Lake Minnetonka's 32,000-square-foot landmark Pillsbury mansion gets deep discount to $7.9M

The Pillsburys would be dizzy if they knew about the rollercoaster ride of prices for their beloved Lake Minnetonka summer retreat.

It's anyone's guess what John S. Pillsbury spent to build the 32,000 square foot Jacobean-style manor house on 13 acres in Orono in 1918. The Pillsburys named the estate Southways and raised six children there.

In 1992, James and Joann Jundt became the next stewards - paying $5 million for the brick and stone mansion, and its vast acreage on the prized sandy shoreline.

James Jundt, a former hedge fund manager and onetime Minnesota Vikings co-owner, spent years and spared no expense on a multi-million dollar renovation and restoration.

When the couple decided to downsize about a decade ago, it was listed for an over-the-top $53.5 million - the most expensive house in Minnesota at the time. After no takers, they dropped the price to $24 million. Still no sale.

So the estate was recently subdivided into five homesites. Now the former Pillsbury property has been pizza-sliced to 3.3 acres and 415 feet of sandy shoreline - and the price slashed to $7.9 million.

But you still get the 32,461-square-foot house and its seven bedrooms and thirteen bathrooms - as well as the $122,371 property tax bill.

Three of the lots have sold, but a bordering two-acre parcel, with the home's in-ground swimming pool and tennis courts, is also still for sale. The Jundts are the current owners and live in Arizona.

"Jim lovingly restored Southways," said Coldwell Banker Burnet agent Meredith Howell, who tried to first sell it as a single property for years. "He put a lot of his heart in it."

The historic palatial property got an eight--page spread in the book "Legendary Homes of Lake Minnetonka," by Bette Jones Hammel.

It showcases ironworker Samuel Yellen's handcrafted wrought iron peacock in the portico and the handiwork of local artisans to restore the home's Arts and Crafts interiors.

Today many of the rooms are embellished with carved Italian walnut and warm butternut and a warmed by nine fireplaces. Updates include two bedrooms converted into lavish his-and-her dressing rooms, an indoor whirpool surrounded by an Italian marble mosaic and an adjacent exercise room. The setting rivals the draw-dropping interiors with its sweeping east and west views of Lake Minnetonka on Bracketts Point.

Meredith Howell, Coldwell Banker Burnet, has the listing.