Wednesday, March 19, 2014

Midweek Mash Up: The McCourts

Former Bostonians...Frank and Jamie McCourt moved to L.A. when they bought the L.A. Dodgers baseball franchise in 2004 for a $430 million.* The now bitterly divorced former couple settled into a 2.6 acre estate in the Holmby Hills area that they bought $21,500,000 from Grammy-winning R&B musician Babyface Edmonds. Court documents related to the McCourts' much publicized and scrutinized divorce indicate that they spent another $14,000,000 on upgrades, renovations and expansions.**

Back in the spring of 2012, shortly after the couple's divorce was finalized, Your Mama heard word from Platinum Triangle real estate insider Heidi N. Holmbyhills that ex-Missus McCourt—granted sole ownership of the Holmby Hills estate in her divorce—quietly floated the fancy, fortified property as a whisper listing with an (unconfirmed) asking price of $65 million. More than two years later, with no off-market takers, ex-Missus McCourt opted this week to push the palatial property on the open market with a much lower but still sky-high official asking price of $55,000,000.

The compound, across the street from the Playboy Mansion behind thick and towering hedges, comprises of a 20,637 square foot main house—described as a "Contemporary European Villa" in listing details—as well as two additional structures that contain guest quarters, a staff apartment and a pool house.

Iron gates swing open to a long driveway that sweeps across the lower end of the estate and up and around to a civic-scaled motor court. Guests are grandly greeted in and surely impressed by a double-height foyer with symmetrical fireplaces on each end. There are, as per current listing details, five bedrooms, at least eight fireplaces, and six bathrooms. (Six bathrooms doesn't seem quite enough for a house of this size, does it?) There's a step down formal living room, a formal dining room commodious enough to accommodate large sit down dinners, and a commercial-quality kitchen that adjoins a roomy family room. Even though the house tops out at more than 20,000 square feet the library, as per listing details, does double duty as a state of the art screening room. There are also, as per marketing materials, separate art, dance and sound studios.

The manicured grounds include a thick ring of mature trees on the perimeter that private privacy from looky loos, lawns large enough to pitch circus tents, and in addition to the outdoor swimming pool there's also a partly subterranean Olympic-length indoor swimming pool with nearby spa area, steam room, and massage nook, natch.

Court documents related to the couple's divorce reveal that it cost the McCourts more than $200,000 a month to maintain the property, including nearly six grand in utility bills and close to $30,000 in domestic staff payments.***

If the asking price seems a bit on the high side, children, keep in mind this is the same, über-prime pocket of the Platinum Triangle where in 2011 pampered Formula One racing heiress Petra Whatsherface paid a downright shocking $85 million for the (in)famous Spelling Mansion and where just a month or two ago inveterate house-hoppers Ellen DeGeneres and Portia de Rossi DeGeneres shelled out $39.8 million for an iconic A. Quincy Jones designed residence that had recently undergone a thorough restoration and sensitive update by Thousand Oaks-based high end house flipper Joanne Chao.

Mister McCourt, we heard recently from Platinum Triangle real estate insider Peter Propertyseller but can not confirm, is rumored by some in the real estate bidness to be holed up at Montage in Beverly Hills where Oprah Winfrey did not, as we first heard she had, buy an apartment but Judge Judy Sheindlin did. Ex-Missus McCourt continues to own and occupy side-by-side houses on Carbon Beach in Malibu, including the John Lautner-designed fantasia they bought in 2007 from Courtney Cox and ex-husband David Arquette for $27.3 million. Late last year she shelled out $11.25 million for a 21-acre spread in Napa (CA) with a four acre vineyard, a 3,500 square foot modern-minded main house with two bedrooms plus an architecturally significant two bedroom guest house.

*Mister McCourt sold the Dodgers in 2012 for $2.15 billion in cash to a consortium of investors that includes professional b-ball mandarin Magic Johnson and entertainment industry mover and shaker Peter Guber.

**The McCourts, a couple of bona fide real estate ballers, also bought the house next door for $6.5 million and sold it off in 2011 for $6.525 million.

