The Simons, soon to be the out-of-towners

Neil Simon has maintained ties with his East Coast roots for years. He has been bicoastal but has primarily lived for the last 28 years in this Connecticut-style house in Bel-Air.

Now the playwright, who won the 1991 Pulitzer Prize in Drama for his semi-autobiographical work “Lost in Yonkers,” is ready to live full time in New York.

The Bronx-born writer of “The Odd Couple” and other stage and screen successes made his mark on Broadway and Hollywood long ago, but today most of his projects are based in New York, where he underwent a kidney transplant earlier this year. Soon after the surgery, Bill Evans, Simon’s longtime publicist and kidney donor, said that Simon’s kidney loved living on Park Avenue but was looking forward to being in Bel-Air. A couple of months later, Simon and his wife, Elaine, returned to California and decided to sell their Bel-Air home. They plan to make their residence in Manhattan.

It’s time, the septuagenarian said, for him to go home.

About this house: It was built in 1937 and designed by architect McNeal Swasey, a student of architect Paul Williams. The house was renovated about eight years ago by Waldo Fernandez, who redesigned the Beverly Hilton hotel after showman-tycoon Merv Griffin purchased it in 1987. The Cuban-born designer has had other celebrity clients such as Elizabeth Taylor, Sean Connery, Goldie Hawn, Carole Bayer Sager and Burt Bacharach.

Asking price: $12 million

Size: The one-story traditional has six bedrooms and seven bathrooms in 6,760 square feet. The house is on almost two acres.

Features: The home has a long, gated driveway, motor court, eat-in kitchen, gym, library, media center, bar, basement; guesthouse, park-like grounds framed by eucalyptus trees, orchard, pool, gazebo and stone walkways. There are many private courtyards and patios.

Where: Bel-Air

Listing agent: Jan Horn, executive director of the architectural division of Coldwell Banker, Beverly Hills North office, (310) 710-3636.

To submit a candidate for Home of the Week, please send interior and exterior photos on a CD and a brief description of the house, including what makes the property outstanding, to Ruth Ryon, Real Estate section, Los Angeles Times, 202 W. 1st St., Los Angeles, CA 90012. Questions can be sent to homeoftheweek@latimes.com.