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    A Former Apple Exec’s San Francisco Apartment Just Hit the Market for $25.5 Million

    Around 15 years ago, Jon Rubinstein doled out $7 million for a dated San Francisco apartment in a historic residential tower perched atop a hill in San Francisco’s affluent Pacific Heights neighborhood, across from Lafayette Park. Now the former Apple executive has hoisted the revamped residence back on the market, asking a substantially higher $25.5 million. Neal Ward of Compass holds the listing.

    Though that’s a whopping $18.5 million more than Rubinstein and his wife Karen Richardson, a former technology and software executive, paid for the place back in late 2010, the couple did spend three years and upwards of $10 million gut-renovating the premises in collaboration with Paul Davis Architects. Gone are the formerly bland 1970s interiors in lieu of an elegant Parisian townhouse-like space boasting custom paneling and moldings, Paul Ferrante lighting, and hand-distressed oak parquet floors in chevron and Versailles patterns. Vast expanses of glass also offer up postcard-worthy views of the San Francisco Bay, Golden Gate Bridge, and beyond.

    The fireside living room comes with an intimate seating area that opens to view terraces.

    Brian Kitts

    RELATED: A Silicon ValleyHeavyweight Lists His 1920s San Francisco Mansion for $19.5 Million

    Encompassing the entire fourth floor of the 10-story Beaux-Arts-style cooperative building on Washington Street, which was designed in the early 1920s by renowned Bay Area architect Conrad A. Meussdorffer, the Rubinstein home offers four bedrooms and five baths. More than 5,200 square feet of Mirella Forlani-designed living space features an array of posh perks ranging from a climate-controlled wine cellar that can accommodate up to 3000 bottles to a bedroom that’s been converted into a workout area complete with a sauna and steam shower.

    A private elevator opens into the entry vestibule, which flows to a window-lined living room sporting a decorative marble fireplace and a conversation nook with French doors opening on either side to iron-railed terraces. Other highlights include a chandelier-topped dining room tucked behind pocketing doors and a handsome walnut-clad study/media room, as well as a sleekly modernized kitchen outfitted with imported Italian Arclinea cabinetry, a stainless island, Miele and Sub-Zero appliances, and a breakfast room.

    The walnut-clad study/media room adjoins an office, both with built-in bookshelves.

    Brian Kitts

    RELATED: This Tech Financier’s $22 Million Estate Is One of the Oldest Homes in San Francisco

    Sequestered down a hallway is the primary suite, which hosts a dressing room and fitted walk-in closet, along with a compartmentalized bath equipped with dual vanities, a soaking tub, and a glass-encased shower. Each of the three secondary bedrooms has its own bath, one outfitted with the aforementioned sauna and steam shower. Rounding it all out is a hefty $9,519 monthly HOA fee, which covers the building’s doorman and security services, a communal garden, two assigned parking spaces, and storage rooms.

    Rubinstein, who was instrumental in developing Apple’s iMac and iPod products as senior vice president of hardware engineering, went on to become CEO of Palm and co-CEO of the global investment management firm Bridgewater Associates. He currently serves on the boards of Amazon and Robinhood. As first reported by The Wall Street Journal, the couple has decided to sell because they haven’t spent much time in California recently due to work-related travel. “Homes should be used,” said Rubinstein, who also owns a primary Florida residence in the seaside town of Vero Beach.

    Click here for more photos of the Pacific Heights residence.

    Brian Kitts

    Authors

    Wendy Bowman

    Wendy Bowman is a real estate writer at Robb Report. Before that, she was a freelancer for Modern Luxury and several other media outlets, where she primarily covered luxury properties for…

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    M. Night Shyamalan’s Former N.Y.C. Penthouse Lists for $14.5 Million

    Plot twist: this New York City penthouse used to be the home of an award-winning Hollywood filmmaker. M. Night Shyamalan, the 54-year-old visionary director behind Signs and The Sixth Sense, bought the duplex apartment in Manhattan’s Tribeca neighborhood for $6.3 million in 2003, property records show. He then sold the pad nearly a decade later in 2012 for a profitable $9.5 million. The seller, whose identity is shielded behind an LLC, shelled out $12.75 million for the deluxe spread in 2021, and now, the spacious downtown abode has popped back up for sale asking $14.5 million. Chris Poore and Eyal Dagan of Sotheby’s International Realty hold the listing. 

