Take a peek inside this pricey palazzo Sprawling Wellington Crescent mansion could be yours for a cool $9.25 million By: Kevin Rollason Posted: 7:00 PM CDT Tuesday, Aug. 18, 2020

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 17/08/2020 (1494 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

If you’re looking for a house with a basement that is larger than most Winnipeg homes you’re in luck.

Or if you’re looking for what a real estate agent calls “the crescendo of a symphony in thought and detail”, you’re also in luck.

The sprawling 18,000-square-foot mansion at 1063 Wellington Cres., is back on the market with an asking price of $9.25 million.

Peter Squire, the Winnipeg Real Estate Board’s vice-president external relations and market intelligence, said if the house sells for that price — or for that matter, even if it sold for a few million less — it would break the record for highest sale ever recorded for a house listed on the board’s Multiple Listing Service.

“We just had our highest actual sale — and we may have another one soon,” Squire said on Tuesday. “It sold for $2.9 million and there could be one in August for $3 million.

“But this one would be almost three times higher than what we’ve had. This house is magnificent.”

Private client services realtor Bobby Wall, who is with the Sutton Group — Kilkenny Real Estate, is the real estate agent handling the house sale and he knows the type of person who should buy the house.

“It is for somebody who knows they deserve it,” Wall said.

Wall said, officially, the house is about 18,000 square feet – “it’s hard to nail down the exact amount because of the curved walls” — but, with the finished basement, there is actually more than 21,000 square feet of space that can be used.

“It is larger than 90 per cent of the homes in Winnipeg.”

The 14-year-old house stands on the Assiniboine River lot where the late media mogul Izzy Asper had his home. When Asper sold it the new owners bought the house to demolish it to build the mansion that stands there now.

It’s not the first time it has been for sale — it was listed in 2015 for $11 million — but, because of privacy reasons, Wall said he couldn’t say whether it was sold at that time or taken off the market.

“There is beautiful wood and handcrafted marble with materials shipped in from all over the world. It is just astonishing compared to any other Winnipeg home.” – Realtor Bobby Wall

Wall said the owners only used natural materials when the house was built.

“There is beautiful wood and handcrafted marble with materials shipped in from all over the world. It is just astonishing compared to any other Winnipeg home.”

In fact, the house is being listed far below it’s replacement value.

“The replacement value is much closer to $20 million — that’s what it would cost if you built it like it is,” Wall said.

“It has an enormous amount of value.”

What do you get for that kind of money? Actually, it might be easier to list what doesn’t come with the house.

Want a pool to cool off in? Well, this house not only comes with an outdoor pool to swim and lounge around to escape the summer heat, but an indoor one too to flee from the winter cold.

Need to go to the washroom and your spouse and your 10 kids are already using them? No problem, there are 12 bathrooms.

Need bedrooms for your family to sleep in, but also for any out of town relatives or guests who visit? This house has six bedrooms. And a 1,000 square foot guest cottage in the backyard.

But Wall said while this house would break the record for sale price on the MLS, it wouldn’t be the most expensive house ever to sell in Winnipeg.

“I end up transacting a lot of them not on the MLS, but with exclusive clients,” he said, adding these are the homes where you would never see a for sale sign in front of them or a listing in the newspaper or Real Estate News.

“There are actually quite a bit more of these than you would think. There have been many high price sales — and much higher than the MLS process. I can say this would not be the most expensive one.”

kevin.rollason@freepress.mb.ca

Kevin Rollason
Reporter

Kevin Rollason is one of the more versatile reporters at the Winnipeg Free Press. Whether it is covering city hall, the law courts, or general reporting, Rollason can be counted on to not only answer the 5 Ws — Who, What, When, Where and Why — but to do it in an interesting and accessible way for readers.

   Read full biography