DALLAS — This story originally appeared in the Dallas Business Journal.
After four years of construction, the finishing touches are being put on a 23,688-square-foot mansion in University Park, and the grand limestone palace has hit the market priced at $43 million.
The home at 6915 Baltimore Drive in the exclusive Volk Estates neighborhood is the most expensive listing in North Texas.
Designed by architect Richard Drummond Davis, the custom home was originally built for Christy Thompson, daughter of late wildcatter J. Cleo Thompson. Thompson, who grew up in a home across the street, has decided to list the estate.
Construction on the home began in 2018 and work is still being completed. The home is built on a double lot totaling almost 2 acres — part of which was a property that once belonged to Thompson’s grandparents.
The exterior of the home is finished in limestone imported from Bulgaria, builder Stuart McIlyar of McIlyar Construction Co. told the Dallas Business Journal on a tour of the property.
“I love Texas limestone, don’t get me wrong,” McIlyar said. “But this is the Bentley of limestone. It’s much denser than what we think of as Texas limestone. It doesn’t stain like the Texas limestone does. It doesn’t chip and fall apart like ours does. It’s not near as porous.”
McIlyar, who builds in the Park Cities, Preston Hollow, Greenway Parks and nearby luxury neighborhoods, said the home is by far the biggest he’s constructed.
“It is at least double the next biggest house I’ve done,” he said.
The front exterior is striking — even with scaffolding still standing — with two-story tall single-piece columns and a 360-degree wraparound balcony.
Step inside, and the black and white panda marble floor and curved, symmetrical dual staircases immediately catch the eye. Bamboo wood flooring in the formal living area and others, a two-story coffered and domed ceiling and imported glass chandelier are among the other many interior highlights.
Other features include a green onyx-wrapped island wet bar, a 10-car garage with electric chargers, a wine room, library, sauna and spa, a guest apartment, four fireplaces, a theater, yoga and exercise rooms, and a safe room. The library has antique Indian double doors with a mother-of-pearl inlay, and the octagonal-shaped reading room has seven walls of windows.
The marble floors, dual staircases and other features are bookmatched, meaning the stone slabs are mirrored so the pattern and veining flow continuously from one slab into the other.
Realtor Diana Stewart with Allie Beth Allman & Associates has the listing.
“Christy, the owner, really had a big part in all the design,” Stewart said. “It was her idea for the stairway and the modern look. She has a really good eye.”
In addition to its location, the luxury finishes throughout are what really set the property apart, Stewart said.
“Everything in this home has been elevated, from the design to the materials and the craftsmanship,” she said.
The mansion has six bedrooms, eight full bathrooms and three half-baths. It. Also has 63 solar roof panels, a geothermal heating and cooling system, and a 15,000-gallon groundwater tank for eco-friendly and efficient energy usage.
Even though out-of-state homebuyers, especially Californians, are flowing into the Park Cities in large numbers, Stewart envisions the buyer being local.
“I feel like if you look at Volk Estates and the people that are moving within Volk Estates trying to get bigger lots (the buyer will come from the area),” she said. “The local people appreciate this area and the size of the lot and what you’re getting and the value of it for the location in the city.”
She said the residential market remains solid in the Park Cities.
“The estate market is still good if it’s quality,” she said. “There’s not a lot of new construction of this quality, this size, this location.”
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