C.C. Myers' dream house in the Sierra foothills was listed for sale this week, the latest chapter in the financial downfall of the larger-than-life Sacramento bridge and highway contractor.
The unfinished 8,000-square-foot Placer County home, which Myers lost to foreclosure, was listed for $1.5 million. It features panoramic views, a "media room" accessible only by elevator and an underground tunnel, blasted out of granite, connecting the driveway to the parking garage.
"It's something a 22-year-old pro athlete would come up with," said listing agent Matthew Baughman of Keller Williams Realty in Auburn. "It's that whole house-on-steroids thing."
The house is an unofficial centerpiece of Winchester Country Club in Meadow Vista, the golf course residential development whose troubles forced Myers into filing for personal bankruptcy last year. The entire project was taken over by the banks, and so was Myers' home.
His bankruptcy didn't include his contracting company, C.C. Myers Inc. of Rancho Cordova, which just wrapped up its latest high-profile project – the quicker-than-expected repair of the Bay Bridge over Labor Day weekend. The Myers firm was able to craft a fast fix for a cracked steel beam that threatened to delay the bridge's reopening for at least a day.
As part of the bankruptcy, Myers will lose his 45 percent ownership share of the contracting business. The share is scheduled to be sold to the firm's employee stock ownership plan.
The legendary contractor spent nearly 20 years developing the Winchester project on a 1,200- acre former hunting preserve near I-80. He started construction on his home there in early 2007.
Baughman said Myers probably spent at least $2 million on the house, and the property still needs another $1 million to $2 million to complete.
In a statement released after he filed for bankruptcy, Myers said "it was always a dream to live at Winchester, and it's a dream I'm hoping I can someday make happen."
But his spokeswoman, Beth Ruyak, said the expense of completing the house was too much for Myers and his wife, Janelle. "It was economically unfeasible for them to think about living there," Ruyak said.
Myers is still trying to sell the family's home in the Arden Oaks section of Sacramento. The home was listed for $7.7 million in 2007 but has been reduced to just under $4.5 million. Myers put the home up for sale in order to move to Winchester.
The loan on the Arden Oaks house is in default, according to bankruptcy court records.
Call The Bee's Dale Kasler, (916) 321-1066. Read his blog on the economy, Home Front, at www.sacbee.com/blogs.
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