Historic Danville House for sale

A piece of Yuba County history is on the market.

The 139-year-old Danville House is for sale, offering potential buyers to share in a home that has been a community gathering point for decades.

"I am hoping someone will buy the house and will honor it the way we have and the former owners have," said owner Sylvie Cosgrove said. "Whoever is going to have the home, love it as a home but be able to share it with other people because it is a piece of Marysville history."

The Danville House was built in 1870 in District 10 on Highway 70. In the 1950s, Mary Jane and Sam Zall moved the house to Ramirez Road, restored the structure and added a wing on each side.

In 1999, Mary Jane Zall sold the home to owners who began a second renovation, which Sylvie and Dennis Cosgrove finished after they purchased the house in 2007.

Their vision was to turn the home into a residence and family business and eventually host weddings on the 7.72-acre property.

"It was just the perfect setting with the formal garden and the house," Cosgrove said.

The cherry-red front door calls out from a distance, inviting guests up a long tunnel of white oleanders bordering the driveway. Inside the four-bedroom, 3 ½-bathroom house, the high ceilings, hardwood floors and dozens of windows offer a bright, spacious atmosphere.

Oleanders again encircle the backyard, forming a type of outdoor living room that is stylistically typical of its landscape architect, Thomas Church.

But the Cosgroves' idea never came to fruition.

They had checked with Yuba County before they made their offer to make sure the project was feasible. But after renovating and filing a formal application, they were told they still had work to do.

Because of the business, the property would need to be zoned as commercial, said Yuba County Planning Director Wendy Hartman. And that classification demanded sewer, electricity, road and parking improvements, among others.

"For wedding and public gatherings, her biggest issues were with meeting fire and handicap-accessible requirements," she said.

The Cosgroves tried for a while to meet the standards, investing about $40,000, but the improvements looked to cost hundreds of thousands of dollars more, Sylvie Cosgrove said.

"It was a business decision that I could not continue on, trying to meet conditions that had no end," she said. "We had spent every penny that we had trying to get it to work."

And so they said goodbye to their dream, even though there was already enough interest to book the wedding venue through the end of this year.

It would not be impossible for the house to be used commercially, it just needs to meet certain standards, Hartman said.

But former Supervisor Don Schrader said the requirements for the Danville House would be unreasonable and financially unfeasible for almost anyone.

"It's just unfortunate we have reached a point in society and California where we have these kinds of possibilities, but they become impossibilities because of the regulations that have been imposed," he said.

The Cosgroves' experience with the Danville House might be an example of how it is easier to ask for forgiveness than permission, Schrader said.

"Had she not asked for a permit, she probably could have done it forever and no one would have said a word," he said. "It's a prime example in my opinion of what's wrong with California and why California is in such dire economic straits."

The Cosgroves had a great idea that would have widely benefited and enriched the community, but red tape prevented it, Schrader said. And now, the historical home, once used as a community gathering point, likely only has a future as a residence.

"I believe we drove another business out of Yuba County just because of bureaucratic nightmares," Schrader said. "I definitely think the community lost out."

And Sylvie Cosgrove, as disappointed as she is to sacrifice her dream and her investment, said she agrees. The local economy and community loses, too.

"It would have brought business to other businesses, and brought something different to Marysville," she said.

The Danville House has quality construction and many wonderful architectural touches, such as an antique chandelier purchased in Paris and carved marble fireplaces, said Broker Shiela Messick, who is listing the house for $999,950.

"It is absolutely one of a kind," she said. "It could not be replaced for that price."

The property has been for sale since April 2008, likely because of the downturn in the economy and the housing market. But Messick said she is confident the right person will discover the listing, which is featured online and in the Bay Area, and realize the potential.

"The buyers are cautious about making any decision right now," she said. "The value is certainly there and the right buyer will come by and realize that."

Contact Appeal-Democrat reporter Ashley Gebb at 749-4724 or agebb@appealdemocrat.com.