The most expensive home on the Tucson Association of Realtors Multiple Listing Service sits below Finger Rock on boulder-strewn slopes in the foothills of the Catalina Mountains.
The palatial mansion in The Canyons - a premier development near North Alvernon Way and East Skyline Drive - can be yours for less than $10 million.
It's listed at $9.995 million.
Opulence abounds inside the home, which has 24,000 square feet under its roof. Gold-leaf accents gleam in hallways and on doorways. Antique marble brought from Europe encases fireplaces. In the foyer, a scene depicting ruins, perhaps in an ancient Roman town, has been hand-painted onto walls. Marble columns, also European antiques, stand between a dining table and the living room.
Any potential buyer would have to appreciate the home's traditional European interior, as it doesn't have a modern or Southwestern feel, said Janell Jellison, the agent with Long Realty who listed the home. The details make it clear that expense wasn't a significant consideration in the construction of the home, she said.
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"Money is not really an object," Jellison said.
More than $1 million went into the home's 15-seat movie theater alone, said Todd Iman, of Hallmark Custom Homes, who helped finish construction on the house. The plush theater, also bedecked with gold, features a 12-foot-wide screen.
The home has six bedrooms - including a guest area with a separate entrance and a room with a kitchenette that can be used by a maid or nanny.
Lion heads appear throughout the house, a theme established by two sculptures of the big cats lounging just outside the home's main entrance.
The main feature on the home's lower level is an auto gallery - complete with a rotating turntable to showcase a favorite car - that can hold up to 15 vehicles. A Ford GT, a few Ferraris, a Hummer, and a slowly turning Shelby Cobra (all bright red) fit quite easily into the gallery.
The home might appeal to someone who attended the University of Arizona, started a company, made a fortune and is perhaps looking to locate here again, Jellison said.
But given that the inventory of multimillion-dollar houses on the market has stayed high, selling the house could prove tough, said Will Rose, a luxury broker and manager of Russ Lyon Sotheby's International Realty in Tucson.
It's been a while since a home brushed the $10 million mark on the Multiple Listing Service in Tucson.
Developer Cary Marmis had his home - called Campbell Cliffs and also in the Catalina Foothills - listed for prices that shifted from $13 million to more than $20 million. The 31,000-square-foot, three-level home on 20 acres never sold, even when the market was booming, and it's no longer listed.
But it still has an active website with Marmis' contact information. A link on the site says "price reduced," but makes no mention of what it would cost to actually buy the home.
Houses in the luxury market have continued to move slowly, Rose said. Successful UA alumni with fond recollections of their college years do return and buy homes, but those are often in the $800,000 to $2 million range, he said.
That can make selling a home for nearly $10 million especially difficult. "It's going to be the ultimate challenge," he said.
Luxury broker gets new home
Russ Lyon Sotheby's International Realty will open its first office in Tucson at 3430 E. Sunrise Drive Monday. The luxury brokerage has been operating in the area for more than a year, but will now have a home for its agents, said branch manager Will Rose.
The company has slightly more than 20 agents in Tucson.
Contact reporter Dale Quinn at dquinn@azstarnet.com or 573-4197.