By STEVE EIGHINGER
Herald-Whig Staff Writer
HANNIBAL, Mo. -- The future of the historic Rockcliffe Mansion is again up in the air.
A $705,000 bid for the site at 1000 Bird has been withdrawn by Stephen and Susan Hritz of suburban Denver, following a brief Sunday visit to the 13,500-square-foot mansion that sits on the northeast side of town.
The bid made by the Hritz family was $5,000 higher than one from Ken and Lisa Marks, a Maplewood couple that has been leasing and living on the property since September. The Markses haven't secured necessary financing in their effort to renovate Rockcliffe and keep it open as a tourist attraction, but they remain confident the funding will materialize.
The Markses have the right of first refusal on all offers for the mansion.
"Tour guests, Hannibal residents and civic leaders have continued to encourage us to keep trying," Lisa Marks told The Herald-Whig today. "So many people want to see us pursue this project. We are dedicating our life to this. This is more than buying a house."
Marks said she and her husband may have given up trying to secure the financing if not for support from the community, but she vowed they will continue to work with attorney John Hodge, a bankruptcy trustee with Weiner Weiss and Madison in Shreveport, La., to get a funding blueprint in place.
The Markses filed a letter of intent to buy the mansion dated July 28 with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for Western Louisiana in Shreveport, after Rockcliffe owner Rick Rose filed for Chapter 13 bankruptcy April 30. The Markses made a $10,000 deposit.
"We still feel we can get the financing," Lisa Marks said. "Our game plan remains the same. We want to be here."
In addition to Rockcliffe Mansion, the bankruptcy filing also included properties at 301 N. Fifth, which houses the Garden House Bed and Breakfast, and 512-514 N. Fifth, a rental property that as of May was being purchased through a contract for deed.
Lisa Marks said she was surprised the Hritz family withdrew its bid. She said the Hritzes also wanted to preserve the mansion and keep it open as a tourist attraction.
"We met with them for one or two hours Sunday," she said. "They gave no indication (they would be withdrawing the offer)."
Rockcliffe Mansion is on the National Register of Historic Places. Originally known as the Cruikshank Mansion, it was built by the J.J. Cruikshank family between 1898 and 1900 for $250,000. Cruikshank was a lumber baron.
-- seighinger@whig.com/221-3377
