Edmonton's century-old Magrath Mansion sold after being on market for over a year
Magrath Mansion, built in 1912, was put up for sale in spring of 2020 for $5.25M
A historical mansion in Edmonton's Highlands neighbourhood has a buyer after more than a year on the market.
The Magrath Mansion went up for sale in the spring of 2020 with an asking price of $5.25 million. Cheryl Watt, a realtor with ReMax Excellence, confirmed Thursday the house has a buyer.
Watt would not divulge who nor for how much, but did say the sale includes the property's furnishings.
"[The furnishings] are very much the timeframe of the house so it just seemed appropriate that the house be sold with the furniture as well," she said.
William Magrath, a businessman and real-estate developer, built the Magrath Mansion for his wife Ada and their children in 1912. Sitting on five city lots, it has been the showpiece on Ada Boulevard, just east of downtown Edmonton, for decades.
It features a two-storey veranda, flanked by imposing white columns, and offers sweeping views of the North Saskatchewan River valley.
Magrath lived in the mansion until his death in November 1920.
After he died, with property taxes overdue, the home was seized by the local sheriff in 1931 and sold to the city in 1933.
It sat empty for several years, then was rented as suites before the Ukrainian Catholic Archbishop took up residence in the late 1940s.
Its most recent owners, Sid and Nellie Braaksma, bought the mansion in 2000 for $750,000 and spent more than a year restoring it.
Sid Braaksma died in January 2019 at the age of 75. Shortly after, the family began making preparations to sell the property.
Preparing to leave has not been easy for Nellie Braaksma, because there are many memories in the home, said Watt.
"In the same instance, it's time to move on to her new chapter," she added.
The fully renovated home more recently became a draw for visitors during annual open houses hosted by the Highlands Historical Society.
With files from Wallis Snowdon