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Were Scrapped Van Dyke Mansion Parts Intended for Ohio Buyer's Lake House?

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Photos taken last winter. Credit Jessica Lundgren McCarthy, Lundgren Photography

For those still upset over last week's tragic scrapping story at the Van Dyke mansion, we are about to reveal some information to depress you further. Sorry! We were informed yesterday via an anonymous tip about the intentions of the Ohio-resident buyer, Michael Mallet, who paid $115 K last month in a cash sale. Our source says Mallet was stripping it to use the parts on his lake house near Port Clinton, which is located on Lake Erie in Ohio. His source was an employee of T&T Construction, the company that had six workers on site last week, two of which were arrested.

Public records for Ottawa County show Michael H Mallett owns 3540 N. Surfside in Port Clinton. There is no google streetview of the property but there are definitely large lakeside estates in the area.

The T&T employee told our tipster that, on the day of the arrest last week, most of what Mallett wanted, which was woodwork made of something called Tigerwood (not just the name of a golfer, so it seems) had already been removed. The employee working on the site did not know that removing materials without permits or approval from the Historic District was not allowed at the time. Last week's arrest resulted from neighbors calling the police after limestone was removed from the exterior. Mallet tried to tell the Freep that the T&T crew was just repairing leaks.

So what happens now? Fans of the mansion will want to see all the parts returned but we have no idea how far they made it on this alleged trip south on I-75. As for Mallet's Lake Erie house, sounds like it just got a lot more boring. Maybe he should try actually living in an amazeballs Detroit mansion if Ohio cannot build him something to his liking. We have waterfront property too. Just ask Kid Rock.

· All Previous Curbed Coverage of the Van Dyke Place Mansion [Curbed Detroit]
· The elegant lives of a Van Dyke mansion [The Detroit News]