Find out what's inside this nearly $2M 'boater's paradise' on Harsens Island
For anyone who’s ever wanted to own and live on an island, now's your opportunity.
Star Island, the past site of a hotel in 1875 and the first stop for the Tashmoo Steamer from Detroit in the early 1900s, is for sale for $1.9 million.
Pieces of the island’s rich history can be seen in the historical photos hanging on the main home’s walls and the original wood and plaster from the 1950s. People can also see the current owners' love of water, with a ship portal window and a lobster trap hanging in the boathouse.
“It’s a boater’s paradise,” said Sara Klingler, who owns the St. Clair County property with husband Bob.
The Klinglers, who own Rockford Carving Co. and are past owners of the U.S. Coast Guard ship Bramble, bought the 8729 S. Channel Drive property at the foot of Harsens Island in 1998.
The property was listed for sale this past summer. There is a main house and a guest house, to which the boathouse is attached, that offers a total of seven bedrooms and 5,498 square feet.
There is over 1,000 feet of water frontage. The 180-foot boardwalk offers four pedestals with shore power and water and a private bridge allows people to enter the island, according to the listing.
Before there was a home on the property, it had a three-story hotel with 26 rooms, ultimately growing to 100 rooms, and a 450-person dining room. The hotel burned down in 1918, according to information provided by Melanie Lovati-Thomas, Keller Williams Lakeside Realty Broker Associate.
Joseph Kupke, owner of Kem Lighter Manufacturing Co. in Algonac, built the current home in 1950. He hosted Hollywood elite there and guests included Spencer Tracy and James Cagney, according to Lovati-Thomas.
Kupke died in 1955 and since then there have been a handful of owners, according to Lovati-Thomas.
Original work from 1950 is still present, with the original wood detail on the full wall fireplace, bar, commercial kitchen and more.
“It is sort of a time capsule,” Lovati-Thomas said.
There is an open floor plan for the main home, with a four-season sunroom, dining room and living room with open spaces and views of the St. Clair River. Lovati-Thomas said the floor plan was before its time when rooms were “boxy” in the 1950s.
Klingler said everything’s included in the sale except for the couple’s boats.
“It truly is a turnkey,” Lovati-Thomas said.
Lovati-Thomas said the property is ideally set up for a family compound and for hunting and fishing groups. It can be used year-round or could be a summer home.
It could also be a high-end vacation rental like Vrbo. Lovati-Thomas said once people are out there, it’s party and boat time.
“We’ve had some stellar parties here,” Klingler said.
Her favorite parts of the property are the boathouse and that the property is right on the water. There’s also the 6-foot-deep boat wells in the boathouse that kids can fish out of, rain or shine.
Klingler said the couple knew they wanted to move to Michigan in the 1990s and wanted a spot on the water. It took them about 30 minutes to decide to buy this property, as her husband fell in love with the boathouse.
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But now they’re getting older, they’re downsizing and starting to sell some of their 19 St. Clair County properties, she said.
The couple is keeping a home in Marine City, but Klingler will miss the quietness of the Harsens Island home.
“It’s paradise if you have the time to enjoy it,” she said.
People interested in the property can contact Lovati-Thomas at (810) 650-4349 and melanie@melanielovati.com.
Contact Bryce Airgood at (810) 989-6202 or bairgood@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter @bairgood123.