Asheville’s Kells Castle hits market for nearly $2 million

A rare Douglas Ellington-designed Asheville landmark has been listed for $1,950,000, putting Kells Castle at 24 Kimberly Ave. back on the market as both a private residence and a preservation test for North Asheville. The 5-bedroom, 4.5-bath house has about 5,155 square feet on 0.89 acres, a scale and price tag that place it far above the city’s everyday housing market.

Kells Castle was built in 1949 for Sanford and Rose Brown within sight of the Grove Park Inn, and the design came from Rose Brown’s fascination with the Book of Kells and medieval Irish monasteries. Ellington reportedly loaned her a copy of The Book of Kells for inspiration, and the finished house used exposed cinder block, brick accents and a red tile roof to create the look of a fortified, almost medieval home. The original plan centered on a large Great Hall and a separate studio for Rose Brown, underscoring that this was conceived as an artist’s house as much as a family home. North Carolina State University’s architectural inventory dates the work to 1949-1950.

The listing also highlights Ellington’s outsized role in Asheville’s built identity. He is the architect behind several of the city’s best-known Art Deco-era buildings, including the City Building, Asheville High School, First Baptist Church and S&W Cafeteria. That makes a residential Ellington commission unusually significant, especially in the Grove Park neighborhood and the Grove Park Historic District, where architectural character is part of the area’s appeal and value.

The current owners, Rebecca Crosson and Rick Crosson, bought the house in 2014 and were described as its fourth owners. About a decade ago, the home gained an addition with several bedrooms and a tower reached by a spiral staircase, giving the property more modern livability without erasing its original identity. Builtwright Construction Company later received a 2016 Preservation Society Griffin Award for rehabilitation work on the house, a sign that the property has already been treated as a preservation project, not just a luxury address.

That history matters because Kells Castle sits in a market where landmark homes operate in a different economic lane. Zillow put Asheville’s average home value at $461,425 in April 2026 and Buncombe County’s at $455,159, while Realtor.com reported the county’s median listing price at about $575,000 and median sold price at about $452,250. Against those benchmarks, the $1.95 million ask signals a property aimed at a narrow pool of buyers who can afford both the purchase and the responsibility that comes with a celebrated house. For Asheville, the sale is less about one property changing hands than about how a recognizable landmark is stewarded in a neighborhood where history remains part of the market.