Sandy Gallin lists Bel-Air estate at $32 million
Former talent manager Sandy Gallin has put his 42nd residential project -- a more than 12,000-square-foot remodel and expansion in Bel-Air -- on the market at $32 million.
The late-’30s Paul Williams-designed traditional was home to “Father Knows Best” actress Jane Wyatt until her death. Gallin purchased the house in 2007 for $7 million, with the intention of tearing it down and building a two-story contemporary.
“I bought it for the land and the view, and five days after I closed escrow, I heard from the landmark conservation board that I couldn’t tear it down,” he said. “I was ready to have a heart attack.”But the result is a seven-bedroom, 12-bathroom home that blends Williams’ traditional style with the contemporary architecture of Scott Mitchell, who has worked with Gallin on about half a dozen houses. Among the signature Williams design elements is the two-story circular entryway with its sweeping staircase.
Gallin wanted to replace Wyatt’s terraced gardens with more flat yard space and had to build three sets of retaining walls, one of which serves as a wall along the new 140-foot infinity pool. He estimates he spent more than $7 million on hardscape, trees and other landscaping.
To make the interior contiguous, he chose reclaimed white oak for floors throughout the house and wood for the ceilings and walls of many rooms, spending more than $3 million on materials and labor. Gallin, whose extensive credits have included TV and film production and managing the musical talents of Barbra Streisand and Dolly Parton, has reinvented himself by rebuilding and flipping expensive houses. Frank Sinatra, “Survivor” producer Mark Burnett and sax player Kenny G all purchased Gallin properties.
Although he had thought this would be his last project, this latest home is “too big for one person,” he said. “I need to definitely build another.”
The listing agents are Ernie Carswell of Teles Properties, Beverly Hills, and Kurt Rappaport, Westside Estate Agency, Beverly Hills.
