Construction billionaire shells out $63M for sprawling Montecito estate

Another eight-figure deal has closed in Montecito, marking one of the area’s priciest sales of the year.

An entity tied to construction billionaire Riley Bechtel has shelled out $63.3 million for the 237-acre parcel known as Ranchos San Carlos, according to Noozhawk, a local outlet in the area.

That’s a big discount from its original ask of $125 million when it first listed in 2014. The estate was asking $75 million earlier this year before it was pulled from the market.

Still, it’s one of the priciest sales ever recorded in Santa Barbara County, where there’s been a flurry of activity this year. Actor Rob Lowe sold his Montecito estate for $46 million earlier this month. In September, former Google CEO Eric Schmidt bought an 11-acre estate for $31 million.

Ranchos San Carlos has been owned by the family of investor Charles H. Jackson Jr., who bought the property in the 1920s. It hasn’t been used much since his widow Ann died in 1990, but has been maintained by the couple’s heirs, according to Variety.

Unlike the Jacksons, Bechtel, who is retired from his namesake company, plans to live on the estate, which has a 30,000-square-foot mansion with 12 bedrooms and 12 bathrooms. The parcel also has more than 100 acres of avocado and citrus groves, 10 guest cottages, an office building and equestrian facilities.

Elsewhere in Santa Barbara, Ellen DeGeneres wants to flip an estate for $40 million and hotelier Patrick Nesbitt wants $65 million for his polo-focused compound. [Noozhawk] — Dennis Lynch