Idaho mansion for sale again after major remodel. It has 10 bathrooms, impressive views
From Bill Wendlandt’s house situated on Boise, Idaho’s iconic Crescent Rim Drive, you may just get the best views in the Treasure Valley.
Ann Morrison Park. The Boise skyline. The Boise Foothills. Bogus Basin. The Boise River. They’re all there to see from the house that once belonged to one of the state’s most famous citizens, Velma V. Morrison, widow of Morrison-Knudsen founder Harry Morrison.
The company actually built the house, once known as Camelotview, after Velma Morrison’s romantic attachment to the Lerner and Lowe musical “Camelot.”
All of those scenic views come from a 14,093-square-foot mansion that includes a spiral staircase, 12-car garage, four bedrooms and a rooftop deck — hot tub included.
The house, sold to Wendlandt a few years after Velma Morrison died in 2013, is for sale again, with an asking price of $4.9 million.
“It was time to move on,” Wendlandt told the Idaho Statesman. “It’s a beautiful house. It’s a family house where you want to have people all around, and our family was very small.”
The house was completed in 1992 for Velma Morrison by the now-defunct civil engineering company Morrison-Knudsen. MK is most known for helping to develop major American landmarks such as the Hoover Dam in Nevada and the original San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge in California.
Patrice Peterson, the listing agent for the house and a real estate agent for Group One Sotheby’s International Realty, said that as far as she knows, the house is the only residential building constructed by Morrison-Knudsen.
The company’s involvement is part of what drew Wendlandt to it in the first place, he said, when he first moved to Boise from Austin, Texas. He bought it from the Treasure Valley Family YMCA, after Morrison’s family donated the property to the nonprofit in 2016.
Wendlandt is a former professional basketball player, having played in the Netherlands after being drafted by the Denver Nuggets in 1984. He returned to the United States at the conclusion of his basketball career and transitioned into the commercial real estate industry.
“I’m one of those people that really value and trust historic contractors and builders because they build things so well and so strong,” Wendlandt said. “And it wasn’t like, ‘How fast we can get it up?’ It’s like, ‘Let’s make sure this thing has a forever structure.’”
Wendlandt’s renovations
When Bill Wendlandt purchased the house in 2016, there was no mistaking that it once belonged to Velma Morrison, who worked extensively with the Harry W. Morrison Foundation after her husband’s death in 1971 and played a pivotal role in the opening of Boise State University’s Velma V. Morrison Center for the Performing Arts..
Morrison, who passed away in 2013 at the age of 92, often traveled the world, and would bring back with her ideas and designs that would be incorporated into her house, Wendlandt said. She would change the colors and decorations of a room based on the inspirations from her travels.
“She was obviously a big lover of pink and mauve colors,” Wendlandt said. “Which fit her idea and her time. So we changed up a lot of the cosmetics that make it a little bit more ... I wouldn’t say it’s edgy in any way, but a little bit more traditional, kind of modern inside.”
The general structure of the house still remains. The front of the house still features large, carved limestone pillars that flank stacked floor-to-ceiling windows. On the other side of those windows sits a spacious and bright front room, which offers astonishing views.
Wendlandt said he believes in keeping the integrity of historical structures. As he previously told the Statesman, “(The house is) built like a commercial building. Steel construction, everything is bigger. (The) walls are stronger, there’s a commercial elevator. Everything was done first-class.”
He also loves the collection of evergreen trees that surround the house, some of them towering above the structure, Wendlandt said. He credited Morrison for the scenery on the property.
But he’s made some changes.
One section of the house used to feature 25-foot-high ceilings in an open room that Morrison would use as a sitting area. Wendlandt opted to build an extra room above that sitting area, splitting it in two and creating an extra media room that keeps stunning views of the surrounding area.
Most rooms are redecorated in slick whites, blacks and grays that give the house a modern feel, Wendlandt said, and there’s no lack of windows, giving you fresh sunlight and beautiful views almost no matter where you stand.
He also built a rooftop deck, complete with a hot tub and seating area that looks over the city skyline. Step inside from that and you’ll find showers and an upstairs kitchen.
“I think that’s one of the most beautiful views of Boise, the whole city,” Wendlandt said. “And that’s staggering to be able to go up and breathe in the fresh air and look at the downtown, look at the mountains, the ski resort. It’s just beautiful up there.”
Who’s interested in buying the house?
The house has been on the market for just over a month but has been picking up interest from around the globe, Peterson told the Statesman.
One potential buyer in Brazil has shown major interest, she said, along with multiple people from the Portland and Seattle areas. There have also been several individuals who knew Morrison personally and have been interested in purchasing the house, Peterson said.
Though interest is high, Peterson said she’s aware that a house like this could take up to a year to sell, even in Boise’s booming market.
“The sheer size of the home is going to take the right buyer,” Peterson said. “To be able to utilize and function within that home with their family, and accept some of the nuances that go with that large structure.”
The house, located at 3505 W. Crescent Rim Drive, is less than 2 miles from downtown Boise and can be viewed in full on Realtor.com.
This story was originally published March 24, 2022 at 1:17 PM with the headline "Idaho mansion for sale again after major remodel. It has 10 bathrooms, impressive views."
