Japan-inspired mansion in San Fernando Valley fetches $18M

Onin, an Encino mansion by architect Eran Gispan that has gained attention from glossy magazines such as Architectural Digest for its Japanese-inspired style, recently sold for $18 million.

Located at 16041 Woodvale Road, the mansion was initially listed for $26 million in September 2021.

The 19,500-square foot manse was sold for $1,075 per square foot, and is the second-highest sale in the San Fernando Valley suburb of Encino. The most expensive was the $20 million sale to celebrities Nick Jonas and Priyanka Chopra in 2019. Dirt.com first reported the story on the 2023 sale.

The seller was builder JVE Development; the buyer is fashion entrepreneur Annah Bach and her husband Georg F. Hesselbach, chief of German glass company Interpane. Reports were unclear on who represented the buyers. The listing agents were Adi Livyatan of Rodeo Realty, who was ranked as a top producing L.A. County agent by The Real Deal in 2020, and Sally Forster Jones of Compass. Jones was ranked in The Real Deal’s 2022 list of top-producing L.A. County agents.

The nine-bedroom, 10-bathroom house features a 65-foot-long pool that empties into a waterfall. Jae Omar served as Onin’s interior designer.

Interesting features Omar designed include a bathroom sink that was built into a boulder and a courtyard with a bonsai tree. Amenities include a spa which features a steam room, a jacuzzi and a cold plunge, as well as a 15-person theater and a tennis court, a bocce ball court and a basketball court.

The property’s website calls the main building a “Japanese-inspired modern farmhouse.” Exterior construction utilized a “traditional Japanese wood-burning process called ‘shou-sugi-ban’ … to create the beautiful charcoal-toned wooden facade,” according to the website. The main foyer uses marble slabs and is called the “Butterfly Pavilion.” The home’s name references the Onin Era of Japanese history, a two-year period in the mid-1400s.

The home is in a section of Encino called Royal Oaks, which aspires to the style of Bel-Air trophy homes. A neighbor is 15930 Woodvale Road, an eight-bedroom, 11.5-bathroom with about 22,000 square feet. It is currently listed at $22 million, or about $1,040 per square foot.

– Andrew Asch