Retired race car driver Richard Berry hopes the third time’s the charm after listing his custom-designed Evergreen mansion on 75 acres for $19 million.
Building the 23,000-square-foot retreat known as Thunder Ridge has been a labor of love for Berry. He bought the land on the 24500 block of Chris Drive in Evergreen in 1998 for $895,000.
First, he built a 10,000-square-foot shop for his car collection. Then, he spent over $30 million to build the mansion with assistance from Boulder-based KGA Studio Architects and Denver-based Sprung Construction.
Before designing the home, the architect camped on the property to get the “feng shui of the property,” Berry said.
Unlike previous homes he owned in the area, this house has a southern exposure.
“It’s a drastic change from being on a northeast exposure,” Berry said. “It felt like I moved from the Canadian border to the Mexican border. It makes a huge difference.”
When Berry built the home in 2004, he moved in with his family, including 7-year-old triplets. Now that they’ve grown and moved on, he’s ready to move on, too.
He initially listed the mansion for nearly $20 million in December 2019 before pulling it off the market during the pandemic. He relisted it for $24.8 million in November 2022 and lowered the price four times to $18.9 million in October 2023 before pulling it off the market in November 2023.
He listed it again on Sept. 12 for the same price.
“I haven’t been in the biggest hurry to sell,” he said. “If the right person comes along, we’ll work a deal.”
The 22,864-square-foot mansion has seven bedrooms and 16 bathrooms. The primary suite, which occupies the second floor, includes a steam shower and a massive walk-in closet.
Other highlights include:
• Movie theater with a 200-inch screen, a 50,000-watt sound system, and D-Box Emersion motion seats;
• Professional-grade, full-size elevator;
• Playboy mansion-inspired indoor pool with a waterfall and grotto.
• Laundry rooms on each of the home’s three levels;
• Kitchen with a double island;
• In-home beauty salon;
• Dog-grooming room with a shower and a dryer big enough for a Great Dane.
Berry said the home’s oversized rooms make it easy for a new owner to make any desired changes or renovations.
Berry, an investor and car enthusiast, was a driver, sponsor and team owner in the American Le Mans series from 2002 to 2009.
His grandfather, Loren Murphy Berry, was known as “Mr. Yellow Pages” for inventing the telephone book and founding the L. M. Berry & Company. It was sold to BellSouth Corp. in 1986.
Berry, who once owned more than 200 vehicles, expanded the property’s original car shop into a 27,411-square-foot hangar-style space with a car wash and professional-grade mechanic’s equipment.
A new owner could keep the car shop or turn the roughly football-field-sized building into something else.
“There are 100 things you could turn my car hangar into,” Berry said. “The possibilities are truly endless. You could put in a hockey rink or a tennis court. There’s nothing you can’t do there.”
Listing agent Sean Endsley with Liv Sotheby’s International Realty said the home’s new owner could convert the climate-controlled hangar with radiant heating into an art gallery, sports complex, corporate retreat or equestrian barn. It also has a concert-level sound system and lighting.
“There are so many creative things you could do with that space besides having the rock star house,” Endsley said.
He’s confident the time’s right to find a buyer for the property.
“The market’s changed quite a bit since the pandemic,” Endsley said. “Now the market’s ready for it.”
He said the gated property in Evergreen offers solitude, security and privacy, which could make the home appealing for entertainers, athletes or government officials.
“It’s a trophy property that would be ideal for anyone who would enjoy the privacy,” he said.
Berry, who plans to stay in the Denver area, anticipates building another home or extensively remodeling one. He knows he wants space for at least eight cars, a pool and a home theater with a serious sound system.
“I want to feel my music,” he said. “I want it to rattle me to the core.”
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