Lucas Oil Estate

Built by Stephen Hilbert of Conseco fame/​infamy in the 1990’s for $ 35 million and bought by Forest Lucas a couple of years ago for $ 3 million. Sounds like someone got royally f’ed. Maintenance is supposedly ~$ 100K a month. I believe it.
But you can get the best deal of them all by going to an event here for anywhere from free to a couple of hundred dollars. If you get that opportunity, do it. It’s worth seeing what a $ 35 million dollar property looks like in a very inexpensive city where $ 500K buys you a luxurious 5,000 square foot custom home and $ 1M buys you a bona fide mansion that would be the envy of dot-​com billionaires if it were in Palo Alto.
The property is magnificent. The house itself is 25,000 square feet and is unbelievable. They will open up the house and give tours of it for some events and have the house closed off for other events. If they give tours of the house, definitely take it.
If you take a tour of the house, don’t miss what appears to be a dance floor in the basement. The hardwood dance floor has a circle pattern on it. I was told by my private tour guide that Stephen was romantic enough to build a pole dancing facility for his bride Tomisue there. If you remember, Stephen met Tomisue at Stephen’s son’s birthday party when she jumped out of a cake. It was love at first sight, or something like that. I sense a chick flick in the making.

I must begin by thanking Forrest Lucas and family for allowing us the opportunity to spend the evening at your breathtaking estate. Opening your home to strangers must give you pause much less allowing us the freedom to stroll your immaculate gardens, enjoy your beautiful infinity pool, and display a brilliant light show on the side of your home while there. You’re graciousness and lovely home was, by itself, a perfect evening for me as I love the occasion to appreciate well designed gardens and yours is spectacular. The weather cooperated as if Mother Nature understood how much we all were looking forward to this memorable evening.
Adding the generosity of Hoosier Mama (thanks for my special drink), Wilk’s and Wilson, Fuzzy’s Vodka and Unilocal made for an evening few will forget. As if this wasn’t enough, we enjoyed our own private performance by the Indy synchronized swimmers from ten feet away. The party music was appropriate but a slight variety throughout the night would have been nice. Filet sliders and crab salad was delish and helpful in alcohol absorption. Unilocal had us covered with coconut water perfect at bedtime to eliminate the aftereffect. Many a hangover has been eliminated thanks to coconut water as my last drink of the evening.
Again, thanks to all the hard work of Brittany, the Unilocal team and Lucas Estate.

The garden’s at the estate are some of the most enchanting in Indiana. They are easily comparable to the best landscaping around the Indianapolis Museum of Art. Growing up in Indy, I have heard many stories about the estate and the man who built it. The Lucas family has done a great thing by allowing the home to be enjoyed by the community. Unless you are an elite socialite (not just Unilocal Elite) this home would have been off limits if still owned by Hilbert. I can’t say enough good things about the Lucas family and their commitment to philanthropy.
To call the home «soulless» is a pretty low blow. Not only was the family home during the party, the owner came out and greeted guests!!! Mr. Lucas mentioned that he would not normally have a corporate event and that the home is usually used for charitable or private functions. Unilocal was very lucky to book such an awesome venue. To give the home anything but 5-​stars is insulting. I would be very upset if I opened my home to random guests only to be ridiculed in an online review criticizing my personal taste.
The home felt inviting and is easily the most incredible residence I have ever been to. To open your home up to a couple hundred strangers so they can socialize and drink free booze is beyond nice. The house really felt lived in and you could tell the family is passionate about it. I thought it was awesome that the pool house had MAV TV and Protect the Harvest marketing all over. It reminded me of Lucas Oil Stadium with all the advertising. The home did not feel stuffy but it was definitely outlandish. I just can’t imagine a home that cost over $ 30 Million to not be. Awesome party at an even more awesome venue! I can only dream that I would be invited back for another party at the Lucas Oil Estate. Definitely a once in a lifetime experience.

Thought it would be so cool to attend something here, having heard the financial backstory. However: Not my scene. I’m perfectly at home in chateaux, mansions and the like, but the new McMansion thing is not my scene. Ostentatious to the max with no substance, the place felt soulless, even though it was overflowing with people in a partying spirit. The pool was the best part and the kindness of being invited to something here, but the place just turned me off and felt more plastic than Madame Tussaud’s. Trying way too hard.