After wrapping up his extravagant estate just west of Texas Christian University in 2004, Len Roberts let neighbors inside to thank them for dealing with five years of construction noise and disruptions.
He remembers introducing his builder, Rick Williams, to visitors at the party as the man he gave an “unlimited budget” to spare no expense.
“And somehow, he found a way to exceed it,” Roberts said.
Roberts, 74, the retired CEO of Fort Worth-based RadioShack, has put his five-bedroom, 10-bathroom home at 4400 Overton Crest St. up for auction as he and his wife downsize to a smaller home. The starting bid will be $2.5 million.
The house is adorned with crystal chandeliers, iron doors, smartphone-controlled lighting and music systems, an elevator that services all three floors and a pool with a pool house.
The estate was designed by architect Don Wheaton. Sandra Sampson Interiors worked on the interior design. It totals 12,000 square feet of livable space as well as 4,000 square feet of unfinished space on the third floor and two separate garages for five cars.
The home is surrounded by a 12-foot wrought-iron gate and 10-foot wrought-iron fence, which were unprecedented for the city that normally does not allow fences higher than four feet. Roberts had to clear that with City Council.
It even has a 12-seat theater room modeled after the now-shuttered Marbro Theatre on the west side of Chicago where Roberts — a Chicago native — and his wife used to go to the movies.
“It was ornate,” Roberts said. “We literally researched and found the plans to the Marbro Theatre, and we duplicated it.”
The estate's theater room was inspired by a now-shuttered theater in Chicago.
“I will tell you this modestly, because as a CEO, of course, I’ve been into many, many homes in the Dallas-Fort Worth area; like many big homes,” Roberts said. “I’ve not seen a home theater like ours.”
The home has views of downtown Fort Worth and the TCU stadium.
“There’s not a lot of properties in Fort Worth that have a view,” said Roberts’ real estate agent, Martha Williams of Williams Trew in Fort Worth. “That’s really hard to find.”
It took five years to build the house, from 1999 to 2004, with each piece of limestone hand-cut. Roberts and his wife Laurie invested $12 million in the property.
Tarrant Appraisal District last appraised the home at $3.5 million. Insurance company AIG quoted the replacement value of the home — what it would cost to rebuild — at $21 million, according to Roberts.
“I think what people are surprised about when they come here, it’s the craftsmanship of the home,” Roberts said.
Roberts led RadioShack as president starting in 1993 and became CEO in 1998. Before that, he led Shoney’s in the early ‘90s and Arby’s in the ‘80s. He also served as chairman of United Way of America.
As an active community leader, CEO and board member of companies including JCPenney, TXU and Rent-A-Center, he built the home wanting to have a bigger house to entertain guests at dinners and galas.
“If you were CEO of any company in Dallas-Fort Worth, you were probably at our home,” Roberts said.
A spiral staircase leads family and guests to three bedrooms on the second floor.
A spiral staircase leads family and guests to three bedrooms on the second floor.(Interluxe Auctions)
Roberts has been retired since 2005 and the couple bought a smaller home in the Mira Vista neighborhood next to the Pecan Valley Golf Course.
“The days of the big dinners and galas are over, and we just wanted to simplify our lives,” Roberts said. “It was our dream home, and it really was time for us to move on.”
Interlux Auctions is marketing the property internationally. The company works with high-net-worth individuals to sell non-distressed homes in fixed timeframes.
“Somebody’s gonna make millions of dollars at this auction, and it won’t be us,” Roberts said. “We don’t expect a return on investment, but that’s fine.”
Buyers are scheduled to see the property in person April 21-23, and the auction will take place online April 24-25.
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Williams struggled to find a buyer for the property when listing the home traditionally before going the auction route. It was listed for $8.9 million.
“I felt like we didn’t really reach the right market,” she said. “It’s an amazing house in a fabulous location. It’s just time for them to move on.”
