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Believed to be the largest home in Canada, it’s also a little off the beaten path.
You won’t find it Toronto, Vancouver or Calgary. To see it, you’ll need to go to Haileybury, Ont., about 140 kilometres north of North Bay.
There’s an exercise room the size of a small gym. Plumbing has also been installed on the grounds for a few golf holes.
But buyer beware: The house is far from finished. There’s no flooring, no finished bathrooms and few wall coverings. “Any buyer who would be really, truly interested in a property like this has to have their own architect and their own engineer come up with them,” Mr. Wilson said. He estimated it will cost at least $1-million to finish the place.
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And more stunning homes …
While many of you have no doubt heard about India’s Taj Mahal, one of the seven wonders of the modern world and a popular tourist destination in India. You may not have heard about the Antilla, a billion dollar home in Mumbai, India that quietly became one of the most expensive and luxurious personal homes on record. This twenty-seven story luxury home named after the mythical island Antilla, and it truly has been created as if to embody a legendary mystique. Construction costs alone topped $1 billion, making this 400,000 square foot skyscraper one of the most expensive luxury homes in the entire world.
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SPACE TO STRETCH OUT
While the magnificent structure is home to just one family, Mukesh and Nita Ambani and their three children, it was created to allow for an abundant amount of hospitality and entertainment. Six underground parking garages provide space for 168 automobiles, and three helicopter pads allow swift access through the bustling urban neighborhood. Since many of the floors have double-height ceilings, the actual height of this building (570 feet) is closer to 40 standard floors, and it employs a staff of 600 to manage all the luxury real estate operations.
UNIQUENESS GUIDED BY AN ANCIENT SYSTEM
It has always been important to the Ambanis that their home be constructed according to India’s ancient Vastu Shastra philosophy, which (like Feng Shui) governs the spiritual harmony of architectural spaces. On each floor, unique materials have been used, so that no two floors incorporate the same plans or visual textures. The placement of furnishings and art objects in each space was also governed by this classical doctrine, so that the flow of energy would move benefically throughout the entire structure.
A CITY WITHIN A HOME
Rising up into the sky, Antilla contains so many features that it almost becomes its own self-contained city. Its lobby, with nine elevators, is the entrance point. Within this high rise is a ballroom with crystal chandeliers that cover 80 percent of its ceiling. Performance stages, green rooms, bars, and entourage areas for security personnel promise a future of extravagant Indian hospitality and corporate entertainment. The health level of the home includes a swimming pool and yoga studio, and even an ice room with man made snow, to provide refreshment from the intense Mumbai heat.
SPACE FOR SUNLIGHT AND SPIRITUALITY
Naturally some areas of the residence are reserved for the private life of the family, and these rooms are mostly situated at the top of the building, where an open-air atrium offers the refreshment of lawns, gardens and patios. Nita Ambani explained to Vanity Fair magazine that this allows her family’s living quarters to catch the sunlight. The family’s personal lifestyle is vegetarian and spiritually focused, according to the Vanity Fair interview, and Antilla includes a temple with statues to a number of Hindu deities.
Antilla, perhaps the most widely discussed personal real estate in the world as well as the most expensive, has already become a well-known landmark in Mumbai.