Niami’s Opus megamansion sells to prolific SoCal investor

Nile Niami’s Opus megamansion has finally sold to someone who didn’t pay to develop it.

The 20,000-square-foot Trousdale Estates property was sold to a multifamily investor based in the San Gabriel Valley, according to Variety. A lender took control of the property in February; the deed shows that the property was valued at $38M in the transaction.

The buyer is prolific real estate investor Bin Fen Cheng, according to the report. The mansion at 1175 North Hillcrest Road was most recently listed for $60 million, but the latest sale price hasn’t been disclosed.

Niami completed Opus in 2017. It came to market as by far the most over-the-top white box spec mansions of the last decade, with an asking price of $100 million. Niami’s racy marketing campaign with scantily-clad women traipsing around the mansion drew attention, not all of it positive.

The property struggled to attract buyers and the asking price came down to $60 million before rising back last fall to $80 million.

After lender Joseph Englanoff took control of the property earlier this year, he undertook a renovation to make it more appealing to a wider pool of buyers, particularly families. Listing agents Branden and Rayni Williams also revised its marketing.

The stone floors were replaced with wide-plank oak floors and the champagne refrigerator was converted into a pantry. The gold Lamborghini and gold Rolls Royce in the underground auto museum space were replaced with a dinosaur fossil.

Bin’s real estate holdings include shopping centers in Arcadia and Rowland Heights, along with apartment buildings, Variety reported. In January 2019, The Real Deal reported that Yeh paid $220 million for 801 South Hope Street, a 22-story building that includes 290 luxury apartments and 5,900 square feet of retail space.

Bin appears to be keeping her two-acre San Marino estate she’s shared with her husband for more than two decades. [Variety] — Dennis Lynch