***When the McCourts were married they concurrently maintained numerous other high maintenance homes that court documents related to their 2012 divorce show cost them a total of $167 million to buy and were secured with more than $60 million in mortgages.

aerial photo: Bing

18 comments:

Anonymous said...

They brought the kitchen from boston, no? Like, they sold the house in Boston but there was some stipulation that they could rip out the kitchen and ship it to la. I believe that cost them almost half a mil.

Anonymous said...

The house might be worth $50 mil. Some nice Saudi or Chinese family whose kid is going to UCLA, might need a place to stay. Good alternative to a Dorm room.

Anonymous said...

For 2 years she really imagined she'd get just $20MM less than what The Manor went for with it's more than twice the square footage and land area in the same neighborhood. OK..

I can't imagine this place going for more than the $39.8 million Ellen DeGeneres paid for her superior digs.

Anonymous said...

This house has been here since the Holmby Hills were developed

Anonymous said...

Anon 12:54- Learn Math

$85 - $55 = $30 not $20.

lil' gay boy said...

Another "...long driveway that sweeps across the lower end of the estate ..." à la Fleur de Lys -- only this one terminates at a large, white turd.

=8-O

I agree with Anon 12:54; probably a hair less, like $37.5M, but only because it will be pricey to teardown whilst preserving the underground pool complex so one can build anew atop it -- other than that, it's all land & location.

Anonymous said...

Anon 1:30 PM,

".. $85 million for the (in)famous Spelling Mansion.."

".. ex-Missus McCourt.. quietly floated with an (unconfirmed) asking price of $65 million.."

$85 million - $65 million = $20 million.

That is the correct math FOR the 2 YEARS the property was pocket listed, as I clearly stated.

If I was rude like you, I would say something along the lines of reading comprehension is your friend.. But I'm not, so it is my sincere hope that you learned something about yourself.

Anonymous said...

LGB, are you implying that the Fleur de Lys driveway does not end at a big white turd? ;)

lil' gay boy said...

Well, it ain't Versailles, but it does bear, as FLLW's client Mrs. Coonley put it, "...the countenance of principle..."

Anonymous said...

Just an FYI....This house was in the late 90's Halle Berry movie, B.A.P.S. !
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0118663/

Anonymous said...

@8:47 PM, I'm @2:11 PM, and before that @12:54 PM. Assuming you're the same one (Anon 1:30 PM) who "corrected" me and told me to "Learn Math", your response isn't surprising.

If not, I don't know what your angle is, but all you've done is project YOUR point of view onto me. Read your comment. Who's the miserable one? Have a nice evening.

Tyler said...

+1 Just ignore the negative nellies who troll the net looking for people they can abuse. Misery loves company and always will.

I agree with lil' gay boy and Anon 12:54. I much prefer houses like Ellen's to these monuments to the ego.

Anonymous said...

Holy God, they are definitely some certified real estate ballers. Maybe not on the Larry Ellison level, but damn. This will definitely get in the $45 million plus range when it finally goes.

Tyler said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Anonymous said...

Yeah 10:39, you're clearly a happy one with a life. Spending the day stalking this website disrespecting commenters is just how well adjusted, personally fulfilled people act..

Anonymous said...

Oh and hey.. I figured out who you are. I called you out the other day. That you went so far out of your way to prove me correct is pretty crazy. Damn boy.. try smoking some herb.

Mr DHH said...

I will run some numbers for you.8 million for full flat acre (it is prime platinum triangle baby).500
bucks a square foot (Finton Construction-good but on the pricey side).Toss in planning,permits,blah,
blah,blah.Me being generous (you include some nice home accessories).
29.75 million take it or leave it.
You bought high and 14 million dollar redo-please you could and should have built new and better for that.Remember ladies and gentlemen the home formally known as Spelling Manor is not that far off these calculations (when added
premiums of parcel size and construction quality and status).

Anonymous said...

$500 a square foot?!
Are we remodeling a calabasas tract house or building new in Holmby?
Lolz
You people don't know shit