Hot Property: The Kardashian empire expands in La Quinta
Kim Kardashian West has followed in the footsteps of her mother, Kris Jenner, and sister Kylie Jenner, buying an undeveloped home site in La Quinta’s Madison Club community for $6.3 million, records show.
The property is on the same street as the minimalist mansion that Kris Jenner purchased in 2018 for $12 million. It’s also a few doors down from the undeveloped parcel that Kylie Jenner bought last year.
Kardashian West and husband Kanye West made the purchase toward the end of 2019 using a trust that holds other properties for the family. The seller was a corporate entity tied to Los Angeles-based billionaire Ron Burkle.
Comprised of two lots totaling about two acres, the property overlooks the sixth fairway of the Tom Fazio-designed golf course. Mature trees and the surrounding mountainscape form a scenic backdrop for the site.
The home site had been listed last year for $5.95 million before being removed from the market.
Kardashian West, 39, appears on the reality show “Keeping Up With the Kardashians” with her siblings. She and West were married in 2014 and have four children together.
West, 42, has been nominated for 69 Grammy Awards, winning 21. His ninth and latest studio album, “Jesus Is King,” was released last year.
The couple owns other property in Southern California, including a massive compound in Hidden Hills.
Where a crooner once roamed
A piece of Palm Springs history is up for grabs in Old Las Palmas. “Rancho Autry,” the former estate of cowboy entertainer Gene Autry, is on the market in the desert city for $8.25 million.
Autry and his wife, Jackie, paid $2.05 million for the home in 1997, and the crooner died a year later at 91. He made an indelible mark on Southern California in the latter half of his life, owning a TV station, multiple radio stations, a Palm Springs hotel and the Angels baseball team for 36 years.
He also picked up a few properties along the way, including an Encino mansion that eventually sold to “Survivor” host Jeff Probst and a Midcentury condo in Palm Springs’ Ocotillo Lodge. The ranch is the biggest by far, clocking in at more than 13,400 square feet.
Now owned by his widow, the gated estate holds a guest apartment, a tennis court, a glass mosaic swimming pool, drought-tolerant landscaping, citrus trees and turf lawns across 1.5 acres. The main home wraps around a courtyard and boasts colorful living spaces with hardwood floors, French doors, carved ceilings and five fireplaces.
The living room is colored yellow, while the chandelier-topped dining room features a more dramatic shade of orange. In the kitchen, a wall of glass overlooks the tennis court. The master suite — one of seven bedrooms and 7.5 bathrooms — includes a steam shower, spa tub and sauna with skylights.
Covered patios and lofted lounges circle the palm-topped backyard. The outdoor space, clad in Saltillo tile, also has a swimming pool with a spa in addition to mountain views.
The Louise Hampton Team of Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices California Properties holds the listing.
Autry had a television show bearing his name from 1950 to 1956 and was in scores of films. His signature song, “Back in the Saddle Again,” was used in the 1939 film “Rovin’ Tumbleweeds” and became the theme song for his radio show, which ran from 1940 to 1956. His biggest hit song was “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer.”
He’s buttoned up new digs
Fashion-designer-to-the-stars Bob Mackie has found a fit in South Palm Springs, buying a contemporary home in a gated community for $825,000.
The boxy single-story house, built in 2012, has a separate casita that combines to offer three bedrooms, three bathrooms and about 2,100 square feet of space. The versatile floor plan includes a great room, a formal dining room, an eat-in kitchen and multiple fireplaces. The master retreat has a sitting room.
Outside, covered patios provide space for entertaining. The grounds feature desert landscaping and a heated swimming pool with a spa. A two-car garage sits off the front.
The property had been listed outside the Multiple Listing Service for $825,000.
Mackie, 80, is a nine-time Emmy winner and three-time Oscar nominee who dressed such stars as Cher, Bette Midler, Judy Garland and Joan Rivers. He designed costumes for Carol Burnett on “The Carol Burnett Show” during its entire run, as well as its spinoff “Mama’s Family.
