Muhammad Ali's childhood home in Kentucky is for sale for $1.5M. Here's why.
Muhammad Ali's boyhood home in west Louisville, Kentucky, is for sale.
The 1,200-square-foot home and its neighboring properties are for sale through Christie's International Real Estate Bluegrass for $1.5 million. Formerly home to world-renowned boxer and activist Muhammad Ali, the house at 3302 Grand Ave. in the Parkland neighborhood in Louisville was most recently a museum dedicated to Ali's memory until the COVID-19 pandemic caused its shutdown indefinitely.
Though fundraising efforts were attempted, the museum never reopened. Now, the owners are looking to resell the home, built in 1920, along with its neighboring gift shop and welcome center, to "pass the home to a new caretaker, whom they hope will be willing to continue the momentum they started," according to a Christie's news release.
Despite the museum experiencing infrequent success, George Bochetto, one of the home's co-owners, believes "there’s a healthy market for a museum at this site if this home finds an owner with the marketing and operational know-how to launch it.”
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The home's ownership has changed hands a few times, from the Ali family to Jared Weiss in 2012, to a partnership between Weiss and George Bochetto in 2015 and now is on the market for possibly the next big Ali fan. The home has also seen lots of renovation, as previously reported by the Courier Journal, with a $250,000 facelift in 2014 through 19th Century Restorations, a Lawrence, Kansas-based home restoration company.
The museum struggled in past years to monetarily support itself, with disputes about $50,000 the city is said to have contributed to the museum under former Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer, the Courier Journal, part of the Paste BN Network, previously reported.
Reach business intern Bailey Reed at breed1@gannett.com.