Alyssa Cwanger, Post-Gazette Durlabhji Ukani, hugs daughter Gopi, 20, while his wife, Bhartiben, hugs their friend, Nilam Patel, far left, after the Ukanis bought lumber magnate Joe Hardy's Rostraver mansion at auction yesterday. At right is Howard Hanna real estate broker Mary Eve Kearns. Click photo for larger image.

As bidding for his $7 million mansion opened at $1.75 million, lumber magnate Joe Hardy -- sitting regally in his Throne of Napoleon beneath a 7-foot-wide Shoenbeck crystal chandelier and 10-foot-tall oil painting of Napoleon -- chewed nervously at a cigar.

The auction for Hardy's hilltop Chateau Malmaison mansion on more than 10 rolling acres in Rostraver, Westmoreland County, represented the first absolute real-estate auction ever held in Western Pennsylvania, according to Hoddy Hanna, president and chief executive officer of Howard Hanna Real Estate Services.

That meant no established minimum price during yesterday's noontime auction.

But the 82-year-old founder of 84 Lumber Co. and Nemacolin Woodlands Resort and Spa seemed to relax when bidding reached $3 million.

And soon after Durlabhji "Duke" Ukani, 52, of Upper St. Clair, bid $3.5 million for the French Renaissance Revival mansion, auctioneer Marty Davis of Harry Davis and Co. in Pittsburgh brought down the gavel.

It marked the highest auction price ever paid for a house in Western Pennsylvania, Hanna said.

Moments after bidding closed, Hardy arose from the throne and walked out the beveled glass door toward his car.

"I think they got a good deal -- certainly they did," he said, having sold the mansion for half the price he paid to build it.

"This is a one-of-a-kind thing, but life goes on -- I'm 82 now," he said. "They got excellent value.

	Howard Hanna Real Estate The Hardy -- now Ukani -- mansion has 18,000 square feet of living space. Click photo for larger image.

"It brings back memories," he said, acknowledging feelings of melancholy in selling the property.

Hardy, who put the mansion on the market in November 2003 after his divorce from his wife, Debbie, now lives in a five-bedroom house at Nemacolin Woodlands near Farmington, Fayette County. He and Debbie remain close and are often seen together at public events.

But with the deposed king gone, the new king signed paperwork then celebrated the purchase of the 18,653-square-foot mansion, which features marble-floored bathrooms, chandeliers and tray ceilings, a wine cellar with capacity for 1,000 bottles and cigar room with a humidor.

It also has a rare wrap-around-style stairway to the second floor, a movie theater, an in-ground pool, a mirrored fitness room, a fountain and a veranda that extends the length of the mansion. The acreage is bound by a brick wall supporting a fence of wrought-iron arrows.

And there's 24-karat gold-leaf detailing throughout the 17-room mansion.

When Howard Hanna and Hardy announced the auction July 7, Hardy joked about facing a possible financial loss on the property. "I'll have to chip the gold out," he said. "It's a joyful place to live. We had great, great parties here."

Hanna said there are houses in Western Pennsylvania whose market value might equal $3.5 million, but none of that price has gone up for sale. The price Ukani paid for Hardy's chateau represents the highest, or at least one of the highest prices ever paid for a house in the region.

	Howard Hanna Real Estate The mansion has 24-karat gold-leaf detailing throughout the interior. Click photo for larger image. More pictures View more photos from a 2003 tour of the mansion.

He said $3.5 million is "in the stratosphere" of local real-estate prices for a property he has previously described as "one of the finest" ever built in southwestern Pennsylvania. Annual real-estate taxes for the mansion are about $33,000.

"If you have the right property, you find a lot more multi-million-dollar buyers in this community than you might expect," he said, noting that all 12 bidders who participated in the auction live in Western Pennsylvania.

After sealing the deal, Ukani, his wife, Bhartiben, daughter, Gopi, 20, and son, Neil, 17, gathered for photographs and an impromptu celebration. They hugged and grinned widely, and Bhartiben held her chest in an expression of sheer delight over their unexpected victory.

Describing himself as the little guy among the 12 bidders, Ukani said he felt he had no hope of winning the bidding before the auction got under way.

He planned a top bid of $3 million. But when bidding topped $3 million, he bid $3.2 million, where the price stalled out. But the auctioneer kept the bidding alive and drew two more into the fray.

That prompted Ukani to make a quick decision and bid $3.5 million.

"I figured making another $4,000 payment each month won't hurt," he said, referring to the added $500,000. "My limit was $3 million, but I stretched it out to $3.5 million. If it had gone to $3.6 million, I would not have gone up that high.

"It's a good price and beautiful home," he said, calling it a dream home. "If this were built in Upper St. Clair, I would have had to spend $10 million.

"I like a party home, and I like people and friends around me."

Ukani, a native of India, is a nuclear engineer who came to the United States in 1981 and worked at the Shippingport Nuclear Reactor in Beaver County.

In 1986, he purchased a Dunkin' Donuts franchise, and eventually owned four of them. Then in 1994, he bought his first gas station and convenience store. By 2003, he owned 10 in the Pittsburgh area.

The Ukanis decided to purchase only a few pieces of Hardy furnishings. Instead, Ukani said, they will fill the house with $200,000 worth of furniture from native India.

He said he and his family will live in the mansion the rest of their lives because "it has everything."

"Today we came with no hope," he said. "But this is the house we were looking for,"

As the celebration wound down, Bhartiben Ukani looked over the throne Hardy had sat in during the auction and its mate in the entrance way and told Howard Hanna real-estate broker Mary Eve Kearns they would purchase them, as well.

Thrones secured, their reign had begun.

"I can't be more happy than this," said Ukani, who now must sell his Upper St. Clair home with a 2005 market value of $220,000. "All the hard work in America pays off with a dream."