Top sales: December deals include covert trade between Ben Affleck, Adam Levine
A Pacific Palisades home with generations of A-list ties, a Beverly Hills home steeped in Hollywood wedding history and the former Hollywood Hills West mansion of a film producer were among the high-dollar properties trading hands in December. Here’s a closer look.
$31.95 million — Pacific Palisades
In an off-market deal, former couple Ben Affleck and Jennifer Garner have sold their marital home to singer Adam Levine and his wife, model Behati Prinsloo.
Set on three acres of grounds, the Cliff May-designed ranch house has been a popular habitation spot for entertainment elite since Gregory Peck and his first wife, Greta, made their home there in the 1940s and ’50s. Mega-producer Brian Grazer is another former homeowner.
It was during Grazer’s ownership during the mid-’90s that the house was updated, expanded and rebuilt. The renovation left the main structure intact while maximizing canyon, city and ocean views.
The low-slung house has about 8,800 square feet of living space, five bedrooms and eight bathrooms, according to tax records. Grassy fields, landscaping, a swimming pool and a guest house make up the grounds.
Also on the property is an office/gym/art studio.
Affleck and Garner bought the property from Grazer about a decade ago for $17.55 million. The actors’ divorce was finalized in November.
For Levine and Prinsloo, the purchase comes roughly nine months after paying $33.9 million for the Beverly Hills home of “Will & Grace” creator Max Mutchnick. The couple also sold two homes on the Westside last year.
$29.5 million — Hollywood Hills West
In the Mount Olympus area of Los Angeles, a hilltop estate marketed as a tear-down sold on Electra Court for $5.5 million less than the asking price.
The modern-style mansion was previously owned by film producer Megan Ellison. Ellison sold the property in 2017 to an entity tied to Sherman Oaks firm Woodbridge, which was sued in federal court last year and accused of running a billion-dollar Ponzi scheme. In November, Robert Shapiro, the former chief executive of Woodbridge, agreed to pay $120 million to settle allegations.
Designed by Richard Schwarz and built in 1990, the multilevel house is visually dramatic with bold curves, walls of glass and a bridge-like upper level. Some 9,200 square feet of living space includes six bedrooms, eight bathrooms, an eat-in kitchen and a great room with a wet bar.
The home was pitched as a development opportunity because of its 4.5-acre lot and unobstructed views extending from downtown L.A. to the ocean.
Tomer Fridman of Compass was the listing agent. Darryl Wilson of Rodeo Realty represented the buyer.
$27.65 million — Beverly Hills
On Greenway Drive, a French Revival-style home where actress Ann Rutherford and her husband, “Batman” TV show producer William Dozier, lived for decades sold for about $12.3 million less than the original asking price.
The stately two-story, which dates to 1938, was designed by architect H. Riesenberg and built by Edward Paul Dentzel, who was once mayor of Beverly Hills.
A formal hall lined with herringbone-patterned wood floors sits just beyond the threshold of the home, which has five bedrooms and eight bathrooms in more than 10,400 square feet of living space. Among common rooms is a library, a bar room and a billiards room. An elliptical-shaped dining room with Parisian screens looks onto the swimming pool.
During their ownership, Rutherford and Dozier hosted a number weddings at the home, which they affectionately named Greenway Chapel. Jack Jones, Jill St. John, Tammy Grimes and Jeremy Slate were among stars married on the grounds.
Branden Williams of Hilton & Hyland and Kurt Rappaport of Westside Estate Agency were the listing agents. Jacob Dadon of the Agency represented the buyer.
$15.25 million — Manhattan Beach
A limited liability company tied to Charles Brumbaugh, co-founder and principal of Woodland Hills-based BLH Construction, sold a modern home on the Strand for roughly $2.75 million less than the original asking price.
The buyer was Craig Mateer, founder of Bags Inc., an Orlando-based luggage-handling company that was sold last year for $275 million.
Designed by Louie Tomaro, the whitewashed residence features clean lines, a floating glass staircase and pocketing doors that bring in ocean views. The 6,910 square feet of interior largely consists of open-plan space and includes two kitchens, a screening room, five bedrooms and eight bathrooms.
An elevator services each of the home’s three levels. In the garage, which has a hydraulic car lift, there’s space for three cars.
Marisa Rokstad, Joshua Altman and Matthew Altman of Douglas Elliman were the listing agents. The Altmans also represented the buyer.
$13.86 million — Pacific Palisades
On Spoleto Drive, a Hamptons-inspired Traditional home sold after about a month on the market. It had been listed for $14.485 million.
The clapboard-sided house has about 10,600 square feet of living space on three floors including a lower entertainment level consisting of a wine-tasting room, a wine cellar, a craft room and a gym with a sauna.
A total of six bedrooms and 7.5 bathrooms includes master and junior master suites. There are private balconies off each of the upstairs bedrooms.
Outdoors, the hedged estate has a dining patio, a built-in barbecue and a swimming pool.
John Hathorn and Charles Pence of Compass were the listing agents. Arielle Passy, also with Compass, represented the buyer.
$13.85 million — Brentwood
A grand Mediterranean-style mansion on about two-thirds of an acre on North Rockingham Avenue sold for about $150,000 less than the asking price.
Custom built in 2010, the 13,187-square-foot house gives way to a lavish circular foyer topped with a massive dome. The space is anchored by two sweeping staircases, which open in various directions to large and small-scale formal rooms.
Other living areas include a chef’s kitchen with a 120-square-foot island, a wood-paneled office, a media room and a 20-person dining room. There are seven bedrooms and nine bathrooms including a master suite with a balcony.
Outside, a swath of lawn sits between the main house and a swimming pool and dome-topped pool house. A circular driveway and motor court sits off the front.
Bjorn Farrugia and Alphonso Lascano of Hilton & Hyland were the listing agents. Farrugia also represented the buyer.
neal.leitereg@latimes.com | Twitter: @LATHotProperty