    The penthouse crowns a six-unit boutique condo that dates back to 1888, the listing notes, and in the years since Shyamalan lived there, the two-floor condo has undergone a renovation but still maintains the same floating limestone staircase with a custom-sculpted bronze railing and cozy wood-burning fireplace. Today, the stunning loft-style residence measures a commodious 7,185 square feet and has four bedrooms, five bathrooms, a private elevator, and two outdoor terraces.

    The home has three different living areas, one with a monumental fireplace.

    Yale Wagner for Sotheby’s International Realty

    “The celebrity factor can create buzz and make the property more desirable,” Poore told Mansion Global. And, “With three separate living rooms you have ample space for entertaining inside.” 

    RELATED: This $11.5 Million Manhattan Condo Comes With an A.I. Assistant

    The place is decked out with soaring 13-foot ceilings, black-painted columns, and floor-to-ceiling windows that let in tons of natural light and offer skyline views. The home is centered around open-concept living and dining areas, including a state-of-the-art chef’s kitchen with custom cabinets and a black waterfall island at the center. Rounding out the lower level is an small office, a huge, 39-foot-long den, and three bedrooms, each with its own bath.

    A telescopic wall slides opens to expose the office to the main-floor living room.

    Yale Wagner for Sotheby’s International Realty

    RELATED: Inside a $40 Million Townhouse in the Heart of Tribeca

    The primary suite occupies its own dedicated wing on the second floor with exclusive access to one of the two planted terraces that together measure more than 2,000 square feet. The second terrace is at the opposite end of the penthouse and stretches a whopping 42 feet long. 

    Shyamalan, who most recently wrote and directed the 2024 psychological thriller Trap starring Josh Hartnett, owns multiple properties throughout the tri-state area. In 2023, he reportedly picked up a 218-acre estate in Pennsylvania’s Chester County with ties to the Rockefeller family. His portfolio also includes a Georgian Revival house outside of Philadelphia, which is not far from the filmmaker’s childhood home in Wynnewood that changed hands back in 2022 for $1.5 million. 

    Click here to see more photos of the Tribeca duplex.

    Yale Wagner for Sotheby’s International Realty

    Authors

    Abby Montanez

    Abigail Montanez is a staff writer at Robb Report. She has worked in both print and digital publishing for over half a decade, covering everything from real estate, entertainment, dining, travel to…

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    A Landmarked Hollywood Hills Bungalow by Architect John Elgin Woolf Lists for $4.6 Million

    Crafted by out-of-the-box architect John Elgin Woolf in the late 1930s for Golden Age actor and TV editor Robert Seiter, this Hollywood Regency-style jewel box in the Hollywood Hills neighborhood of Los Angeles was last sold in October 2017 for $2.7 million to director Francesco Carrozzini and his producer wife Bee. On and off the rental market since 2022, once for as much as $19,000 per month, it’s now resurfaced for sale at a dash under $4.6 million.

    Whoever happens to buy the place will own a stunning example of Hollywood Regency design, at least according to Carl Gambino of Compass, who holds the listing. “It’s more than just a home, it’s a true work of art,” he says. “With so few of John Woolf’s creations remaining in pristine condition, they are incredibly rare and highly sought after.”

    A light-filled living room features a curvilinear wall of glass flanked by tall French doors leading outside.

    Tim Street-Porter

    RELATED: This Revamped $11 Million L.A. Home Dates Back to Hollywood’s Golden Age

    Tucked away behind walls and gates amid a hillside parcel spanning just over half an acre in the Cahuenga Pass area, the home was acquired in the 1960s by local neurosurgeon Henry Dodge Jr., who collaborated with Woolf himself on an extensive remodel that included the addition of a two-story pool house.

    Occupied in the 2000s by hotelier/restaurateur Sean MacPherson—who described it in a New York Times article as a “residential palace for Hollywood royalty”—and also leased at one time by designer Nate Berkus and his then-fiancé Jeremiah Brent, the finely cut gem was most recently restored by the current owners during their tenure and featured in Architectural Digest. It was listed as a Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument in 2021.

    The retro black-and-green kitchen features a restored antique stove and access to a walled courtyard.

