what happened to the house on 4700 Everest Dr? (Cool: bankruptcy, gated)

[blue_915_tib]

While on a random cruise today on the west side, I ended up turning off on Castellano Dr and some how ended up on a narrow road headed up the mountain when i came across the mansion at the end of the street that looks to have an incredible view of west el paso and juarez. It doesn't appear to be old but there was a kind of "weird" feeling when i drove by it. here is a link to the house. Both the front and back doors are off the house and you can see thru the house... google maps says this photo was taken in 2011 so a lot has happened in 4 years. the house is gated and has a no trespassing sign on the fence.

https://maps.google.com/maps?ll=31.8...lassic&dg=ntvb

[katzpaw]

It was originally a private development on a private road.

http://www.city-data.com/forum/el-pa...shasta-dr.html

"He had built a system to pump water up to the homes at the top of his development. The city gave him the necessary permits.

But after he had begun to sell lots and to build his own home, he got a shock from the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality: His water system had no reserve at the top that would maintain water pressure long enough for firefights to put out a good-sized fire. Cost estimates to fix the problem ran to $900,000.

Everything came to a halt. People who had bought lots couldn’t build. Woodahl stopped work on his own place. In February 2004, facing bills of $2 million and bankruptcy, Woodahl took his own life. He was 72 years old."

[Violet West]

what katzpaw says is accurate. I lived opposite that house for 10 years while living at Kings Hill. I could see cars going up there all the time, only to turn around in disappointment when they hit that dead end and really no place for a view because the house is blocking it. Cops would go up there too and sit for long periods (maybe looking down into the little dell to the west).

Cool pic on Google, because I never went up there to look at the house.

Right now it's a blighted site. I suppose someone could install water harvesting systems up there for that house, but it's really hard to survive like that on 9 inches of rain annually. I guess the house could be moved to another location. That would be a nice spot for an overlook park maybe.

[skilo]

Does the owner have to pay property taxes on that?

[Violet West]

sure - whoever the owner is