Residents near 2600 East and 6200 South may soon be neighbors to what is likely Utah's largest residence - a home with more than 60 rooms on a 14-acre estate.
The 35,000-square-foot home, estimated by sources to cost as much as $10 million, is being built in an area that has long been a haven for Utah's wealthy.Next door, the exclusive Roselans subdivision has been the recent site for some of Utah's most expensive luxury homes. Just a few miles away, the Walker Lane area boasts an estate where Utah's first private swimming pool was constructed.
Plans for this South African Cape Dutch-style house, one of three in the nation using the unique architectural style, shows everything from a bowling alley to an elevator and two swimming pools.
The home's front exposure measures three-quarters of a football field in length. The living room, with a ceiling that rises into the second story, is nearly 900 square feet - as big as the main level of many area starter homes.
The home is being built by Ralph Falk II, 71, and his third wife, Patricia, 46. Mrs. Falk is a Utah native and the Falks, including six children, have divided their time between Chicago and Salt Lake City for quite some time, according to Mr. Falk's attorney, Melvin L. Katten.Falk inherited a fortune estimated at more than $70 million when his mother died in 1990. He received $10 million when his father died in 1960. His father, Dr. Ralph Falk, help found Baxter International, the nation's largest hospital-supply firm, after developing and marketing intravenous solutions while a physician in Boise. The family and the firm eventually moved to Chicago.
After his father's death, Ralph Falk II succeeded him as the chairman of Baxter International. He retired some 13 years ago but remained on the company's board of directors until last June, a Baxter spokesman said.
The Falks have shrouded the building of their mansion in secrecy. The family, saying they want to protect their family's privacy, have kept architects, contractors and subcontractors across the nation from speaking with the media about the project. At the construction site, a security guard is posted to keep out the curious.
Because of the secrecy, the Deseret News has relied on public records and previous newspaper reports, including a lengthy Wall Street Journal article published about Falk in 1991, to document the Falks and their mansion.
After some 15 months of construction, only the foundations and footings of the new home are evident. County officials say there has been no opposition to the project, and they have no rules that would restrict how large a home can be.
Documents filed with Salt Lake County show an expansive, two-story mansion with a full basement. The main house, with an east and west wing, is surrounded by terraces, a swimming pool and a whirlpool and a 3,000-square-foot guest house complete with an underground tunnel to the main house.
Inside the main-house basement, the Falks will have a complete recreation facility with sauna, exercise room, bowling alley, game room and lap pool. The basement will have wine and china storage. A dumbwaiter from the upstairs kitchen will serve the three floors.
Along with the oversized living room, plans for the main level show a library, dining room designed to seat 14, a library, an office, guest bedroom and a staff sitting room.
Two stairways and an elevator lead to the second floor - the family and staff living area - that includes a master sitting room, master bedroom, separate baths for Mr. and Mrs. Falk and a "cabin room." Plans call for Mrs. Falk to have her own dressing room, gown closet and shoe closet. The east wing of the second floor will also house the full-time staff, who will man the commercial kitchen complete with walk-in refrigerator.
Although the Falks have yet to file for a building permit, the 3-inch-thick set of plans on file show unusual detail on everything from the tile floors to the wood-paneled bathtubs and specially designed vanity cabinets planned for the bathrooms.
The unique architecture of the home includes an 18-inch-thick thatched roof. Unconfirmed reports say that Falk flew in artisans from England to teach locals how to install the thatch. A mock-up of the house was built to test materials, including how the thatch will hold up to Utah winters.
As for whether the house will be the largest ever built in Utah, a cursory check of Utah's wealthy in Summit and Washington counties shows no houses larger than the planned Falk home.
According to the Wall Street Journal, the new home is linked to Falk's interest in architecture.
In 1976, Falk built an extravagant replica of an 18th-century Georgian mansion on five acres in the posh Chicago suburb of Lake Forest. It also includes modern touches such as ice-melting cables in the rain gutters, an elevator and tennis court. The house cost $8.5 million to build, according to court records, but sold for not quite $4 million. He donated a $200,000 scale model of the house to Chicago's Museum of Science and Industry.
Later, Falk bought a three-story, pink, Mediterranean-style house on Lake Michigan, where the family stays when in Illinois.
Mrs. Falk is registered to vote in Salt Lake County, and a condominium in Salt Lake City and two homes in South Cottonwood and East Millcreek are listed in her name. Mrs. Falk is also listed on the land title where the new home is being built. Salt Lake County has placed the value of the estate property at $2.1 million, according to public records.