell phone," Hughes recalled from his comfortable Main Street office.

"The residents here take pride in not bothering him. He's not a showy person. He's just a neighbor."

(Reporting by Ros Krasny; editing by Todd Eastham.)

Copyright 2012 Thomson Reuters. Click for restrictions.

Also see:
Mitt Romney: My 3,000-Square-Foot House Is Too Small
Romney's Housing Fix: Let Foreclosures 'Hit Bottom'
Romney Family Home Demolished as Part of Detroit Rejuvenation Plan

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'Billion-Euro Home' Built by Unemployed Artist

Mitt Romney's 'White House North' Could Spur Local Economy