    Tim Street-Porter

    RELATED: An Early A. Quincy Jones Home in L.A. Is Up for Grabs at $1.85 Million

    Hollywood Regency-style homes are an elegant and sometimes theatrical assemblage of various architectural styles. Distinguished on the exterior by a low-pitched hip roof and ornamental Neoclassic elements in the form of cartouche emblems and slim fluted columns, the two-bedroom, two-bath home boasts roughly 2,150 square feet of single-level living space decked out with inlaid parquet floors and high, chevron-patterned wood-clad ceilings. A pair of tall, slender Pullman-style doors, hallmarks of the Regency style, open into the white stucco structure, which is highlighted by a double-crescent living room sporting matching built-in bookcases and a delicately carved marble fireplace notched into a curvilinear 12-foot wall of glass overlooking the U-shaped pool area.

    Other highlights include a fireside dining room and an eat-in kitchen with green-and-black checkered floors, a vintage 1950s stove, and access to a bricked courtyard patio, as well as a primary suite flaunting a bay window, a walk-in closet, and a bath equipped with a freestanding oval soaking tub. Rounding it all out is the inviting backyard, which is spotlighted by a heated pool and the aforementioned pool house with a deck up top and a partially subterranean garage down below.

    Click here for more photos of the Hollywood Hills home.

    Tim Street-Porter

    Authors

    Wendy Bowman

    Wendy Bowman is a real estate writer at Robb Report. Before that, she was a freelancer for Modern Luxury and several other media outlets, where she primarily covered luxury properties for…

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    Will Arnett’s Snazzy Modern Farmhouse in Beverly Hills Is Up for Grabs at $22.5 Million

    Back in 2021, around three months after Will Arnett sold a custom-built modular abode in Los Angeles to The Vampire Diaries star Claire Holt and her private equity guru husband Andrew Joblon for around $8 million, the Canadian-American actor, comedian, and podcast host doled out $16.4 million for an all-new spec home. Now he’s ready to let that place go, asking $22.5 million for the stylish modern farmhouse-style structure just beyond the Beverly Hills city limits and around the corner from Jeff Bezos’s $165 million estate.

    Nestled amid an almost half-acre parcel in the Benedict Canyon area and secured by gates and a striking 25-foot exposed brick entry wall, the sleek house has a two-tone bleached wood and brick exterior and is fronted by a three-car garage and an expansive cobblestone motor court. Inside, six bedrooms and eight baths are spread across 10,300 square feet of Arnett-customized living space boasting hardwood floors, high beamed ceilings, steel-framed windows, and wood and brick accent walls. Vast walls of glass open seamlessly to the outdoors from almost every room.

    The elegantly appointed kitchen is outfitted with an eat-in island and a breakfast nook.

    Nils Timm

    RELATED: Steve Wynn Brings His Palatial Beverly Hills Home Back to Market at $75 Million

    The kitchen is one of the most visually dramatic spaces, with a marble backsplash that stretches to the ceiling and a top-tier collection of Wolf appliances. Adjoining the space are a walk-in pantry and a breakfast nook, plus a formal dining room, a family room, and an office lined with built-in shelving. A bespoke sculptural staircase leads upstairs, where a sumptuous primary suite awaits with a fireside seating area, a walk-in closet, and a massive bath sporting veined-marble walls.

    Specifically geared toward relaxing and entertaining, the lower level is highlighted by a game room and a plush screening room that seats at least 10. Elsewhere is a professional sound booth that Arnett added for his voice-over and podcast work, as well as a steam shower-equipped gym. Additional amenities can be found outdoors on the sloping grounds, where a sparkling plunge pool is the ideal spot to cool off and several lounge areas are warmed by cozy fire pits.

    A coffered-ceiling family room with a fireplace flows out to the backyard via a disappearing wall of glass.

    Nils Timm

    RELATED: Drake’s Sprawling Beverly Hills Estate Is up for Rent at $250,000 per Month

    The 54-year-old Arrested Development and BoJack Horseman actor, who is also known for voicing Batman for The Lego Movie franchise and co-hosting the SmartLess podcast on SiriusXM with fellow actors Jason Bateman and Sean Hayes, is selling because he has been spending more time in New York. According to The Wall Street Journal, which first reported the listing held by Richard Ehrlich of Carolwood Estates, “he plans to be more bicoastal and wants a smaller footprint in California.”

    Click here for more photos of the modern farmhouse in Beverly Hills.

    Nils Timm

    Authors

    Wendy Bowman

    Wendy Bowman is a real estate writer at Robb Report. Before that, she was a freelancer for Modern Luxury and several other media outlets, where she primarily covered luxury properties for…

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    Linda Lavin Called This Vintage L.A. Bungalow Home. Now It Can Be Yours for $2.2 Million.

