What lengths would you go to for your dream house?
Would you move to another country? How about remodeling the interior of a space that was never meant to be a home at all?
For the Americans who invited CNBC Make It into their homes for an Unlocked tour, thinking outside the box helped them turn unexpected spaces like abandoned lighthouses, old baseball stadiums and decrepit Italian properties into the homes of their dreams.
Take a look inside some of the most unique homes we’ve toured and learn how they came to be.
An abandoned baseball stadium is now a $14 million luxury apartment complex
The Stadium Lofts has 138 units and Stadium Flats, the four-building complex next door, has 144.
Michael Potter for CNBC Make It
When Michael Cox first told people about his plan to convert a former Indianapolis baseball stadium into a 138-unit apartment complex, they thought he was crazy.
But after a $14 million renovation and remodeling, Stadium Lofts is now one of the most unique apartment complexes in the city.
The former stadium, which was home to the Indianapolis Indians from 1931 to 1996 before eventually falling into disrepair, was in danger of being torn down before Cox’s plan was put into effect.
Along with business partner John Watson and his two sons, Cox acquired the landmark property for just $1.
The stadium’s renovation began in August 2011 and was completed in a little under two years. By the time it opened in July 2013, all 138 apartments had been leased.
It was converted into 95 one-bedroom apartments, 26 two-bedroom apartments, and 17 lofts. Rent in the complex ranges from $900 to $1,700 and each apartment has a washer and dryer.
The developers made sure to keep certain features in honor of the ballpark’s past, including the original scoreboard, old ticket booths and press box. They even put bases back on the field.
“We designed it such that when you walked in, you felt like you were walking into a historic stadium rather than an apartment building,” Watson said.
They turned an old school into a 31-unit apartment building
“Bowtie High” was converted into a 31-unit apartment building.
Alexis Zakis
Jesse Wig never set out to remodel an abandoned school, but when he was approached with an off-market deal to buy the property in 2019 he was intrigued by the space’s potential.
After enlisting real estate investor Adam Colucci and developer Dan Spanovich, the trio bought the abandoned Bowtie High for $100,000. They embarked on an 18-month renovation beginning in 2020 to turn it into an apartment building.
The $3.3 million renovation’s price tag was more than they ever expected to pay, but once leasing began they reached full occupancy within six months.
Monthly rent for one-bedrooms in the building starts at $1,400, while two-bedrooms start at $1,600.
Some units that used to be classrooms have the original chalkboards and an enviable amount of natural light, thanks to massive windows throughout the space.
Apartments are also equipped with stainless steel appliances, in-unit washers and dryers, and walk-in closets.
After Bowtie High, the team decided to buy and renovate the abandoned school across the street, turning it into a 33-unit apartment building with amenities like a rooftop deck, indoor parking and lounge.
A pilot pays $4,000/month to live in a residential airpark
Sobczak bought the house for $698,000 and has a monthly mortgage of $4,000.
Katie Tarasov. Photo by CNBC Make It
When test pilot Joe Sobczak was looking for a new home, he wasn’t worried about square footage or backyard space. Instead, he wanted a property where he could keep his plane.
In 2017, he found what he was looking for at a residential airpark at the Pine Mountain Lake Airport and bought his 3-bedroom, 7-bathroom, 5,000-square-foot home with a 3,600-square-foot hangar for $698,000.
The community where he lives has dozens of homes with hangars, each with their own deeded access to uses the taxiways and runways at the Tuolumne County airport.
As a test pilot, Sobczak works primarily out of the San Francisco International Airport (SFO). Instead of doing the three-hour drive, he jumps in one of his airplanes and takes a 45-minute flight to nearby San Carlos Airport and drives 15 minutes to SFO.
Although Sobczak owns three homes, he calls this one his favorite. The former U.S. Air Force fighter jet pilot is an expert at the rural lifestyle and has no plans to leave anytime soon.
“I plan on being here for quite a while,” he says. “I can live up here. Fly airplanes. Stay out of the congestion of the Bay Area. Breathe the fresh air and take a trip to Yosemite in 30 minutes. It’s all the justification I need.”
She bought an old lighthouse for $71,000 and spent $300,000 turning it into a home
The Fairport Harbor West Lighthouse is located in Ohio and overlooks Lake Erie.
Peter Bittner for CNBC Make It
In 2009, Sheila Consaul’s search for a second home took an unexpected turn. Though the 65-year-old communications consultant was originally looking for a normal house, when she learned that the U.S. government was auctioning off lighthouses she was immediately interested.
Congress passed the National Historic Lighthouse Preservation Act in 2000. It allows the government to auction or give away “federally-owned historic light stations that have been declared excess to the needs of the responsible agency.”
Consaul had previously restored a historic home and was intrigued by the challenges that renovating a lighthouse would pose.
Built in 1925, the three-story lighthouse has three bedrooms, three bathrooms and is almost 3,000 square feet. Consaul is the first person to live in the lighthouse since it was abandoned in the late 1940s.
She lives in the lighthouse from May to October and it sits empty when she’s at her primary home outside of Washington D.C.
Consaul started renovating in the summer of 2012, and over 10 years later, the project is almost done. “The renovation process has been long and arduous,” she said.
The property is a half mile from the nearest parking lot in Headlands Beach State Park, so big appliances like the stove and refrigerator needed to be transported by boat and then delivered by crane onto the platform of the lighthouse.
Despite going over her initial $200,000 renovation budget, for Consaul the time and effort has been worth it. “This was a great challenge, a great opportunity, and I loved every minute of it,” she said.
These Americans bought an abandoned home in Italy for $1 and spent $35,000 renovating it
Rubia Daniels has three dream projects: a vacation home, a restaurant and a wellness center.
Courtesy of Rubia Daniels
Rubia Daniels was thrilled at the chance to purchase a building in Sicility for the low price of 1 euro. The only catch? The property had extensive mold, water damage, a termite infestation and a collapsed roof.
The deal was part of an Italian initiative to attract foreign investors in towns with dwindling populations. In exchange for the symbolic price tag, homebuyers are expected to renovate their homes within three years.
Daniels told Make It that she didn’t just see endless amounts of work in front of her when she looked at the three run down buildings she purchased. Instead, she visualized the final result of a trio of dream projects: a vacation home, a restaurant and a wellness center.
Daniels is building the house of her dreams, “which I wouldn’t be able to do back in California because the cost would be much higher,” she said. Daniels plans to visit her Italian home for vacations and split her time between California and Sicily in retirement.
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