A Look Inside the Abandoned Glass Mansion of Leesburg, Virginia

Once owned by a Saudi Prince!!

A Look Inside the Abandoned Glass Mansion of Leesburg, Virginia

The abandoned glass mansion of Leesburg, Virginia is one of the most fascinating stories of real estate and land development, mixed with a little international intrigue. The mansion is a stunning architectural feat of wood and glass, featuring three stories of windows overlooking what used to be a vast estate. 

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Luxury Retreat Turned Abandoned Mansion

Built in the 1980’s, the mansion was obviously a showpiece for entertaining before it became abandoned. The property features a six car garage, designed with a modern “living roof” that has become overgrown to match the rest of the grounds. Luxury touches also include a full bar and an indoor shooting range that can double as a panic room. 

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The story of the abandoned glass mansion begins in 1979, when Prince Talal bin Abdulaziz al Saud bought the 2,000 acre farm formerly owned by radio personality Arthur Godfrey. The Saudi prince paid $6 million for the estate and built the beautiful mansion, keeping the acreage as a retreat for privacy. The prince sold the house and acreage separately in 1996, with the mansion going to an undisclosed buyer.

Rumors have swirled surrounding the 1996 buyer and the current owner of the mansion. Theories about the owner range from a tech entrepreneur whose business ventures went south to a drug lord who abandoned the mansion after a bust. Regardless, the mansion became abandoned in 2003 and has remained unoccupied ever since.

A Golf-Loving Community Touched by Scandal

The estate of the abandoned mansion has an even more complicated past, as many international stakeholders and developers have eyed the land as a potential golf course or resort. However, after almost 50 years since it was sold as farmland, the estate still lies largely undeveloped. 

After the 1996 sale, the estate was turned into the Beacon Hill golf course, designed by PGA champion Johnny Miller. The golf course was created, with the abandoned mansion set to be the glamorous clubhouse on the course, but the venture was ultimately unsuccessful and the course changed hands in the early 2000’s. 

The Beacon Hill golf course ran into further trouble in 2007, when Brett Amendola of Ashburn allegedly carried out a $5 million Ponzi scheme involving a scam to fraudulently sell golf memberships on the estate. Amendola was tried in 2013 and sentenced to 84 months in jail for the Ponzi scheme. The course was again acquired in 2014 for the sum total of $1 plus the back taxes owed on the property. 

Hope for the Long-Abandoned Mansion

The current owner of the golf course, the Beacon Hill Community Association, has again revived talks of a golf community to bring new life to the old estate and abandoned mansion. New investors, as well as current residents nearby, support the efforts to create a world-class golf community in Leesburg, and the developers have recently released a plan to open the golf course once again as early as 2024. For now, the abandoned mansion remains mysterious, looking out over beautiful Loudoun County and waiting for new owners to bring it back to its former luxury.

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