KANSAS CITY, Kan. — An historic Wyandotte County landmark has a new owner and will avoid being sold on the courthouse steps Tuesday.

Records provided by the Unified Government shows Sauer Castle LLC bought Sauer Castle on March 15. The county confirms all past due taxes were paid in full.

Carl Lopp, previously owned Sauer Castle, but the county said he owed thousands in unpaid taxes. Earlier this year the county planned to sell the property to the highest bidder at a tax sale.

Lopp has owned the castle since 1988. His family built the landmark, but neighbors complain he let the wood fixtures and brickwork go, as well as features on the property. Workers from the Unified Government’s code enforcements division boarded up the castle in 2020.

In 2021, the Unified Government of Wyandotte County/Kansas City, Kansas, released findings of a survey regarding the castle. It indicated a large number of people in KCK are fine with using eminent domain as a last resort to seize the property.

Violations over the years racked up thousands in fines and ranged from failing to maintain the structure’s integrity to forgetting to register the castle as a vacant property, according to the county.