A historic collection of properties once owned by a German aristocrat featuring an 11,900-square-foot mansion, several rentable condos and equestrian facilities on nearly 65 hectares is listed for sale at $12.5 million.
The Canadiana Properties, one of the largest and most expensive ever listed in the Calgary region, is located a few kilometres northwest of Airdrie.
It is being marketed by Ross Pavl of Re/Max House of Real Estate and Ben Eby of Re/Max Mountainview.
According to the realtors, the property was originally built in 1974 for Baron Carlo Von Maffei, a horse aficionado who purchased large tracts of land in the Calgary region after arriving in the city from Ontario in the mid1960s.
“It’s big. You don’t see this kind of mansion in Calgary or Alberta at all,” Pavl said.
“It’s huge. It’s unbelievable. I mean you can in movies see this kind of property, but in real life it’s pretty rare.
“And it’s very private. The trees are grown around so it’s so private and quiet. It’s unbelievable and it’s still very close to downtown.”
The property includes the Canadiana Equestrian Centre, with an indoor arena, foaling and stabling barns, numerous fenced paddocks and outdoor rings for show jumping and dressage.
The baron usually had 35 to 40 thoroughbreds, with about 15 being brood mares, stabled at the centre and much of the breeding was done in Kentucky.
At the Canadian Thoroughbred Horse Society Alberta division sale in 1979 at Spruce Meadows, he sold a yearling for $108,000, which is still the highest anyone has paid for a yearling in Alberta.
“Although shying away from the public eye, the baron lived in grandeur, hosting royalty from Europe as well as government officials at the Canadiana Mansion – an 11,900-square-foot bungalow with a fully developed basement that brings the living space to more than 24,000 square feet, including a six-car garage,” say the realtors in a statement.
“The U-shaped mansion presents a grand look from the outside that extends to the elegant interior including a formal dining room with stunning baroque-style furniture that has been a mainstay in the home.”
The property is also home to the Canadiana Condos – eight, 1,500-square-foot, three-bedroom homes (four duplexes in total), and a 2,500-square-foot barn manager’s home with attached 1,800-squarefoot rental apartment.
According to the Calgary Real Estate Board website, there are two properties in the Calgary area currently listed on MLS for more than $10 million.
A majestic French country castle is listed at $12 million in the Aspen Woods neighbourhood and a small home on 186 hectares in the MD of Foothills just outside Calgary is listed at $15.95 million.
So far this year until the end of September, there have been 141 MLS country residential (acreages) properties sold over $1 million in the Calgary area, compared with 122 transactions in the luxury category for the corresponding period last year, according to CREB data.
mtoneguzzi@calgaryherald.com