"There are not many homes left around the world like this," Wohl said. "It is the epitome of Mizner."
The 18,000-square-foot, castlelike Bryn Mawr mansion, built in 1929 for the fur-tanning magnate Percival Foerderer, could be demolished as soon as Sept. 1. It is to be replaced with a 10,000-square-foot house, according to Lower Merion Township records.
La Ronda's owner paid $6 million for the property in March behind a corporate front and has not publicly commented on the matter.
Wohl, a real estate developer, said he sent "a six-figure offer" to Joseph C. Kuhls, the owner's lawyer, on Tuesday to offer to buy the house off the lot and move it away.
Wohl said he had a purchase agreement with the owner of an adjacent lot, which is where he would move La Ronda.
Kuhls wrote via e-mail yesterday that Wohl "has not made any real or credible offer regarding relocation. He has merely suggested payment of a nominal fee." The demolition plan is still on track, Kuhls added.
Although the preservationists who have been fighting the demolition plan for months would love to see the mansion remain intact where it was built, they are excited about the possibility of moving it.
"That's certainly preferable by far to losing it completely," said Lori Salganicoff, historic preservation coordinator for the Lower Merion Conservancy.
Wohl, a native Floridian, had never visited the Main Line when he read about La Ronda's possible destruction. After talking to his wife, he flew up Sunday, gave the mansion a long look - from outside its locked gate - and decided it could be a second home for his family.
"I don't need to see the inside," Wohl said. "I know that it's a special home."
