The luxury lake complex built by late Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay hit the market Thursday for a potentially record-breaking $19.9 million. His other vacation property nearby is also listed for $6.9 million.
Listing agent Andrea Kelly of Encore Sotheby’s International Realty said if sold for the listing price, the main vacation property at 944 S. Shore Drive in Culver, Indiana, would be the most expensive home ever sold in the state. That price includes a separate parcel where the guest house and an entertainment structure are located.
Irsay, who died in May, took ownership of the Colts in 1997 after his father passed away. Irsay was just 12 years old when his father purchased the Colts, and now his three daughters have taken the helm of the football team. The family built the custom 13,956-square-foot home with eight bedrooms and 12 bathrooms in 2001.
Since that time, Irsay built six additional structures to create a family vacation complex, now for sale in two different listings.
The main house at 944 S. Shore is built to host large gatherings, with bunkrooms, expansive living rooms, and several porches. On the main home lot, there’s an adjacent pool house built in 2018 with an indoor pool, hot tub, heated pool deck, fireplace, hot yoga room, bar and fitness area.
A detached guest house at 915 S. Shore is attached to the main home through an underground tunnel, said Kelly, that also houses mechanicals.
“Mr. Irsay did that intentionally to move the mechanicals away from the lakeside, so it was always going to remain very serene,” Kelly told Homes.com in an interview. The home includes 250 feet of Lake Maxinkuckee frontage.
According to Kelly, the lake is a popular spot for the upper echelon of homebuyers, and she calls it the “Cape Cod of the Midwest.” The only lot available for new construction on the lake is currently listed at $1.1 million for 0.28 acres, according to Homes.com.
The detached guest house has three bedrooms, two full bathrooms and a half-bath, with a detached entertainment building built in 2019 with a four-lane bowling alley, shooting range, arcade, and nightclub-style bar. There’s also an eight-car garage.
Kelly said Irsay was believed to have spent upward of 140 days a year at the vacation home.
Tennis barn, hunting cabin
And just a mile and a half away is Irsay’s tennis barn and hunting cabin at 17052 Indiana 110, listed separately for $6.95 million. Irsay would fly his helicopter from his primary home in Carmel, Indiana, up to the helipad on the tennis barn property, and drive a mile and a half down to 944 S. Shore.
Irsay built the tennis barn in 2015 and the adjacent cabin in 2018. They sit on 72.37 gated acres with a fish-stocked lake spanning over 3 acres and a dock, ATV and walking trails, hunting grounds, and a heated waterfall edge wade-in pool.
The tennis barn has 60-foot ceilings, a full-size indoor court, a mezzanine fitness center, and a heated six-car garage. A twisted slide can take visitors from the mezzanine to the court floor. It’s attached to a separate space with a full kitchen, living room, bathroom, and loft.
The hunting cabin has two bedrooms, one full bathroom, and a half-bath with a full kitchen and floor-to-ceiling fireplace.
The vacation properties are about 98 miles from Irsay’s Carmel home, which listed for $12 million last month and went under contract four days later.
Kelly wasn’t surprised at the fast movement of Irsay’s primary home, a 25,843-square-foot residence on the Crooked Stick Golf Club.
“I think that shows there is buyer demand in and around this area for a spectacular property,” she said.
