TORONTO — An auction for the Toronto home of former media baron Conrad Black has officially opened.
The 23,000-square-foot mansion in the tony Bridle Path neighbourhood was listed on March 8 with an estimated value of $21.8 million.
The property, which sits on a 6.6-acre lot, boasts nine-bedrooms, 11 bathrooms and two two-storey libraries. It also has a separate caretaker suite, a converted coach house guest apartment, an indoor swimming pool, a billiards room and a chapel for meditation.
The sale of 26 Park Lane Circle is being managed by New York-based Concierge Auctions and Re/Max Realtron Realty Inc. agent Barry Cohen. No other details were provided about the auction.
The home has entertained many high-profile guests, including Margaret Thatcher, Richard Nixon, Elton John and Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh.
It was first built by Black's father, George Montegu Black, and has been in the family for 65 years.
The online listing notes that the home was built by famed architect Thierry W. Despont, whose clients include Bill Gates, Calvin Klein and the late Greek shipping tycoon Stavros Niarchos.
The Bridle Path neighbourhood is known as Millionaire's Row and is home to some of the most expensive real estate in the country.
"It is a big house for two people,'' Black said in a statement last month. "We will be abroad a good deal and moving to a more manageable home will be a convenience to us now as our careers have evolved.''
Black, who once owned several newspapers, served three years in prison for wire fraud after he was convicted in 2007 in the U.S. while head of Toronto-based Hollinger Inc.
