WEST LINN, Ore. (KOIN) — For some 30 years, locals and boaters along a popular spot on Oregon’s Willamette River have been staring at a 50,000-plus-square-foot home, unsure of what to think.

It’s unfinished, fenced in, and the open-air structure towers over 31 acres that include 2,700 feet of prime riverfront in an area affectionately called “Peach Cove.”

“Being a kid, I would drive the boat and look at it from the river,” said Jason Mendell.

The high-profile realtor never thought he’d actually list the home, yet now he’s fielding calls from all kinds of folks trying to figure out the property’s potential.

“Entrepreneurs, pro-athletes, business owners, and people trying to figure out what you could do with this,” he told Nexstar’s KOIN on a recent summer day.

The home’s specs are massive, and Mendell said if it’s ever completed, it would be the largest mansion in Oregon by far.

The listing includes nine bedrooms, 18 bathrooms, multiple garages for dozens of show cars and other toys. There’s a massive gymnasium or event space, too, which could include a full-size basketball court. Original plans called for two pools.

“There’s obviously only a certain amount of people that can afford a home like this, and they’ve got to have the vision to be able to finish it off,” says Mendell.

Ask around, though, and it doesn’t take long to learn there’s much more to the larger story.

“He said, ‘Would you like to build a home for me?’” says Tom Avgerakis.

The longtime home builder is referring to Mark Wattles, the founder and one-time boss of Hollywood Video, which grew to be the second-biggest video store chain in the country in the 1990s and 2000s.

Avgerakis remembers when Wattles first showed him the architectural sketches.

“He rolled them out, and I went ‘Oh, okay.’ The challenge was thrown out, and we can do it,” he said.

At first, Avgerakis said construction moved swiftly, with 50-plus workers on site moving dirt and using high-grade Oregon lumber to erect the frame.

Then, as 1996 became 1997, construction stalled, and “We anticipated a short amount of time off, but it just grew and grew and grew.”

He said that as the owner moved on to other businesses and eventually moved away, they kept up general maintenance and even planted acres of berries.

The property was eventually unloaded at auction, and it has changed hands a couple of times over the years, but no one has ever fully built it out.

“It’s a diamond in the rough. It’s just incredible,” said Avgerakis.

He hopes to be involved if the project is ever completed, and said much of the original woodwork remains in good condition even if other elements have deteriorated over the years. The current owner recently installed a new roof.

Mendell said they’re talking to potential buyers about “what could be,” whether it’s a private estate, high-end senior living facility or even a vineyard.

“It’s 31 acres of prime real estate that’s unique,” he said.

The asking price is $4.7 million.

The property is deemed Exclusive Farm Use (EFU), according to Clackamas County records.

A spokesperson told Nexstar’s KOIN that it’s approved for the one home but that anything like a larger care facility wouldn’t be allowed unless there was a zoning change.

PROVO — The preliminary hearing for Tyler Robinson is expected to wrap up Friday morning in Provo. But it will still be several weeks before a decision is made on whether there is enough probable cause to bind him over for trial.

Robinson, 23, is charged with 10 crimes, the most serious being aggravated murder, in the death of conservative political activist Charlie Kirk, who was shot and killed on the campus of Utah Valley University on Sept. 10, 2025. A preliminary hearing is held to determine whether there is sufficient probable cause to go to trial on the charges levied against a defendant.

The Utah County Attorney’s Office finished calling their witnesses to testify on Thursday. Robinson’s defense team, who have already called two forensic experts from the FBI and ATF to testify, are expected to call one more on Friday before resting. Robinson has been attempting to cast doubt on the reliability of DNA testing, arguing that test results are subjective.

Prosecutors have objected several times to the line of questioning, arguing that it falls well outside the bounds of what is needed for a preliminary hearing. Even 4th District Judge Tony Graf warned defense attorney Michael Burt on Thursday during one line of questioning, “I feel we are exiting the orbit of probable cause.”

At the end of a preliminary hearing, both sides typically give closing arguments, and the judge decides if there is enough evidence for a defendant to proceed to trial. On Thursday, Graf granted a defense motion for each side to first submit briefs summarizing their arguments. The state will submit its brief by July 28, followed by the defense’s reply on Aug. 11 and the state’s rebuttal on Aug. 18. After that, another hearing will be held on Sept. 1 for both sides to present their cases in court.

Also on Thursday, portions of the video interview of Robinson’s roommate and boyfriend at the time of Kirk’s death, Lance Twiggs, were shown to the courtroom after much debate.

In addition, screenshots of the text messages exchanged between Twiggs and Robinson, a note Robinson left for Twiggs and messages on Discord that Robinson allegedly sent to his friend group prior to turning himself in, were all displayed in court.

For each piece of evidence introduced during the week-long hearing, Graf has had to decide:

1. Whether to admit that evidence into the record;
2. Whether that evidence should be shown to everyone in the courtroom;
3. Whether that evidence can be filmed by the livestream camera broadcasting the hearing.

Robinson’s defense team remains adamant that broadcasting evidence to people outside the courtroom will jeopardize their client’s right to a fair trial by prejudging a future jury pool. Prosecutors want the evidence shown to everyone for the sake of transparency. Graf has compromised on several pieces of evidence by allowing them to be displayed to people in the courtroom but not on the livestream feed.

The extended debates over what evidence can be shown to the public and what is only viewed by attorneys and the judge have prompted Jeff Neiman, the attorney for Erika Kirk and the Kirk family, to address the courtroom several times, both in person and in a briefing filed Wednesday night, calling on the court to make all evidence public.

“For 10 months, the victim’s family has waited for this preliminary hearing. Erika Kirk, the widow of Charlie Kirk, and his grieving parents traveled to this courtroom for one reason: to be present at these proceedings and to bear witness to the evidence concerning the death of their husband and son. At certain points throughout the preliminary hearing, the Kirk family sat in the room while evidence was admitted but not presented for their viewing. They were present in body, yet denied the very thing their presence was meant to secure: their ability to meaningfully observe the preliminary hearing,” Neiman said. “The victim’s family’s position is simple. At a minimum, every exhibit entered into evidence during the preliminary hearing must be visible to every person lawfully present in the courtroom.”

Erika Kirk and Charlie Kirk’s parents have been in the courtroom all week for the preliminary hearing.

At Neiman’s request, Graf agreed that at the end of court on Friday, he will show to the courtroom only the enhanced UVU surveillance video allegedly showing Robinson’s movements across the roof of the Losee Center and when he drops off the roof and runs to a wooded area off Campus Drive. The video includes moments in which film editors zoom in on the alleged gunman and impose a red circle around him to make it easier to view. The video was originally submitted as evidence but was only shown to Graf and attorneys.

Friday’s hearing begins at 9 a.m. Watch it livestreamed here:

2025

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