Renovations underway to turn decaying KCK castle into wedding venue, event space
Kansas City, Kansas’s, designated haunted mansion is getting a multi-million dollar facelift, and plans to make it available for public use are moving down the line.
A Kansas-based family plans to transform the long-decaying Sauer Castle – an Italian-inspired estate reminiscent of days and affluence long past – into an event venue that features a bar and short-term lodging.
Their initial renovations are already underway, and earlier this week the city planning commission approved a series of items related to the project, including altering its zoning designation and permitting the property to host events and overnight stays when restoration is complete. Those items will go before county commissioners in coming weeks, and the hope is that the $8 million restoration will be completed sometime in 2026.
A representative from Strata Architecture and Preservation, tasked with designing the project, presented a rendering depicting an addition that would include restrooms and a community kitchen, as well as grounds with public parking with ADA access, an indoor and outdoor venue space, gazebo, patio overlook and pedestrian access suited for 180 guests.
Neighbors, although excited to see a cleanup that will present new opportunities for the property and public access, did ask that the local government and development team be mindful of heavy traffic and noise transmission from the property during private events.
Mike Heitmann, who now owns the property and is leading site work, said the last thing he wants to do is disrupt his neighbors.
He said strategies limiting public disruption are factored into the design scheme, that operating hours will be limited to 11 p.m. on weekend evenings and that security will be on site or otherwise accessible to respond to neighborhood complaints or anyone creating a disturbance connected to alcohol served on the premises.
Change of the guard
Plans to convert the historic home situated at 935 Shawnee Road into a place for weddings, community events and private gatherings are a far cry from the deteriorating structure that has long been an eyesore for Wyandotte County residents.
The home, which dates back to the 1870s, fell into disrepair over the past several decades, and just three years ago had visible storm damage, rotting wood, vandalism, shattered windows and had a notice plastered to a window saying it was an unfit place to live.
The Unified Government of Wyandotte County and Kansas City, Kansas, long struggled to rip the property from its longtime owner, a descendant of the property’s namesake who racked up thousands in delinquent taxes and violation fees.
Carl Lopp, repeatedly since taking ownership of the property in 1988, promised to rehabilitate the facility with little to show for, one Unified Government commissioner told The Star. Lopp told The Star in 2022 that he wanted to retain ownership of the property, which he said was sturdy in structure, to keep it in his family.
He eventually sold the property to Sauer Castle, LLC, in 2023, although it’s not immediately clear what caused him to finally cave. The LLC is owned by Heitmann, who retired as president and chief executive officer of billion-dollar company Garney Construction during the spring of 2024.
Heitmann and his family quietly introduced themselves to residents in a 2023 social media post as the castle’s new owners, and site work to stabilize and weather-proof the property started in the months after.
The family now provides regular updates on projects in a private Facebook group. Site work completed on the castle included readying it for winter weather, strengthening its foundation, preparing for reconstruction of its three porches, reinstalling the steps and restoring two stone lions that perch outside its entryway, according to those updates. They also revitalized the building’s main tower, fixed the roof and reinforced both with copper linings.
“My first goal was to save the castle, and we’ve done that,” Heitmann told the planning commission. “And my second goal is to set up the castle to be sustainable.”
This story was originally published June 11, 2025 at 6:00 AM.
