Hot Property: Chartwell sets California’s new price record at about $150 million
Forget the bubbling crude, there’s money in real estate, Jed!
The Bel-Air residence of late media mogul A. Jerrold Perenchio has sold for about $150 million, making it the most expensive home sale ever recorded in the Golden State. The buyer is Lachlan Murdoch, son of Rupert Murdoch and co-chairman of publishing company News Corp., The Times has confirmed.
Classic television watchers may recognize Chartwell from the credits of “The Beverly Hillbillies” sitcom. However, in real estate circles, it has long been considered among L.A.’s great estates.
Priced as high as $350 million as a pocket listing, the estate centers on a 1930s French neoclassical-style chateau of 25,000 square feet that sits on 10 acres. Also trading in the deal was the former home of President Reagan and his wife, Nancy, which sits behind the main estate.
The price surpasses Formula One heiress Petra Ecclestone’s $119.75-million sale this year of the Manor, a 56,500-square-foot chateau in Holmby Hills.
Designed by architect Sumner Spaulding, the limestone-clad estate includes such Gatsby-esque features as a ballroom, scaled formal rooms and a vaulted foyer. The custom wine vault can hold 12,000 bottles. There’s also a paneled dining room.
Perenchio, who died in 2017 at 86, acquired the main estate and three contiguous parcels in the 1980s. Under his direction, the main residence was enhanced and restored by designer Henri Samuel and architect Pierre Barbe.
Obscured from the street by walls and hedges, the grounds contain manicured gardens, elaborate fountain features, a tennis court, a 75-foot swimming pool and a pool house. A separate guesthouse was designed by noted architect Wallace Neff.
Drew Gitlin and Susan Gitlin from Berkshire Hathaway Homeservices California Properties; Drew Fenton, Gary Gold and Jeff Hyland of Hilton & Hyland; and Joyce Rey, Jade Mills and Alexandra Allen of Coldwell Banker Global Luxury were the listing agents.
Since his death, Perenchio’s estate has listed and sold a number of properties, including large holdings in Malibu. Across from Chartwell, a vacant property Perenchio used as a private vineyard sold in November for $12 million.
It’s no early-bird special
Celebrity chef Giada De Laurentiis, star of Food Network’s “Giada at Home,” has sold her scenic Pacific Palisades home for the full asking price of $7 million.
Found in Via Bluffs, the contemporary home backs up to Potrero Canyon Park, taking in sweeping views of the ocean and Santa Monica Mountains. Inside, an indoor-outdoor interior fits five bedrooms and 5.5 bathrooms into 6,500 square feet.
Walls of glass brighten the vast open floor plan, which combines a lounge, dining area, living room and sleek kitchen with a 24-foot island. A dual-sided fireplace runs floor to ceiling.
Another vast open entertainer’s space combines a game room, media room, wet bar and glass-encased wine cellar. Windows take in underwater views of the pool.
A floating staircase ascends to the second story, where the master suite adds a marble bathroom, a skylighted closet and a deck with a fireplace. The outdoor space overlooks a cozy backyard with a swimming pool, spa and lawn.
Smith Cho of Compass held the listing.
A native of Italy, De Laurentiis moved to L.A. as a child and graduated from UCLA. The 49-year-old has starred in multiple Food Network shows over the years including “Behind the Bash” and “Everyday Italian,” for which she won a Daytime Emmy Award.
Looking to pass the keys
Professional basketball player Sasha Vujacic, who won two NBA championships with the Lakers, is calling it quits in the South Bay. After a decade of ownership, he’s listed his townhouse in Manhattan Beach for sale at $3.799 million.
That’s more than double the $1.85 million he paid for the place in 2009.
Found a few blocks from the beach, the two-story home features multiple outdoor spaces to take advantage of the ocean views. A balcony hangs off the master suite, while the living room opens to a wraparound deck.
Inside, white oak floors and white-painted beams sandwich sunny living spaces. There’s a tile-splashed chef’s kitchen, as well as a window-lined dining area.
The master suite tacks on a fireplace and built-in bench seating. It’s one of three bedrooms and 3.5 bathrooms in 2,100 square feet. Down below sits a garage with a checkered floor and a private backyard.
Lisa Levin of Strand Hill Christie’s International Real Estate holds the listing.
After a few years in an Italian basketball league, Vujacic was drafted by the Lakers in 2004 and went on to win championships with the team in 2009 and 2010 alongside Kobe Bryant and Pau Gasol.
Still getting around
Legendary singer-songwriter Brian Wilson of the Beach Boys has sold his home on Lake Arrowhead for $2.85 million.
The chalet-inspired home, built in 2012, overlooks the water and includes a solar-powered dock slip and a lakeside deck. Tall spires, brown-shingle siding and stone accents give the multilevel house a storybook feel.
Past the iron and wood front doors, the home opens to a great room with vaulted and beamed ceilings. A fireplace sits at the far end of the room, which adjoins the formal dining room. The center-island kitchen completes the open-concept space.
The living space, some 4,500 square feet, also has a lower-level family/game room, five bedrooms and 4.5 bathrooms. An elevator services each of the three floors.
Wilson, 77, wrote such Beach Boys hits as “Good Vibrations” and was inducted with the group into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1988. He has gone on to release 11 solo albums, including “No Pier Pressure” in 2015.
The property originally came up for sale in 2016 for about $3.3 million and was more recently listed for $2.999 million. Wilson and his wife, Melinda, bought the house in 2012 for $2.1 million.
Joseph Evans of Coldwell Banker Sky Ridge Realty was the listing agent. Nadine Knuckles of Realty Executives represented the buyer.
Bringing the desert heat
California isn’t the only state with a new price champion. In Arizona’s Paradise Valley, the palatial estate of Phoenix Suns owner Robert Sarver has sold for $19.25 million, the priciest residential real estate transaction in state history.
The Spanish villa spans 28,000 square feet, taking in sweeping views of Camelback Mountain.
In addition to expansive tan-toned common spaces, it boasts a full-size Suns-themed indoor basketball court. A spacious gym sits adjacent, and a number of balconies overlook the space from above.
There’s lots of lumber in the living spaces, as hardwood floors sit under dramatic beamed ceilings. Highlights include an indoor-outdoor living room, family room with a fireplace, chandelier-topped dining area and massive center-island kitchen.
Coffered ceilings top the office and movie theater, which boasts dramatic dark tones and tiered seating. The master suite, one of five bedrooms in the main house, tacks on an exercise studio, sitting room, salon and private spa with an outdoor shower. A detached guesthouse adds two more bedrooms.
Outside, vast stretches of lawn lead from patio to patio throughout the five-acre grounds. There’s a spacious motor court, fire pit, courtyard with a fountain, swimming pool, spa and private grotto.
Chris Karas of Launch Real Estate held the listing. Walt Danley of Walt Danley Christie’s International Real Estate represented the buyer.
A native of Arizona, Sarver founded real estate company Southwest Value Partners in the 1990s and bought the Phoenix Suns NBA franchise for $401 million in 2004.
