Let the Bidding Begin... October 12, 2005, by Ian Elliot - Kingston Whig Standard

A waterfront property in Prince Edward County owned by the late actor Robert Urich is going under the auctioneers hammer this month.

Urich, a fixture of tough-guy television dramas in the 1970s and 1980s, starred in 15 shows including Vega$ and Spenser: For Hire. He owned several pieces of property in the County where he summered with his Toronto-born wife, actress Heather Menzies-Urich.

Urich died of cancer in 2002, but his widow continues to own the family home on West Lake. The house is the unofficial gathering spot for celebrities who visit that part of the country.

The piece of property up for auction is an 14.4-hectare parcel of marshland near Sandbanks Provincial Park in the west end of the county.  Manson Slik, who’s handling the auction and whose boyhood home was one of the properties bought by Urich and his wife, said the actor had great plans for the land. Slik said Urich wanted to build a boardwalk through the marsh and sell the grapes, apples and berries growing wild on property.

The East Lake parcel is in the one of the hottest real estate markets in this part of the province. Hobby vineyards and wineries are popping up like mushrooms in the west of the county and celebrities such as Jamie Kennedy and Sonja Smits own properties and vineyards in the immediate area.

“Most of the site is flat, rich farm-able land with stands of mature trees near the marsh,” explained Slik.  “It would be perfect for a residential estate home, a hobby farm, a fruit and vegetable farm or even an estate winery.”

He wouldn’t guess what the property might bring at auction but he said its location has already sparked interest among potential buyers.  “Because it is marsh, it is not as attractive to buyers as waterfront,” Slik said.  “I would say worst case $150,000 and best case $300,000.”

Urich bought the property just before he died and was writing a book about the agricultural heritage and history of the area, his wife said in a statement.  “Robert was developing a catalogue called East Lake Farms and he planned to share it with the public and his fans,” she said.  “Robert had fond memories of the County and the items in the catalogue would have been reminiscent of a bygone era.”

The auction will take place at 1:00 p.m. on Oct. 23.  Open houses will be held between noon and 1:00 p.m. this Sunday and again on the day of the sale.