An energy-efficient getaway in Edmonton, Canada’s park-like Mill Creek Ravine community will be sold via an online, no-reserve auction that runs from Dec. 11 through Dec. 16.
The sale of the 5,500-square-foot hillside house in the western province of Alberta is being held by Concierge Auctions in cooperation with listing broker Shane Gwilliam of Sable Realty.
Mr. Gwilliam listed the property, which is owned by construction company founder Robert Weinrich, during the summer without a public listing price.
“We were taking offers,” he said. “We decided to put it up for auction for a number of reasons, including the condensed sales cycle and the definite sale/auction date being another. These took on added importance during the pandemic.”
Erica Fox, project sales manager for Concierge Auctions, said the estate, which was listed in early November, is a prime prospect for the auction market because “auctions speak well for unique properties and this one is—there are only three homes in the ravine. Because of the rarity, there are no comparable prices to go by, which is why we went with a no-reserve sale.”
Looking out the home’s wall of windows toward the creek as it was icing over, she said, is “ like being in a woodland fairyland.”
She said that the auction process has opened the property to a “wider pool of buyers. Since Nov. 9, when the open houses started, we have followed strict Covid protocols and have had 75 individuals come through.”
She added that the open houses will continue through Dec. 16.
Mr. Weinrich, who is 51, said he enjoyed building his dream house.
“This home has been a blessing, but our life is a journey and not a destination,” he said. “As with everything, our journey is still a work in progress, but we are looking forward to naming a new owner who will see our visions come to fruition and carry on the legacy.”
The precast concrete house, which was built in 2019, has four levels, solar panels with Tesla powerwall storage, six bedrooms, six bathrooms, a glass tube elevator that whisks passengers to all four floors, walnut beamed and coffered ceilings and floor-to-ceiling walls of windows that provide views of the pristine scenery.
The River Valley parks and trails system, which is at the home’s doorstep, offers hiking, camping, fishing and boating along the banks of the North Saskatchewan River.
The top level of the home has a main suite that opens to a rooftop patio. The bedroom has a walk-in closet, a dressing/display room, a coffee station and a refrigerator, according to the auction house listing.
The marble en-suite spa-inspired bathroom features a copper soaker tub and a solid marble waterfall shower.
Other amenities include an attached two-car heated garage with an EV vehicle-charging station, a finished, walk-out basement and an office with a secret door hidden by a bookshelf.
In addition to wireless smart lighting and air conditioning, the home has a linear bio flame fireplace with a marble surround and a fire-suppression system.
Noting that the home, which is being marketed by the auction house as a “future heritage house,” is the largest in the private community, Mr. Gwilliam said that “this one-of-a-kind property was built with durability and sustainability in mind. It’s extremely overengineered, so it will be standing for hundreds and hundreds of years.”
The house was built on the site of a small bungalow that burned down in 2007.
Mr. Gwilliam noted that the property is not only in the heart of Mill Creek Ravine but it is also only eight minutes from Downtown Edmonton, the capital of Alberta, and about four miles from the University of Alberta.
As part of Concierge Auctions’ Key to Key program, a partnership with the real-estate professional organization Giveback Homes, a new house will be built for a family in need when the Mill Creek Ravine transaction closes.