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Veronica’s Insurance founder lists Redlands mansion
Gallardo wants $6M for 110-year-old estate she overhauled
Southern California insurance entrepreneur Veronica Gallardo is looking to sell her Redlands estate.
Gallardo bought the estate in 2007 for $2.2 million, according to Dirt. With a $6 million ask, it’s the priciest listing in the Inland Empire municipality of 70,000 or so,
The property was reportedly in disrepair before an overhaul by Gallardo, who replaced the property, replacing all of the utilities, installing a second swimming pool, and re-landscaping the grounds, which total about 3.6 acres.
The main mansion was designed by Roberty D. Farquhar and dates from 1910. It has 12 bedrooms and 13.5 bathrooms. Together with a three-bedroom staff wing and a detached guest house above the five-car garage, there is about 13,000 square feet of living space.
(Source: Redfin)
The estate was built as a winter home for the O.T. Higgins, the son of New York Governor Frank W. Higgins, but the younger Higgins died just two years after it was completed. The property changed hands several times and was at one point a maternity hospital and later a boutique hotel.
Gallardo’s overhaul included interior renovations. She hired Palm Beach-based designer Tonie VanderHulst to spearhead the interior work. What resulted was an opulent manse filled with equally opulent furnishings.
Several rooms have marble floors and most rooms have ornate chandeliers. One bathroom in what appears to be a basement includes a throne-esque toilet.
The kitchen includes a large center island and a backsplash behind the La Cornue range that was imported from Gallardo’s native Mexico.
Gallardo relocated closer to central Los Angeles in early 2020, when she bought a smaller mansion in Encino from former NFL star Antonio Gates for $6.5 million.
Gallardo founded Veronica’s Insurance in Los Angeles 25 years ago. The company offers auto, life and health insurance. It now has around 500 employees and 100 locations across California, Colorado, Texas and Florida. The business is aimed primarily at Spanish-speaking clients.
Veronica’s Insurance has a franchise model. Entrepreneur Magazine earlier this year named it the number 1 franchise in the insurance category for their Top 500 New Franchises list, according to a press release.
Gallardo is the sister of fellow insurance entrepreneur Adriana Gallardo, founder of Adriana’s Insurance Services.
[Dirt] — Dennis Lynch