    Well, kiss my grits! A charming Spanish Revival-style home owned by the late Linda Lavin has just popped up for sale in the Los Angeles neighborhood of Toluca Lake. Rose Ferraro Fahey of Compass holds the $2.2 million listing.

    Records show the veteran stage and screen actress—probably best known for her Golden Globe-winning role as a waitress and single mom on the long-running sitcom Alice and Tony-winning performance as 1940s Brooklyn matriarch Kate Jerome in the play Broadway Bound—and her third husband Steve Bakunas paid the exact same $2.2 million amount for the property almost three years ago, back in spring 2022.

    The fireside living room flows out to an inviting pergola-shaded terrace via arched French doors.

    Michael Wilkerson

    RELATED: Jackie Collins’s Former Beverly Hills Home Can Be Yours for $66 Million

    Built almost a century ago and updated during Lavin’s tenure, the white stucco and terracotta-roof structure features three bedrooms and two baths in a little more than 2,000 square feet of single-level living space boasting the original wood floors, Saltillo tile, and arched windows and doorways.

    Secluded behind bougainvillea-topped walls and a gated entry, the home is accessed via a brick and tile-accented walkway that meanders through a grassy lawn before emptying out at a front porch and hand-carved wood door. Once inside, highlights include a dining area that flows to a living room sporting a gas fireplace embedded within a gray accent wall and French doors spilling out to a pergola-shaded courtyard. A Talavera-tiled kitchen is outfitted with reclaimed wood cabinetry, a hammered-copper sink, Thermador appliances, and an accompanying breakfast nook.

    Another pergola-shaded terrace hosts an alfresco dining area dotted with hot pink bougainvillea.

    Jeff Elson

    RELATED: Comedian Whitney Cummings Is Seeking $13 Million for Her Suburban L.A. Estate

    Set off by themselves are the sleeping quarters, which include one en suite bedroom and two others that share a vintage-style bath dressed in mint green and black tile. Outdoors, the corner parcel spans less than a quarter of an acre and is spotlighted by a second pergola-shaded terrace holding a summer kitchen and dining area. There’s also a detached two-car garage with a bonus space that’s currently being used as a workout spot.

    The Portland, Maine, native passed away unexpectedly in late 2024, due to complications from lung cancer at age 87. The news of Lavin’s death came as a shock, according to Deadline, as she had recently been promoting her new Netflix series No Good Deed and filming the upcoming Hulu comedy Mid-Century Modern.

    Click here for more photos of the Toluca Lake bungalow.

    Jeff Elson

    Authors

    Wendy Bowman

    Wendy Bowman is a real estate writer at Robb Report. Before that, she was a freelancer for Modern Luxury and several other media outlets, where she primarily covered luxury properties for…

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    Sculptor Alma Allen’s Former Joshua Tree Hideaway Just Listed for $3 Million

    American artist Alma Allen is known for his large-scale outdoor sculptures, and the low-slung house he built in collaboration with Los Angeles-based architect Sophie Smits on a rocky hilltop out in Joshua Tree, California, could be considered one of his most impressive works to date. The sprawling property that abuts the famed Joshua Tree National Park is now listed for sale on the open market for the very first time, asking a speck under $3 million.

    Records show that the self-taught sculptor snapped up the 14-acre property back in 2005 and offloaded it in 2017 in an $875,000 off-market deal to architect David Davis of Rottet Studio and his husband Brad Wilson, CEO of the Ace Hotel Group. Since the tastemaking couple picked up the isolated desert retreat, they’ve put the place through a sensitive renovation that honors the artist’s original designs.

    The desert compound sits on 17 acres abutting Joshua Tree National Park.

    Brian Rawlins/Desert Views Photography

    The compound includes a funky, low-key trio of structures sprinkled across a plateau at the top of a remarkably steep driveway. Modest in size, the residence comprises two shingle-clad pavilions that are sandwiched between a pair of hand-built stone walls and separated by an enclosed courtyard.

    The home was updated in recent years at the hands of artist and designer Cannon Hudson, who helped Davis and Wilson with a total overhaul that included adding bedrooms and bathrooms as well as installing smart built-ins and unfussy, high-quality finishes. Allen’s presence is still evident throughout the light-filled rooms via his custom-designed cabinet pulls and signature metalwork. 

