Russian billionaire Valery Kogan and his wife Olga were planning on building an extremely expansive home that was starting to shake up other residents in Greenwich; but residents are relieved to hear that the wealthy couple has had a change of plans.

While not much is known about the source of Kogan’s wealth, he and his wife originally planned on building a lavish mansion that would feature 15 bathrooms, Finnish and Turkish baths, an on-site hair salon, and an electric guitar-shaped outdoor patio; so to say that they are wealthy is sort of an understatement.

When neighboring Greenwich residents heard about the Kogan’s estate plans, there was an outpour of criticism as many believed the mansion would be a “sore thumb” in the area. While planning and zoning permissions were initially denied, eventually the couple got the go-ahead before they decided themselves to back out of the plan.  Why go through all that trouble just to back out? Well, apparently the couple sited “costs involved” and the fact that the property was already mortgaged to the max as their main reasons for pulling the plug. Fair enough.

But all is not lost for the Russian couple. They are hoping to get back to some construction work which will require renovations on a much (repeat: much) smaller scale. Instead of ripping down the entire structure that already exists on the property and go forward with their initial plans, the Kogan’s are now simply going to fix up the more modest home that is there.

The Kogan’s reportedly bought a $17 million home in Israel last year, and they have been looking to spend an additional $50 million to “build their dream estate” in the future. I wonder how those neighbors will feel.

Via: City File