The home of the man behind Gordon Campbell and Christy Clarks rise to the premiership is for sale.
Political power broker and lobbyist Patrick Kinsellas Shaughnessy mansion can be yours for $7.28 million.
Thats the asking price for the 99-year-old heritage house, which has six bedrooms and seven-and-a-half bathrooms over 6,446 square feet, according to Rennie and Associates Realty.
The website glowingly describes the 3839 Selkirk St. property as stunningly restored with four levels of ultimate luxury.
Deluxe master bedroom with beautiful living room and fireplace offering ultimate privacy and comfort, it says. Most bedrooms ensuited, including the nanny suite below. Extravagant chefs kitchen with solid wood cabinetry and timeless stone countertops. Set the ambience with built-in speaker system in and out. Securely gated professionally manicured grounds where you can enjoy lounging on your deck or take a dip in your private pool and hot tub. To see is to fall in love.
Rennie real estate agent Salina Kai said the house has been on the market for a month without an offer. Viewing is by appointment only.
For this calibre we dont do open houses, Kai said.
Kai described Patrick Kinsella and his wife Brenda Kinsella as really private and said she did not know why they are selling. Phone and email messages to Patrick Kinsellas company, Progressive Strategies, were not returned.
They dont want to participate in this article, Kai said.
Patrick Kinsella, who turned 70 on May 26, is a former Ontario insurance agent who rose to prominence as a campaign strategist in that provinces Conservative Party during the late 1970s before Premier Bill Bennett lured him to B.C., first as a deputy minister, then as a Social Credit Party backroom strategist.
He chaired the B.C. Liberal Partys 2001 and 2005 election victories and advised Clark on her successful Liberal leadership bid in February. Campaign disclosures show Progressive Strategies donated $20,000 to Clark. Brenda Kinsella, a former schoolteacher who chairs the Fraser Academy board, gave $3,000. Both were invited to Clarks March swearing-in ceremony.
Patrick Kinsella was involved in two of the provinces most controversial privatizations during the Campbell era. He helped Accenture gain the $1.45 billion deal to outsource BC Hydros back-office functions and provided strategic advice to BC Rail executives and directors over a four-year period that included the controversial $1 billion sale to CN Rail in 2003. Progressive boasted in a 2006 business proposal to the State of Washington that it is located in the heart of downtown Vancouver, while at the same time has a presence in the provincial capital of Victoria and a foot into (VANOC).
Kinsella registered in April 2010 as a lobbyist for Great Canadian Gaming, which operates River Rock Casino Resort and Hastings Racecourse. Kinsella and Pacific Customs Brokers owner Glen Todd have become the most successful ownership duo at Hastings, with more than $500,000 in purses this season. Sixty-nine of their 82 starts in 2011 have resulted in top-three finishes, including 31 winners.
Their four-year-old gelding St. Liams Halo is expected to start in Sundays $200,000 Longacres Mile at Emerald Downs near Seattle. St. Liams Halo has won three-of-four races, including the Lt. Governors Handicap on Canada Day at Hastings.
