Newsletter: Hot Property: Making the grade
Truth is, we learn new things all the time on this beat. History, architecture and current events are just a few of the subject areas that pair with celebrity and luxury real estate. You’ll find this week’s back-to-school edition full of valuable lessons.
– Lauren Beale and Neal J. Leitereg
Research project
Our favorite real estate reference work is the public record, which is full of who spent how much to buy what. That’s how we confirmed that Las Vegas hotel and casino magnate Steve Wynn spent $47,851,500 on an extraordinary property last month in Beverly Hills.
The seller of the 2.7-acre estate, centered on a 19,299-square-foot mansion, was Guess jeans co-founder Maurice Marciano. Although the deal was quietly forged off-market, the transaction still couldn’t escape the public eye.
Guess co-founder Maurice Marciano sold his Beverly Hills estate in the 1200 block of Benedict Canyon Drive to hotel and casino magnate Steve Wynn in a deal that closed outside the Multiple Listing Service. (Google Earth | Inset: Nick Ut / Associated Press)
From the old school
Singer-songwriter Neil Young, now 69, recently put his oceanfront estate on the Big Island of Hawaii on the market at $24.5 million. The three-acre spread is a slice of paradise with water frontage and a Hawaiian-style beach house dating to the 1920s.
The history lesson: The folk/blues singer gave voice to a grief-stricken and sober nation with his song “Ohio” following a 1970 clash between National Guard members and students. The anti-war protest at Kent State University left several dead.
Rocker Neil Young has put a three-house estate in Waialea Bay, Hawaii, on the market for $24.5 million. (Realtor.com | Inset: Associated Press)
The three R’s
We really, really, really liked this example of post-and-beam construction. Even if you aren’t familiar with actress-singer-model Aly Michalka or the crime comedy series “iZombie,” there’s a building lesson here.
Post-and-beam construction uses beam-size pieces of wood, rather than the standard 2-by-4s. In the Hollywood Hills house Michalka just bought for $965,000, the method created strong horizontal lines. Add in some clerestory windows, walls of glass and skylights and it’s one hip pad.
Actress Aly Michalka has bought a 1956 post-and-beam house in Hollywood Hills West. (Realtor.com)
Weird science
A shapely Bay Area landmark known as the Flintstone House for its boulder-like appearance rolled onto the market this week for $4.2 million. Designed by Bay Area architect William Nicholson, the dome-shaped structure was built in 1976 as an experiment to test new building materials.
Wire was molded around large balloons and then sprayed with gunite to create the surface of the 2,730-square-foot home. In the master bathroom, rocks were used instead of floor tile.
The so-called Flintstone House, a local landmark in Hillsborough, Calif., has come on the market at $4.2 million. (Judy Meuschke / Alain Pinel Real)
Gym class
Here are a couple of homes for breaking a sweat. New to the market this week at $4.2 million was the Poway estate of retired baseball slugger Jermaine Dye. Set behind gates in the guard-gated Heritage community, the 4-plus-acre grounds is prime for the athlete-in-training with a basketball half-court, putting green and turf field.
Retired Major League Baseball player Jermaine Dye has listed his Spanish-style estate on four acres in Poway, Calif., for $4.2 million. (Redfin | Inset: Getty Images)
For the leisurely sportsman, former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Alex Smith put his Monte Sereno, Calif., home up for sale, which has, among other things, a professional bocce ball court. Listed for about $4 million, the French Villa-inspired home rounds out with reclaimed wood beams, limestone floors and arched French doors.
Former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Alex Smith, now with the Kansas City Chiefs, has put his home in Monte Sereno, Calif., on the market for $3.999 million. (Redfin | Inset: Getty Images)
Pop quiz
Which “Saturday Night Live” alum made a cameo appearance in Hot Property 20 years ago this week? If you guessed Mike Meyers, party on, you are right.
Riding high off the comedy hit “Wayne’s World,” a 32-year-old Meyers paid more than $1.5 million for a 3,900-square-foot home with a pool on the Westside.
Winter break already?
Actors and former couple Melanie Griffith and Antonio Banderas haven’t found a buyer for their Aspen, Colo., retreat, which is for sale at $9.9 million. So they’re offering it for lease too at $65,000 a month. The 12.3-acre wooded site includes several houses and a ski run. It’s never too early to start planning for winter recess.
The Aspen, Colo., getaway of actors Melanie Griffith and Antonio Banderas is available for lease at $65,000 a month. (Realtor.com / Inset: Getty Images)
What we’re reading for extra credit
Finally, the old Herald Examiner building in downtown Los Angeles is going to be renovated and turned into mixed-use commercial space. The landmark Mission Revival-style building has sat vacant since 1989. That’s way beyond tardy and overdue by decades.
Architect Julia Morgan incorporated Spanish, Italian and Moorish touches and created an ornate lobby of marble and gold with hand-painted tiled flooring. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)
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