KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — What's billed as the largest home in Tennessee has a new owner.
Records show Villa Collina's new owner, a limited liability company, is linked to an Afghanistan man who sued the seller, Eric W. Barton, in a business dispute.
A public relations release Wednesday stated the transaction was for $11 million. Knox County records list the amount as $10.5 million, according to Knox County Register of Deeds Nick McBride.
Barton, the previous owner, announced the sale of Villa Collina on Lyons View Pike in the release.
The home is a 40,250 square-foot estate with views of Fort Loudoun Lake and the Great Smoky Mountains. It also has a grand foyer, a tri-level library, a wine cellar, a fitness center, a spa, a sauna, an entertainment center, a six-car garage and an elevator.
The sprawling building also includes guest suites and staff quarters, according to a release from officials. There are also eight bedrooms, 11 full baths, five half-baths as well as indoor and outdoor pools. It was built with gold faucets, hand-painted toilet bowls and Turkish Afyon sugar marble.
The mansion also has hidden passageways and secret doors, according to officials. Construction on the house began in 1995 and ended in 2000. The original owners sold the property in 2011 for $8.5 million, including the furniture or an additional $1 million.
Deed records identify the owner as Resolution Systems LLC, an entity that was created this summer.
Its sole member is identified as Shafiqullah Koshani.
In 2017, Shafiqullah Koshani of Afghanistan sued Barton in federal court in Knoxville in a business dispute. Koshani had been a business partner of Barton.
Koshani won a $33 million verdict against Barton in 2019, records show. Koshani then sought through legal action in the court to force payment of the verdict.
Federal court records indicate the dispute was resolved this month.
Resolution Systems LLC was created July 28, records on file in Knox County show. Koshani is the sole member, documents state.
Property transfer records were submitted Wednesday, moving the property from from Villa Collina LLC to Resolution Systems LLC, McBride said.
“I’m honored to have been able to open the doors of Villa Collina for numerous fundraisers, celebrations and other events that benefited our community and local nonprofits,” Barton said in Wednesday's release. “Villa Collina provides the perfect location to entertain and impress guests while raising money in support of East Tennessee charities. In just a few years, we were able to raise millions of dollars to help many worthwhile organizations.”
It was valued at around $13.8 million before it was put up for auction in 2016. It was put up as a cash sale. Knox County and Knoxville property taxes will run the owner more than $100,000 each year, on top of hefty utility bills.
Its address is 5628 Lyons View Pike, between Sequoyah Hills and Lakeshore Park.