    One pavilion holds an open living and dining area and a simple timber-crafted kitchen with open shelving. A bank of sliding glass doors opens one side of the room to the serene, protected courtyard, while a wall of glass on the opposite side gives a cinematic sweep of the harsh high desert landscape. This part of the house also holds the main bedroom and bath, plus a half-bath and a laundry room. Venture across the courtyard and the second structure contains two spacious bedrooms, two more bathrooms, and a media lounge.

    The humble materiality of the living room let’s the desert view take center stage.

    Brian Rawlins/Desert Views Photography

    A few steps from the front entrance to the house, you’ll find a steel Quonset hut that used to double as Allen’s studio space, and across the driveway, two as-yet undeveloped shipping containers are joined in an L-shape.

    “This exceptional house epitomizes the unique intersection of art, architecture, and the natural environment: essences that define Joshua Tree today,” notes the listing, which is being held by Chris Menrad and Keith Markovitz of TTK Represents of Compass, along with Clayton Baldwin of Kinetic Properties. 

    Click here to see more photos of the Joshua Tree compound.

    Brian Rawlins/Desert Views Photography

    Authors

    Abby Montanez

    Abigail Montanez is a staff writer at Robb Report. She has worked in both print and digital publishing for over half a decade, covering everything from real estate, entertainment, dining, travel to…

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    Billionaire Bill Koch’s 52-Acre Aspen Estate Just Hit the Market for $125 Million

    A sprawling Colorado estate long owned by billionaire businessman, sailor, and avid art and wine collector William “Bill” Koch has just hit the market. Nestled amid a scenic alpine valley tucked in between Castle Creek and the peaks of the Elk Mountains, about 10 miles outside of downtown Aspen, the 52-acre spread with a main home, several guest cabins, and a wealth of recreational pursuits is armed with a hefty $125 million price tag.

    “You won’t find an opportunity to build this scale of square footage again in Aspen,” says Steven Shane of Compass, who holds the listing. “With private ponds, hiking and cross-country skiing trails, and proximity to the vibrant heart of downtown Aspen, this is the ultimate multi-generational family legacy property.”

    The main home is centered around a fireside great room boasting a wall of windows overlooking spectacular mountain vistas.

    Shawn O’Connor

    RELATED: An Aspen Estate Sells for $108 Million, Becoming Colorado’s Most Expensive Residential Sale

    Koch, founder of the Florida-based energy development holding company Oxbow Carbon Corporation and a member of the ultra-wealthy family behind the crude oil-gathering conglomerate Koch Industries, paid $26.5 million for the former dude ranch in 2007. He went on to transform an existing event venue into a private retreat and also acquired an additional 31 acres before hoisting the entire 82-acre spread up for sale in 2015 at $100 million; the price was later dropped to $80 million. After selling the 31-acre portion of the property in 2020 for $14.5 million, he took the remaining 52-acre parcel with a lodge off the market and floated it for rent at $35,000 per night or $300,000 a week.

    Nestled on Rooney Circle, a private road named for his wife Bridget Rooney Koch, the compound is known as Elk Mountain Lodge and features a main residence, plus seven guest cabins—for a combined total of 14 bedrooms and 17 baths in almost 25,300 square feet.

    In addition to hiking and cross-country ski trails, the 52-acre spread sports two hot tubs.

    Shawn O’Connor

    RELATED: A Renovated 19th-Century Home Near Aspen’s Downtown Core Lists for $44 Million

    Seven bedrooms and eight baths can be found in the primary dwelling, which has a little more than 16,600 square feet of rustic living space boasting flagstone floors, 30-foot ceilings, wood-paneled walls, and numerous fireplaces. In addition to a 20-seat dining room and climate-controlled wine storage, other highlights include two studies and a screening room that doubles as an altitude-acclimation chamber. The largest of the seven cabins currently houses a gym, with other amenities including a pair of hot tubs, ponds, and hiking and cross-country ski trails throughout the estate.

    Per The Wall Street Journal, which first reported the listing, Koch has homes in New York City, Palm Beach, Fla., and Cape Cod. He also lays claim to the roughly 4,500-acre Bear Ranch in Paonia, Colo., where he created a multi-building replica of an Old West town.

    Click here for more photos of Bill Koch’s scenic Aspen retreat.

    Shawn O’Connor/Compass

    Authors

    Wendy Bowman

    Wendy Bowman is a real estate writer at Robb Report. Before that, she was a freelancer for Modern Luxury and several other media outlets, where she primarily covered luxury properties for…

    Read More More