There is no such home like the one at 4 Nonesuch Road in Dallas’ Lakewood neighborhood.
The estate tied to an early Neiman Marcus leader hit the market in late August and is for sale for the first time in nearly 30 years.
The asking price: $10.5 million. It was the fifth most expensive home listed in Texas last month, according to the Houston Association of Realtors.
“We have no comparable for it. We didn’t know how to price it,” said historic home specialist and listing agent Pete Livingston with Allie Beth Allman & Associates. “Whenever it sells, it’ll be the highest sale in Lakewood history.”
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The nearly 6,500-square-foot home sits on some three acres. It has five bedrooms, five bathrooms and two half-baths. The country manor-style home has three living and dining areas. The home was built for Robert Allen Ross — the money man for the iconic Dallas-based department store in its early days.
Inside a $10.5 million Dallas mansion made for a Neiman Marcus pioneer
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“It’s a big ol’ long house by today’s standards,” Livingston said. “It’s full of light. It’s got light coming from all directions. … That’s how they used to do it back in the day. It’s one room deep.”
The Marcus family had owned that land since 1923. By 1940, only four homes sat on 23 acres that would later be swallowed by the Lakewood neighborhood.
Ross’ home sat between the homes of Neiman Marcus founder Herbert Marcus and president Stanley Marcus. Herbert built his Tudor-style home around the corner in 1927. Stanley would follow in 1937 with his modern estate, which is a protected Dallas landmark.
It was Stanley who named the street Nonesuch Road because the city had such a hard time building the road to his home.
Only three families have lived in the property in the past 85 years. The Rosses owned the home until 1965. Dr. Milton Davis and his relatives called 4 Nonesuch Road home until the late 1990s.
The current owners, John and Nancy Kirchhofer, have lived in the home since 1997, according to county records.
They completed a full seven-figure mechanical and cosmetic restoration shortly after purchasing the home. The additions include a detached all-brick oversized garage with a one-bedroom apartment above it.
The Kirchhofers raised four kids at the home, but in recent years, they’ve spent less time in Lakewood in favor of their other properties, Livingston said.
Ross’ former estate is the third-largest in the Lakewood area. The home doesn’t have the saunas, deep pools or other features one comes to expect with new construction in North Texas.
The draw is the property’s natural beauty.
The lot is heavily wooded and private. Large oaks, cottonwoods and magnolias — some hitting 60 feet tall — cover the landscape. Light floods through all sides of the three-story home, and you’ll find yourself in the large sunroom or on the sundeck often. Its big, bright rooms are made for large families.
The property features 35 feet of elevation from the road, and at its low point, you’ll find a spring-fed pond with fish and turtles that you could enlarge if you’d like.
“It’s just flipping beautiful,” Livingston said. “In Lakewood, it’s unique. There are only a handful of estates, so it is one of a kind.”