Media tycoon Byron Allen paid $32 million for two adjacent Beverly Hills homes near the mansion he aims to demolish and replace with a 24,000 square-foot estate worth $150-million.
The CEO of Century City-based Entertainment Studios picked up the pair of homes on Calle Vista Drive from Los Angeles producer and former eBay president Jeff Skoll, Dirt.com reported.
The side-by-side properties include a 7,500-square-foot contemporary home at 1118 Calle Vista Dr. he bought for $22.5 million; and a 3,000-square-foot Tudor-style home at 1116 Calle Vista Dr. he bought for $9.5 million.
Skoll, who paid a total of $17 million for both properties in two separate deals in 2005 and 2014, had listed the pair earlier this year for a combined $33 million.
Fred Bernstein and Ethan Peskowitz of Westside Estate Agency were the listing agents.
The larger estate sits on a promontory, with views from Downtown Los Angeles to the Pacific Ocean, according to the listing. The five-bedroom, 6.5-bath house, built in 1999, includes a wood-paneled study, gym, and wine cellar. It.sits on a nearly one- acre-lot and includes an infinity pool and guest house.
The smaller Tudor-style house, built in 1951, is a three-bedroom, three-bath home surrounded by mature trees on over half an acre. Its timbered living room has a loft accessible via a wooden ladder, according to the listing.
One-time stand-up comedian Allen and his wife, producer Jennifer Lucas, paid $17 million in 2012 for their 12,700-square-foot home at 1115 Calle Vista Dr., north of Doheny Road in the Beverly Hills Gateway neighborhood.
They have filed plans to raze the seven-bedroom, 10-bath mansion and replace it with a 24,000 square-foot mansion, of which half would be below ground. The two-story home would include a bowling alley, underground theater, gym and six-car garage. More than 100 Beverly Hills residents signed a petition to oppose the project.
Allen secured $82 million in financing to build the megamansion, including a $37.8 million mortgage from Bank of America and a $45 million line of credit, The Real Deal first reported. When completed, it could be worth as much as $150 million, according to the person who arranged the loans.
[Dirt] – Dana Bartholomew