The distinctive “castle house,” as many who drive by on the Kennedy Expressway call it, will finally get some royal residents.
The hulking gray stone home, perched near the Addison Street exit, comes complete with battlements, a three-story tower that overlooks the highway and, at the top, a medieval coat of arms bearing the name “Acosta.”
The home at 3721 N. Parkview Terrace sat empty and unfinished since construction began about 10 years, said its new owner, attorney Anthony Panzica Sr. Panzica said he will finish the 7,000-square-foot, five-bedroom home and give it to some relatives.
The castle’s original owner, Rudy Acosta, a rap impresario known as King Rudy, designed it to be his dream home but lost it to foreclosure, Panzica said.
In the heyday of the real estate market, Acosta was flipping homes with help from Panzica, a real estate attorney.
After the market collapsed in 2007, Acosta had to give up his castle. Panzica bought it in November 2013 when the foreclosure proceedings ended. Getting permits and the right contractor took over a year, so construction resumed in January.
“I know the building,” Panzica said. “A lot of people don’t want to fool with it. I know what the game is, I bought it and got it.”
It won’t be back on the market until after he’s dead, Panzica said. “Come back in 40 years. It ain’t gonna happen,” he said he tells people interested in buying.
He wouldn’t say how much he paid for the house, which went on the market in 2010 for $1.9 million. Panzica said it would cost between $600,000 and $700,000 to finish it, a project that could take until December.
Panzica said the massive home isn’t popular in the neighborhood, but neighbors on Monday just seemed glad someone would be moving in.
“I’m good with it,” said Jay Martinez, who lives across the street. People concerned about the house’s funky look “should mind their own business,” he said.
Inside, the home has arched doorways, a basement movie theater, a marble sauna and a master suite that spans the entire third floor.
“It was up to the drywall. We are trying to finish it,” Panzica said.
Heavy-duty insulation and windows keep most of the expressway noise out, but the cars zipping – or crawling — by are visible from most windows.
Panzica chose his own finishes, but he’s adhering to Acosta’s plans — minus a $35,000 pizza oven.
Once furnished, the decor won’t be medieval, Panzica said. Instead, it will have more of a “Scarface” look.
But Panzica will keep the Acosta crest.
“I’m going to keep it because if it wasn’t for him the house wouldn’t have been built,” he said.
