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    Real Estate
    Friday, April 19, 2024

    California mansion becomes the most expensive on the market at $195 million

    Move over, Le Palais Royal. There's a new mega-mansion in town, and it's claiming the title as the most expensive property in the United States.

    Palazzo di Amore, or "Palace of Love," was recently listed for $195 million. The 25-acre estate is located at 9505 Lania Lane in Beverly Hills, California.

    The estate includes 53,000 square feet of living space, including 12 bedrooms, 16 bathrooms, and seven half bathrooms. The property is being listed by Stacy Gottula and Joyce Rey of Coldwell Banker Previews International.

    The Mediterranean-based design is complemented by an active vineyard, which produces about 400 to 500 cases of wine each year for the estate's private label. The mansion is located on a hillside with views over the nearby city and canyons.

    Three double gates lead into the property, and the 35,000-square-foot main villa is located at the end of a quarter-mile driveway lined by trees. The exterior landscaping includes olive trees, a waterfall, fountain, and 128-foot reflecting pool.

    The two-story entryway of Palazzo di Amore features twin curving staircases, inlaid flooring, and sculpted hearths. Other details include floors inlaid with multi-colored marble and groin vault ceilings.

    The lower level houses about 10,000 bottles and barrels for storing wine from the vineyard. A separate wine cellar and tasting room includes multiple corridors, temperature-controlled rooms, stone floors, and brick barrel-vault ceilings.

    One wing of the house features a chef's kitchen with a commercial walk-in refrigerator. This area of the home also includes a secondary staff kitchen, butler's pantry, two staff rooms, a three-car attached garage, and two private offices. The grand dining room is spanned by a colonnade.

    The second level, accessed by the double stairway or an elevator, features both an "East Wing" and "West Wing." The East Wing includes a 5,000-square-foot master bedroom suite with parquet wood floors, a fireplace with a hand-carved wooden mantel, and balcony to take advantage of the views. The suite's his and her bathrooms feature walk-in dressing rooms. This wing also includes a Turkish spa with suspended lamps and Moroccan tiles.

    The West Wing has four additional bedroom suites including a "VIP suite" with silk upholstered walls, a sitting room, a full kitchen, and a terrace. The second level also features a bonus room and two staff rooms.

    Entertainment was a key consideration in the mansion's design. A separate 15,000-square-foot entertainment complex includes a dressing room for live theater performances as well as inlaid limestone floors, hand-painted ceilings, and maple wood paneling. A ballroom features a rotating dance floor, DJ booth, and laser light system.

    Gottula and Rey say the home can comfortably accommodate up to 250 guests for dinner as well as parking for 150 cars. The owner can store up to 27 cars in on-site garage space.

    Other highlights of the property include a two-lane bowling alley, outdoor barbecue station, game room, tennis courts, swimming pool, and full guest house. The mansion is also located only two miles from the shops and attractions of Beverly Hills.

    Gottula and Rey say the mansion was "envisioned and realized" by developer Mohamed Hadid. It features architecture by Bob Ray Ottenhauser and was designed by Alberto Pinto.

    According to RealtorMag, the official magazine of the National Association of Realtors, the property was purchased by real estate investor Jeff Greene in 2007 for $35 million. Greene has put approximately $25 million into renovating the home over the years, offsetting some of the costs in the meantime by renting out the villa; in September, the rental was being offered at $475,000 a month.

    Anyone seeking to purchase the property would have to make a hefty monthly payment if they took out a standard mortgage. With a 20 percent down payment of $39 million, the National Association of Realtors estimates that Palazzo di Amore would require a payment of $750,926 each month plus an additional $242,125 a month for costs such as homeowner's insurance and property taxes.

    Earlier this year, an estate known as Le Palais Royal-French for "The Royal Palace-was deemed the most expensive residential listing in the United States. The 11 bedroom, 17 bathroom mansion is located in Hillsboro Beach, Florida, with an asking price of $139 million. The property includes 41,774 square feet of living space with features such as an IMAX home theater, a 4,500 square foot pool, and a dock capable of berthing a 185-foot megayacht.

     

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