A look inside a $ 65 million Beverly Hills mansion

It took six years for this $ 65 million mega-man to climb a ridge in Los Angeles.

In 2014, an obsolete mansion sat on the half-acre lot at 1108 Wallace Ridge. It hit the market with a sale price of $ 18 million. Like many of the potential buyers who saw the Beverly Hills listing, developer Michael Chen loved the site, but saw no value in the 6,300-square-foot home of the property.

“It was a demolition,” Chen said.

However, the developer and its investor were attracted to it. The property is in the exclusive Trousdale Estates section of Zip Code 90210; an area that Chen was betting on would see a dramatic increase in its value. So Chen and his partner pulled the trigger and bought the property for $ 15 million. They paid nearly $ 2,400 per square foot for a four-bedroom house they planned to bulldoze.

“The main decision to buy this lot was that it was a front row property with one of the only daylight basements in Trousdale,” Chen said.

The opportunity to rebuild with a damp basement was important, Chen said, because in this part of Beverly Hills, the heights of the home are strictly limited to 14 feet.

Although he could not build above the height restriction, he said, he was clear to build below ground level. And since the place sits on an elevated ridge overlooking Century City, the basement could have a wall of windows and stunning views of the horizon. In other words, the new basement level would not look or look like a basement.

Building a much larger lower level could add valuable square feet (and millions of dollars in value) to the new residence.

The goal of the redesign was to maximize the views of the new home, the square images and the appeal.

Tens of millions of dollars later, the new residence has a whopping 18,000 square feet, nearly three times the size of the original house. Its modern and luxurious design is a symphony of glass, stone and vertical blinds with seven bedrooms and 14 bathrooms.

Chen originally built the house so that he and his investor could enjoy it as a vacation property for a few years and eventually sell it when the time was right.

“If we were building to the specifications, we wouldn’t have spent as much money as we did,” Chen said.

The developer will not reveal exactly what it cost to build, but claims it is among the “tens of millions.”

When the house was completed in the second quarter of this year, sales of luxury homes – a category starting at $ 8.8 million – in Los Angeles averaged $ 2,078 per square foot. Over the three-month period, 112 luxury home sales were sold, 138% more than in the second quarter of 2020, according to the Elliman report. The properties had an average of 89 days on the market.

Here’s a look at one of the most expensive new homes for sale in Beverly Hills.

A spiral staircase covered with Venetian plaster and marble steps leads to the lower level.

In the center of the lower level is a 150-year-old olive tree imported from Tuscany. Chen said the installation of the tree required a 110-ton crane and a crew of 15 people.

The infinity pool on this level includes a vaulted pool and views of Century City.

The wellness center of the house includes a steam bath with glass, sauna and massage table.

The lower level leisure area has a stone bar.

The dining room sits on a marble bridge over a waterfall and overlooks the olive tree that grows in the courtyard.

Between the 14 bathrooms there are two identical bathrooms covered with Venetian plaster and a designer sink that seems to open from the wall.

The house’s 4K HD projection room has 24 seats.

The cellar and tasting room include storage of more than 2,000 bottles.

The butler’s kitchen has four ovens, three sinks, a stove with 18 hobs and a separate entrance for staff.