MountainGate Homes Aim at Luxury Market
Ever since its inception in the early 1970s, MountainGate has meant large town houses in a golf course-oriented development in the Sepulveda Pass between the Westside and the San Fernando Valley.
Until Lawrence C. (Buzz) Cardoza came on the scene with his $10-million Promontory Homes project, that is.
Now the hillside development above Brentwood has 15 four-bedroom single-family houses priced from $610,000 to $765,000, designed by Richard Martin.
Designed for Families
Cardoza’s firm, Cardoza Development Corp., Brentwood, purchased the 1,400-foot-high, bedrock-based site for the single-family houses from Cadillac Fairview Homes West, the developer of 26 town houses in the Vista and Crest Promontory sections of the 870-acre development.
“This is the only development of new single-family luxury housing in a country club setting on the Westside,” Cardoza said. “Town houses built in earlier MountainGate developments appealed primarily to empty nesters. These large homes, surrounded by private yards, are the first in MountainGate designed for the family market.”
Five developments, with a total of 147 town houses valued at more than $62 million, have been built and sold since 1979. The town houses were constructed by various builders, he added.
The two-story houses are available in three floor plans ranging in size from 3,200 to 3,900 square feet and feature tile roofs, maid’s rooms, three or four wood-burning fireplaces, zoned heating and air conditioning, family rooms, spa bathrooms in master suites and 24-foot-high entry halls and nine- to 15-foot-high living rooms in some plans.
Other features include electronic security and medical emergency systems linked to a central office staffed round the clock and a 24-hour roving patrol. A guarded entry gate will be in place later this fall. Landscape architecture by Roger Presburger includes full-grown trees and plants.
Private Clubouse
Construction financing was provided by Old Stone of California Inc., while permanent financing is available through Imperial Savings & Loan Assn.
A monthly homeowners association fee in the $185 range will pay for maintenance of a private clubhouse with a swimming pool and spa. The fee will also cover upkeep of MountainGate’s private streets, parkway landscaping and landscaped slopes, as well as the security services.
The sales office, staffed by Merrill Lynch Realty, is open daily from noon to 4 p.m. at 2130 Stoney Hill Road, off Mountaingate Drive, reached from Sepulveda Boulevard.
Golf Course Expanded
MountainGate was conceived about 17 years ago by Barclay Hollander Corp., a subsidiary of Castle & Cook Inc.
The original 18-hole MountainGate Golf Course--nine holes were subsequently added--was created by golf course designer Ted Robinson. The development’s tennis club features 17 lighted courts terraced around a two-story tennis clubhouse.
Both the country club and tennis club are operated by American Golf & Tennis, which operates many similar facilities around the nation. Memberships are available, but are not included in the purchase price of the houses, Cardoza said.
