'Completely unique': Pair of multi-million-dollar Winnipeg homes hit the market

The 10,000 square-foot Tuxedo home on Kerslake Drive was built in 1997 and underwent a top-to-bottom renovation. (Source: ButterKnife Creative)

A pair of very different but similarly priced mansions have hit the market in Winnipeg, perfect for buyers looking to spend a couple of million dollars on some truly unique real estate.

One is a sprawling, two-storey Tuxedo home, coming in at over 10,000 square feet. Built in 1997, the mansion underwent an extensive, top-to-bottom renovation. The updated home is complete with a self-contained indoor pool and hot tub, a Prohibition-era bar, a walk-in closet, LED lighting system, wine cellar, butler’s pantry, and poker room.

This is the second time realtor David Carr has listed this home. He sold it about 10 years ago to another owner. Stepping inside a decade later, the home looks very different post-renovation.

“I’ve never seen this kind of consistency of finish in a house like this,” Carr said in an interview with CTV News Winnipeg.

“People normally spend their money on the glam spots, but these clients are so particular and meticulous. In a good way, their builders said at the end, ‘I’m never doing another one of these.’ There’s so many pieces that were custom.”

The house on Kerslake Drive was relisted last week at just under $4.9 million.

Carr says high-end properties like these tend to sell in a week or a year.

“We’re looking for a particular kind of buyer. We haven’t had anyone come to the home that has anything negative to say about it,” he said.

“There’s only so many people who have $5 million.”

If a modern estate with all the bells and whistles isn’t to your taste, another nearly $5 million home touted as one of Crescentwood’s most iconic properties is also up for grabs.

The classic character home at 12 Ruskin Road, known as Ethelbert W. Kneeland House, is back on the market as of this week. It is listed as a historic site on the Manitoba Historical Society’s website.

“This two-storey residence in the Crescentwood area of Winnipeg was designed by local architect Herbert Bell Rugh and built by day labour in 1910 for grain merchant Elbert Walter Kneeland,” the society says on its website.

While there is plenty of historical heft to the 1910 Georgian-revival home, the entire property was reimagined in a modern style during a four-year renovation project. The custom home is complete with a contemporary kitchen, gas fireplaces, a solarium, gym, and an all-season saltwater pool and deck.

“It's completely unique,” realtor Becky Parkes said in an interview.

“I don't honestly think there's a restored house in the city that's as good quality and redone as well in keeping with the originality of the house and yet, it's still got lots of modernity."

Getting to see inside spectacular homes like this one on Ruskin Row is one of the perks for realtors.

Parkes says she sees houses in many states, be it ready for an open house or in need of a bit of TLC.

Kneeland House is not one of the latter.

“Do I fall in love with every house? No, but if I won the lottery, I would buy this house for sure.”