An address where Ronald Reagan once lived, located in the Hollywood Hills’ Bird Streets neighborhood, has sold for $70 million, ranking as one of the priciest home sales of the year in the L.A. luxury market.
The 40th U.S. president was the owner of the original home at 9137 Cordell Drive. The current home’s seller was a group linked to Francesco Aquilini, a Canada-based billionaire and chairman of the Vancouver Canucks National Hockey League team. The identity of the buyer for the seven-bedroom, 12-bathroom home was not disclosed.
Husband-and-wife team Branden and Rayni Williams of the Beverly Hills Estates served as the listing agents. Kurt Rappaport of the Westside Estate Agency represented the buyer.
9137 Cordell Drive was initially listed for $80 million. An entity linked to Aquilini named Cordell Trust acquired the home for $8.5 million in 2012. It went through an extensive remodel in 2017.
Listing sites and agent websites did not give much information on the home’s amenities or its square footage. However, the three-level building was constructed on a lot that stretches out to almost three-quarters of an acre.
The sale ranks as one of the priciest Los Angeles home sales this year. Taking the top slot so far is The One, a Bel Air megamansion which was auctioned off for $121 million earlier this year. Others in the running include hip hop star Drake’s $75 million purchase of 9904 Kip Drive in Beverly Hills in April. Another pricey listing was pop singer Adele’s March purchase of 30 Beverly Park Terrace for $58 million. There’s also the $51 million sale for 1700 San Remo Drive in Pacific Palisades, which was once owned by pop star Adam Levine and his supermodel wife Behati Prinsloo.
Aquilini received a MBA degree from UCLA Anderson School of Management in 1994. He has been active in developing and selling Los Angeles mansions for years. He developed a Bird Streets mansion at 9272 Robin Drive that was sold for $42.5 million in 2020.
Reagan lived at 9137 Cordell Drive with his first wife, actress Jane Wyman, from 1941 to 1948, according to information on MLS and the Ronald W. Reagan Society of Eureka College.