Brooklyn Park home custom-built for Kirby Puckett is for sale for $485,000

It was built for a champion. A World Series champion and Hall of Famer, to be exact.

Now the Brooklyn Park home designed for the late Minnesota Twins legendary center fielder Kirby Puckett is on the market.

The $485,000 listing at 8924 Ashley Terrace went live on Friday.

The 3,500-square-foot, five bedroom, 2¾ bath, modified five-story split that sits on a 0.77-acre lot is one of the largest homes in the Edinburgh Golf Course community.

Puckett had the home custom-built in 1986. Highlights include an upper-floor master bedroom, a sunroom, two living rooms and a wet bar. Also built to Puckett's specifications were a gazebo in the backyard that overlooks a pond and a hexagon-shaped exercise and training room in the basement.

As the story goes, Puckett had the gazebo built not knowing it was against homeowner's association rules.

"No one told him to take it down, so no one took it down," said listing agent Brandon Johnson. "It's just one of those things where he didn't know that he couldn't. And it went up and it stayed up."

The home has a sentimental place in Twins history. It's where Puckett lived when the Twins won the World Series in 1987. He was still living there for part of the 1991 baseball season, the year the Twins garnered a World Series title for the second time, before moving to Edina.

The current owners, Herb and Sandra Reiersen, bought the house more than two decades ago. Although they had long been Twins fans, the thoughtful details of the home were what interested them.

"It's a fun house. It was built for entertaining, and that's what we did here," said Herb. "We've had graduations, two wedding parties. It has a beautiful backyard with a gazebo."

While some of the custom features of the home remain, the Reiersens, the third family to own the home, have also made the place their own during the 24 years they've lived there, raising their three children.

"There was a lot of mauve in here — carpeting; the kitchen was all mauve," said Sandra. "We've taken a lot of mauve out of here."

Other changes have included converting the home from a three-bedroom to a five-bedroom by splitting a lower level billiard room into two bedrooms. The original trophy cases from the billiard room were dispersed among the two new bedrooms and the wet bar.

The kitchen has been remodeled with upgrades such as oak floors and granite countertops. The countertops at the wet bar and in the bathroom on the same level have been upgraded to granite.

A large hot tub has been removed and turned into an entertaining space, and a balcony off one of the bedrooms has been added. The yard has undergone extensive landscaping, and a fire pit was installed near the pond.

But while the Reiersens have made changes to the home, they've also paid tribute to its famous former owner.

When their youngest son was in Cub Scouts, he created a Kirby Puckett memorabilia collection, which has become a fixture in the home. Herb also purchased a rare photo of Puckett balancing a baseball on his forehead, which hangs in the bar area.

The Reiersens said they plan to include the memorabilia wall and the framed photo in the sale of the home. Also staying are the custom-made mauve curtains with tags inscribed "Puckett" in the master bedroom.

The new owners also could inherit a secret compartment rumored to be inside the home — if they can find it.

"I couldn't ever find it," Herb said.

Now empty nesters, Herb said it's time to move into a place with less square footage.

"We're going to go to a townhouse in Maple Grove off of the downtown there," Herb said.

No matter who the future homeowner is, its original occupant will always be part of the home's identity.

"My wife and I have made the comment that we've lived here 24 years and it will never be known as the Reiersen house, it will always be known as the Puckett house." Herb said.

He hopes the next homeowners appreciate the legacy of the home — and have patience with the fans who sometimes drive by.

"Since we've been here, every time there was a Kirby story in the news, such as when Puckett was inducted into the Hall of Fame or when he passed away, we have had an island of cars on our street," Herb said. "There's that real connection people have with the guy. Even though Kirby has passed, he is still loved and remembered."

Brandon Johnson, the Twin Cities Team, brokered by JP Willman Realty Twin Cities, has the listing: 763-229-9708, Brandon@JPWillman.com.