Candy Spelling gets $12-million price break on new penthouse
Candy Spelling’s long-pending purchase of a two-story penthouse condominium in Century City closed Wednesday at a reduced price that still made it one of the most expensive deals ever for a Los Angeles condo.
The widow of TV mogul Aaron Spelling paid $35 million — or $2,250 per square foot — for the top two floors of the Century, a 41-story condo building completed in July on Avenue of the Stars.
Spelling expects to spend about a year completing the interior of her new home before moving in, her representative said.
With high-rise living still rarer in Los Angeles than in other international cities, the dramatic Art Deco-inspired tower is targeted at a sliver of buyers willing to spend as much for a condo as they would for a sumptuous home in an exclusive neighborhood such as Beverly Hills or Malibu.
The recent housing crash affected even the top end of the market, however, and developer Related Cos. this year reduced prices as much as 25% on the Century’s approximately 140 units. Spelling had agreed to pay $47 million in 2008 when the building was under construction.
Prices were reduced for Spelling and other buyers who made early commitments to the project, said Susan de Franca, Related’s president of sales. Spelling’s price also declined, De Franca said, because the measurement of her square footage decreased slightly to 15,555 from 16,500 and the original price included significant build-outs such as kitchen, fixtures and millwork that now will be delivered by Spelling’s contractors instead of Related.
Early plans for Spelling’s aerie called for a living room with two working fireplaces, a dining room for 25 guests and staff quarters on the lower floor. The top floor would house the bedrooms, including a 4,000-square-foot master suite, a massage room, an exercise room, a conservatory complete with rose garden, and a swimming pool and deck.
About 30% of the building has now been sold or is in escrow, De Franca said. Units start at $2.8 million and eight or nine families have moved in so far.
As the housing market fell apart, some local real estate observers speculated that Spelling would abandon the Century.
“The rumors have been quelled,” De Franca said. “We are really pleased.”
