Benjamin Ames Kimball

Castle will be reborn as an inn.
By Beth Cote

GILFORD - The developers wanting to turn 99-year-old Kimball Castle into a resort inn and restaurant have been missing just one key building material: money.

After a four-year search, they announced yesterday they have found the $3 million needed.

"Looking for funding for a building like this isn't like just walking into your local bank and asking for a loan," said Don Leavitt.  "But we did that, too."

Leavitt said a firm in Atlanta called American Money Network would lend him and his partner, Rick Miller, the balance of what hadn't been raised from local investors.

The German-inspired "castle" sits at the top of Lockes Hill Road off Route 11 and features nearly 360-degree views of the lakes.  Built by Concord-based railroad tycoon Benjamin Kimball in 1897, the home has been gutted, looted and desecrated by vandals since Kimball's last relative died in the 1960s.

Leavitt, whose Historic Inns of New England also owns the Red Hill Inn of Center Harbor, said an addition to the castle would double its size.  Plans call for a restaurant, lounge and 20 guest rooms, each with a whirlpool and fireplace.

To help find the money for their dream inn, Leavitt and Miller called in Kevin Boyle, who specializes in "financing projects that are not attractive to the normal financing channels."

Boyle said he started by researching castle financing. "The last castle deal was in 1470, during the Crusades," he joked, pointing out the uniqueness of the Gilford project.

It's been a long time coming, with several other uses - like a nature preserve for children - being abandoned.  "We were patient and we found someone to restore it," said Gilford Selectman Phil LaBonte.

Leavitt and Miller were chosen by the town to develop the property in 1990; the search for financing began in 1992.

Leavitt said restoration work would begin in October and continue through the winter with a summer opening planned.  Room rates would be between $125 to $200 a night, which Leavitt said is low end for luxury lodgings.

He said the public would be welcome to visit for the views and walk on the trails being carved out of the town's adjacent 220-acre parcel.  But Leavitt warned that visitors to the castle grounds before its official opening would be trespassing.

To much damage has been done and too many hazards are present to allow people to wander around up there.

©2004 Peter K Kimball