SPIRIT LAKE, Iowa | The Hoien Realty website might undersell Peace Harbor in its description when it calls the place "one of the most astounding properties to ever be offered on West Okoboji."
The word "wow" doesn't do it justice.
Tom and Molly Bedell put the 24,876-square-foot lakefront home up for sale in 2014, indicating they weren't in the Iowa Great Lakes enough to sustain two properties. The couple decided to list Peace Harbor, which they built in 2004.
Peace Harbor was listed at the time for $14.9 million. Asking price is now $10.9 million.
It is a dream home, one that has served the Iowa Great Lakes by hosting a variety of fundraisers for charitable causes. Vince Gill and Amy Grant showed up at Peace Harbor to support the Dickinson County Trails. Kenny Loggins played to raise funds for the Bedell Family YMCA.
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Tom Bedell told the Sioux City Journal in 2014 that, "It's been a wonderful place to entertain and support causes and, hopefully, make a difference in the community."
Peace Harbor features 9 bedrooms and 16 bathrooms. There are a half-dozen fireplace units and garage parking for more than 10 vehicles.
The lakeshore lot measures 178 feet on the shoreline, 227 feet on the road.
It's a place to live and play, of course. When not splashing in the lake, residents can play on the indoor basketball court, or watch a movie in the home theater. There's even an Irish pub inside, one that grew into being after Tom Bedell had his general contractor, architect and cabinetmaker join him in Dublin, Ireland, for one week while they built Peace Harbor.
"My goal was not only to look at the physical nature of the pubs, but to give them a feel for what it means to be Irish," he said.
Tom Bedell is the son of former U.S. Rep. Berkley Bedell and his wife Elinor Bedell, who now reside in Florida. Tom Bedell operated and built Pure Fishing, the business founded by his father, who started taking orders for his fishing tackle enterprise in the 1930s.
Jarden Corp. acquired the Spirit Lake-based company for $400 million in 2007.
Some 191 contractors had a hand in constructing Peace Harbor, which is located at 16216 Highway 86 in Spirit Lake. The residence, which took three years to complete, has 52 rooms, 230 motorized shades or drapes, 30 miles of hard wiring and 2,000 yards of solid concrete.
There's also a separate caretaker's cabin across the road, which features a four-car garage.
In 2009, the Bedells launched a lifestyle brand, Two Old Hippies, which features guitars, apparel and gifts at a site in Nashville, Tennessee.
Tom Bedell launched Bedell Guitars in 1964, as a teen in the Iowa Great Lakes. He re-launched the business in 2009 and one year later acquired a guitar workshop in Bend, Oregon, where he's allowed to work with craftsmen to design instruments, all made in the United States.
