The Quad St. Charles sells carousel in food court

ST. CHARLES – A longtime attraction at the former Charlestowne Mall has finally found a new home.

The mall’s double-decker Italian carousel was bought for an undisclosed price this month, said Chuck May, project director of The Quad St. Charles redevelopment of the mall.

“There is a business for used carousels,” May said Wednesday. “It’s not constant, but people have needs for them.”

Sun Valley, California-based Brass Ring Carousel Co. is handling the sale for the actual buyer, and the carousel’s new home likely will be in a mall located in another country, May said.

Workers on Tuesday afternoon began taking down the carousel piece by piece until only its frame remained standing Wednesday morning, said Nicole Kneeland-Woods, director of business development at the mall.

The carousel was up for sale because it did not fit into the developer’s plans to tear down the mall’s current food court.

May said he had several interested buyers, including someone in Europe who inquired about the carousel after it was already sold.

May declined to say exactly how much the buyer paid for the carousel.

“That’s private for ownership,” May said. “We were told what the value was, and the people that bought it paid that price, so that’s what we went with.”

The Krausz Companies Inc. bought the mall, at 3800 E. Main St., St. Charles, in November 2013 for more than $9.5 million. The mall’s current stores remain open, and the mall is expected to relaunch with additional stores as The Quad St. Charles sometime in 2016, Daniel Krausz, of The Krausz Companies, said in April.