The biggest home in L.A. County is ready for a new nickname: The 56,500-square-foot Manor, dubbed Candyland after owner Candy Spelling, has officially sold to another wealthy socialite, British heiress Petra Ecclestone, in an all-cash deal for $85 million.
As steep as that price is, it’s not a record or even close to what Spelling was asking. The priciest Southland home transaction was the 2000 sale of an eight-acre estate in Bel-Air to financial executive Gary Winnick in a deal that included the trade of other land for a total value of about $94 million. A $100-million sale in the Silicon Valley earlier this year is believed to have set a U.S. record.
On the market for more than two years at $150 million as the highest-priced house in the U.S., the 4.7-acre Holmby Hills estate was designed for a life of glamour and grand living to which Ecclestone is no stranger. She is the daughter of self-made Formula 1 billionaire Bernie Ecclestone and former Armani model Slavica, who are divorced. The Ecclestone family ranked 254th this year on Forbes’ list of wealthiest people, with a net worth of $4.2 billion.
The 22-year-old, a beneficiary of the family trust, also is no stranger to property ownership. She already has a Georgian mansion in Chelsea valued at an estimated $90 million.
In one respect, the $150-million price tag made the jobs of the listing agents easier.
“Rick Hilton and I had no problems with pre-qualifying buyers,” quipped Jeff Hyland of Hilton & Hyland, Beverly Hills, an affiliate of Christie’s International Real Estate. “If they or their party were not on the Forbes list, it was very easy to decline the showing.”
The sale takes place at a time when deals in the $20-million-and-up range on L.A.’s Westside have outpaced last year, with more than a half-dozen closings already recorded. It’s not uncommon for asking prices in this upper sphere to be lowered 40% or more as a property lingers on the market. Spelling, however, held firm to her original price even as the housing market sank, but ultimately sold at a 43% price chop.
In this housing stratosphere determining an asking price is an inexact science.
“Generally speaking you are not going to have matching comps because every estate is different when you get to that price range,” said Jordan Cohen, estates director for Re/Max Olson & Associates, Westlake Village. Cohen, who closed a $19.2-million sale last month and opened new escrows in excess of $45 million, has represented professional athletes and celebrities including Kobe Bryant, tennis star Pete Sampras and Sylvester Stallone. “Usability of the lot, its size, finishes and other factors” all play a role.
A high-priced estate is only worth what a buyer is willing to pay, he said.
Ecclestone’s new L.A. digs are about 1,500 square feet larger than the White House. Spelling, the widow of famed TV producer Aaron Spelling, has claimed she never counted the number of rooms even though she oversaw construction of the Chateau-style residence, built in 1991. A blend of over-the-top extravagance and practicality, the house is estimated to have about 123 rooms — many customized for their purposes, such as the flower-cutting room and a humidity-controlled silver storage room.
The basement bowling alley frequented by Aaron Spelling was a family and friends hangout. A closet contained bowling shoes in nearly every size.
Bedrooms number 14 and bathrooms 27, according to the Multiple Listing Service. Plus there’s a 17,000-square-foot attic where mechanical lifts raise and lower chandeliers in the rooms below and extras were stored from Spelling’s many collections.
Designed for large-scale entertaining, the manicured grounds include parking for more than 100 vehicles, a swimming pool with a pool house, a citrus orchard and a tennis court.
In her 2009 book “Stories From Candyland,” Spelling tells of her unfamiliarity with the building process. “We didn’t set out to build the largest house…. Because I couldn’t read blueprints, I was often surprised by what was eventually built.”
Among things she would have done differently: the gift-wrapping room would have been larger, as would have two of the powder rooms. She devoted two extra attic rooms to gift-wrapping to make up for the miscalculation.
Even without the book title, the Spelling Manor could have qualified for the nickname “Candyland.” The former owner collected candy jars, candy dishes, candy dispensers and antique candy machines, many of which would be filled when royalty — Hollywood or otherwise — came to visit. The name originally considered for the manse was L’Oiseau, for bird, to reflect its W-shape layout.
Ecclestone is reported to be a collector of Hermes Birkin bags and Damien Hirst artwork. Like Spelling, she is a dog lover and has five miniatures.
Spelling’s book recounts how she relied on the instincts of her dogs in helping select an appraiser and, later, the agents who landed her mammoth listing. Passing muster with her Wheaton terrier Madison were Hilton, Hyland and Sally Forster Jones, who is with Coldwell Banker, Beverly Hills. Hilton appears to have been a particularly fortuitous selection as he and David Kramer, also of Hilton & Hyland, represented Eccelstone in the purchase.
Spelling will be downsizing to a 15,555-square-foot condo on the top two floors of the Century in Century City. She got it for $35 million — down from the $47 million she originally agreed to pay when the 41-story tower was under construction in 2008. That price had included about an additional 1,000 square foot of space, fixtures and other work she opted to do on her own.
While the finishing touches are being completed at the Century, Spelling is temporarily relocating to the Carlyle, on the Wilshire Corridor.
At the time she listed the mansion for sale in 2009, Spelling said, “I just hope that someone will enjoy every nook and cranny the way I have.”
Ecclestone is reported to be a collector of Hermes Birkin bags and Damien Hirst artwork. Like Spelling, she is a dog lover and has five miniatures.
Ecclestone plans to marry businessman James Stunt next month. Spelling left an antique carved stone bench in the yard for the couple, calling it a wedding present — one that will need no gift wrapping.
An Ecclestone spokesman was quoted last month in the Daily Mail as saying she will be using the U.S. residence only part time.
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