Newsletter: Hot Property: The pause that refreshes
The advertising slogan that Coca-Cola used for a few years starting in 1929 is our headline this week.
Our jobs can be oddly stressful on a day-to-day basis. Off-topic pitches fill our inbox, unverifiable gossip makes the rounds and disgruntled celebrity handlers have us on speed-dial. Sometimes it’s hard to keep an eye on the prize.
So what a real treat it was to be granted first media access to Johnny Depp’s penthouses in downtown L.A.’s Eastern Columbia Building. To tie back to the time period of our vintage headline, the onetime furniture and clothing store was completed in 1930.
Taking the time away from our computer screens to climb the staircases connecting the many levels of the actor’s five units was indeed a much-needed pause that refreshed.
– Neal J. Leitereg and Lauren Beale
The more, the merrier
Talk about an exotic real estate portfolio. Actor-producer Johnny Depp already has a French village for sale and now has listed almost an entire floor in L.A.’s Eastern Columbia Lofts on Broadway.
The collection of five residences, several of which are stealthily connected through closets, is for sale at $12.78 million.
The Art Deco building, clad in teal and gold leaf tilework, seems suitably outlandish for the star of the “Pirates of the Caribbean” film series. The colorful interiors of his penthouses continue the blue-and-green exterior palette in the main living areas. Walls in purple, red and yellow define other rooms.
Make no mistake, these are not ultra-luxury spaces but industrial-vibe rooms one would expect in downtown Los Angeles. The 11,500 square feet of Bohemian living space, decorated with massive wall murals and other artwork, seems to say: Real people live here.
A sixth penthouse on the same level is also for sale, making this a unique chance for a buyer to take over the entire floor and create an even larger compound in the sky. A shout-out to Partners Trust agent Kevin Dees, son of radio personality Rick Dees, for clearing the many hurdles that allowed us to tour the units.
Depp put his collection of residences in the Eastern Columbia Building on the market for $12.78 million. (James Lang / Berlyn Photography | Inset: Los Angeles Times)
On another shore
Yes, our heads do turn when we see a $175-million home listing.
In this case, they turned east toward picturesque Darien, Conn., where an Italianate mansion on 63 acres has come on the market. We are seduced by the rocky shorelines of this island property. If you don’t believe us, click through the photo gallery.
Sprawling lawns, meadows and mature trees surround the main house. Quaint stone stables, two guesthouses and a polo field are also on the grounds.
A 63-acre estate in Darien, Conn., has come to market with an asking price of $175 million. (Stanley Jesudowich)
A Calabasas classic
Rustic, funky and fun. Those are the first words that come to mind to describe the Calabasas home that Mariel Hemingway, the actress-author-granddaughter of novelist Ernest Hemingway, recently sold for $1.65 million.
The 1959 ranch-style house is set amid mature oaks. A climbing wall, an outdoor gym, a teepee, organic garden beds, fruit trees, a chicken coop and a saltwater swimming pool share the grounds.
The stone-and-wood-beamed house features industrial-style exposed air ducts. The kitchen blends stainless appliances, chunky stone counters and a blue accent wall to dramatic effect. The wooden deck has an outdoor fireplace.
Views take in a panorama of the Santa Monica Mountains. All in all, incredibly cool.
Hemingway sold her park-like home near Calabasas for $1.65 million. (Jeff Elson | Los Angeles Times)
Where music lives
Ten-time Grammy winner Wayne Shorter has put his home in Hollywood Hills West on the market for $3.495 million.
The multilevel 1960s home, set on a third-acre of hillside, looks fresh and up-to-date with white-walled interiors and extensive built-in nooks and crannies. French doors bring in canyon views.
The 2,736 square feet of interior space has that staged-for-sale look until you come to a den filled with collectibles and memorabilia from the jazz saxophonist’s career.
The composer bought the house nine years ago for $2.19 million.
Shorter is asking $3.495 million for his home in Hollywood Hills West. (Rodeo Realty | Los Angeles Times)
No more tracking in sand
Actor John Cusack sold his home along the beach in Malibu for $10.3 million.
The Spanish-style multilevel home was built in 1974 but has a timeless look. The 4,660 square feet of living space features high ceilings, painted beams and wrought iron chandeliers.
Walls of windows take in the coastline and open water. The master suite opens to a private balcony.
The lower level of the home has direct access to the sand.
Among Cusack’s scores of film credits is the 1999 cult classic “Being John Malkovich.”
End of an era
The Brentwood estate where comic and writer Garry Shandling made his home at the time of his death sold for $10.65 million in a deal completed outside the Multiple Listing Service.
The Hacienda-style home, built in 1992, has nearly 6,100 square feet of living space. Set behind walls on an acre-plus lot with a gated courtyard and swimming pool, the house is surrounded by lush landscaping.
A basketball half-court where Shandling would host pickup games is also on the grounds.
The comedian, known as the host of “The Larry Sanders Show,” died this year at 66 of a heart attack.
The Brentwood home of late comic Garry Shandling sold for $10.65 million in a deal completed off-market. (Associated Press)
From the archives
Twenty years ago, singer-actress Madonna sold her nine-level, 7,800-square-foot home in Hollywood Hills. The Mediterranean-style house was built in the ’20s and used by infamous gangster Bugsy Siegel as a gambling den. The house went for $5.3 million.
Ten years ago, stand-up comic-actor Pauly Shore was offering a Hollywood Hills house for lease at $9,000 a month. The Spanish-style home had been owned by actor Errol Flynn in the '40s.
What we’re reading
— We’re so sorry. We just can’t seem to get away from politics. Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton and her husband, former President Bill Clinton, bought a home next door to their primary residence in Chappaqua, N.Y., report the Washington Post and CBS News. The Clintons also own a mansion near the British Embassy in Washington that Hillary used when she was a senator. The new house was purchased this summer for $1.16 million.
— California will continue to pile on jobs in 2017, but its advantage over the rest of the country will shrink in the future, say a report from UC Riverside and another from UCLA. The problem? Lack of adequate housing.
— 6AM, the massive mixed-use development proposed for L.A.’s booming Arts District, is described by Times architecture critic Christopher Hawthorne as “thoughtful in its response to its site.” But will the project’s high-rise portion work with the low-rise sections and surrounding neighborhood? Or will the result be oddly anti-urban?
— We close with a look at the J.D. Baer House in Detroit, which sat empty for 50 years. The turreted brick home with corner-wrapping porch should be completed early next year, reports Curbed Detroit. The 1888 house will contain garden-level retail space and five residential units. Awesome reuse.
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