Robert Garcia of Bennion Deville Homes was the listing agent. Beverly and Fred Straeter, also with Bennion Deville, represented Mackie.
Blink and you may have missed it
A Midcentury Modern-style home built for baseball legend Ralph Kiner proved to be a hit in the market, selling for $1.133 million, or $38,000 more than the asking price.
Designed by E. Stewart Williams, the modernist residence in Rancho Mirage came up for sale in January and sold in about a month.
Williams designed scores of homes across the Coachella Valley, including Frank Sinatra’s famous Twin Palms house, the chic Edris House and the Palm Springs Desert Museum.
The stylish abode built for Kiner sits on a quarter-acre in Thunderbird Country Club. Dating to the 1950s, it was the second one built in the community.
The low-lying residence packs three bedrooms and 3.5 bathrooms into a single story. Splashes of brick and burnt orange adorn the otherwise white exterior, which features a hedge-lined driveway and landscaped courtyard.
Inside, an expansive open floor plan anchors the 2,444-square-foot interior. Lined with glass and topped by wood beams, the living space includes a formal living room, an open dining area and a kitchen with rounded countertops. A wall of stone holds a fireplace. Limestone floors run underneath.
Outside, palm trees border a saltwater pool and spa.
Chuck Bennett of HK Lane Real Estate was the listing agent. Ed Borquez of Pacific Sotheby’s International Realty represented the buyer.
Kiner spent a decade in the major leagues, mostly with the Pittsburgh Pirates, making six all-star teams and leading the National League in home runs seven times. After retiring, he served as an announcer for the New York Mets and was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1975.
He died in 2014 at age 91.
Cisco CEO scores new digs
A limited liability company tied to Chuck Robbins, the chairman and chief executive of technology giant Cisco Systems, has purchased a newly built home at the Bighorn Golf Club in Palm Desert for $10.35 million.
The sprawling contemporary sits on more than three-quarters of an acre with a swimming pool and views of the golf course and surrounding mountainscape.
Entered through a gated courtyard, the single-story floor plan has about 9,000 square feet of polished living space, a home theater, a bar, five bedrooms and seven bathrooms. There are fireplaces in the living room and master retreat.
Pocketing glass walls open to an expansive patio with an outdoor kitchen and swimming pool. Also on the grounds are a guest house and a five-car garage.
Robbins worked as an app developer in the banking industry before joining Cisco in 1997. After serving in a number of roles, he was elevated in 2015 to chief executive, replacing John Chambers.
Robbins also put a Pebble Beach home up for sale this year at $16.995 million. He owns other real estate in California.
John Nelson and Cat Moe of Compass represented the buyer.
Riding off into the sunset
A Rancho Mirage home where film actor Jeff Chandler, known for his Oscar-nominated performance as Cochise in the 1950 film “Broken Arrow,” once lived has sold for $865,000.
The Midcentury Modern-style home, which dates to 1957, was owned by Chandler in the late 1950s. Recently renovated but retaining its period look, the house has clean lines, with walls of glass and exposed beams that reinforce the modernist design. A classic mixed stone fireplace fills one wall in the open-concept living room.
The 1,789 square feet of living space also has an updated kitchen, a dining area, three bedrooms and two updated bathrooms. New porcelain tile floors shine throughout the single-story floor plan.
Outside, there’s a swimming pool, decking and a vintage trailer for overnight guests. Desert landscaping and rock outcrops fill out the roughly one-third-acre lot.
The property originally hit the market in October with the option to purchase the home’s period furniture outside of escrow. It previously changed hands three years ago for $630,000, records show.
Brian Beard of Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage was the listing agent. Mark Gutkowski of Bennion Deville Homes represented the buyer.
Chandler, a popular star in his day, gained fame on such radio shows as Dick Powell’s “Rogue’s Gallery” before his film career launched. He appeared in 36 films including “Female on the Beach” (1955) and “Man in the Shadow” (1957). He died in 1961 at the age of 42.
