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    Designer Reed Krakoff Seeks $25.5 Million for the Connecticut Estate of a Reclusive Late Heiress

    A 52-acre estate in New Canaan, Connecticut, with the tongue-in-cheek name of Le Beau Chateau and previously owned for more than 60 years by the late and reclusive copper-mining heiress Huguette Clark, has been listed for $25.5 million. Rob Johnson and Mary Higgins of Brown Harris Stevens hold the listing.

    Though she was free to leave at any time, for two decades before her 2011 death at the age of 104, Clark lived quietly and simply at a reported cost of more than $800 a day in a Manhattan hospital room overlooking Central Park. During her long life, the doll collector and painter amassed a portfolio of rarely- and never-used homes that included a trio of sprawling co-operative apartments in the same aristocratic building on New York’s Fifth Avenue, a grand Italianate villa overlooking the ocean in Santa Barbara, and Le Beau Chateau, which she bought in 1951 as a potential refuge from a nuclear attack during the Cold War but, curiously enough, never spent a single night in.

    The Manhattan apartments were sold off shortly after she died for a combined $55 million, and the Santa Barbara mansion, known as Bellosguardo, which she had not visited in half a century, was bequeathed to a foundation that now offers limited docent tours.

    Geometric artworks add contemporary flair to the dining room’s period fireplace.

    James Gagliardi of Modern Media

    Clark’s unoccupied but always maintained Connecticut spread, which she had unsuccessfully attempted to sell a couple of times in the years before her death, was acquired in 2014 for $14 million—a steep discount from the original asking price of $34 million—by veteran fashion designer and tastemaker Reed Krakoff and interior designer Delphine Krakoff. The design- and architecture-savvy couple subsequently oversaw a respectful restoration and careful update that included the seamless integration of modern conveniences and luxuries.

    A long drive passes between a pair of modest cottages—a two-bedroom caretaker’s residence and a 1,300-square-foot exercise pavilion—and weaves across the property before arriving at a large motor court at the front of the 21-room French-style manor house that was originally built in 1937. Across the nearly 15,000-square-foot mansion’s three floors are nine bedrooms and 10 bathrooms, plus four additional powder rooms. Three of the 11 original fireplaces are still functional.

    RELATED: Frank Lloyd Wright’s Tirranna House in New Canaan Just Sold for $6 Million

    The Krakoffs opted for a neutral color palette of creams and beiges, with plush fabrics and art-friendly cotton-white walls that keep things light and bright. Antique chevron-patterned wood floors are underfoot throughout much of the main floor public rooms, as well as in many of the upper-floor bedrooms. Other highlights include a sweeping circular staircase, a vast living room alongside an equally spacious library, and a formal dining room jazzed up with a thoroughly modern, mold-like Cloud sculpture of interchangeable fabric tiles by French designers Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec.

    The spacious primary bath showcases antique statuary, Louis VX-style chairs and a Lucite vanity.

    James Gagliardi of Modern Media

    RELATED: The Chic Connecticut Estate From ‘The Stepford Wives’ Could Now Be Yours for $7 Million

    To one side of the house is a formal garden, and at the rear, a vast lawn rolls down toward a simple rectangular pool hemmed in by a clipped hedgerow. A reconditioned tennis court is set in a sunny clearing near the estate’s gated entrance, while dense woodlands ensure complete privacy from neighboring estates.

    The Krakoffs, who maintain a Parisian hôtel particulier, have bought and sold a hefty number of other noteworthy homes on the East Coast. They sold a Manhattan townhouse in 2007 to Roger Waters of Pink Floyd, and in 2014 they sold an even more grand Big Apple townhouse for a staggering $51 million. And in the Hamptons, they once owned Lasata, the childhood summer residence of Jackie Kennedy. (It is now owned by fashion designer and filmmaker Tom Ford.) The couple has since custom built a striking new home in the Hamptons, a series of ultra-modern bunker-like glass and concrete pavilions overlooking the sandy dunes in Amagansett.

    Click here for more photos of the New Canaan estate.

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    A Hollywood Producer’s Poolside Home in L.A. Hits the Market for $3.6 Million

    For over a decade now, Lati Grobman has owned a Los Angeles residence she purchased for nearly $2.6 million. Now the veteran producer—who as one-half of the female duo behind Campbell-Grobman Films has made numerous horror and action flicks ranging from Texas Chainsaw 3D to Expendables 4—is hoisting her modern home in the Beverly Grove/West Hollywood neighborhood up for sale with a million-dollar jump in price. The ask? Just a smidge under $3.6 million.

    Completed in 2013, the white stucco and flat-roof structure is tucked off a wide, tree-lined avenue amid a compact parcel spanning less than a quarter-acre and features a total of five bedrooms and six baths in roughly 3,700 square feet of two-level living space boasting blonde hardwood floors, high ceilings, and walls of glass throughout. There’s also a driveway and an attached two-car garage out front.

    An open great room rests beneath a 15-foot ceiling with a fireside seating area.

    Michael Barian

    RELATED: ‘Glee’ Alum Kevin McHale Lists His Midcentury L.A. Home for $2 Million

    A staggered set of steps leads to the wood-slatted entry door, which opens into a voluminous great room sporting two fireside seating areas separated by an eye-catching floating staircase that just so happens to have a large window underneath abutting the pool and spa. Off to the side is a window-lined dining area, plus a gourmet kitchen outfitted with sleek cabinetry, an eat-in island, stainless appliances, and a wine fridge. Floor-to-ceiling pocketing glass doors open onto a covered terrace ideal for alfresco entertaining.

    The fireside primary suite comes complete with access to a private balcony.

    Michael Barian

    RELATED: A 29-Year-Old Tech Tycoon Snaps Up a $4.2 Million Designer Abode in L.A.

    A powder room and an en-suite bedroom can be found on the lower level, while four additional bedrooms upstairs include a spacious primary suite that has a fireplace, a private balcony and a custom closet with a built-in safe. The luxe bath holds dual vanities, a freestanding soaking tub, and a shower. Bordered by a concrete wall and mature trees, the secluded and grassy backyard hosts the aforementioned saltwater pool and spa flanked by a sundeck and a cozy fire pit, along with a barbecue station.

    Per the listing, which is held by Valerie Fitzgerald of Coldwell Banker Realty, the property also comes with ready-to-issue plans for a 1,200-square-foot accessory dwelling unit.

    Click here for more photos of the Los Angeles home.

    Michael Barian More

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    Late Gold’s Gym Owner Rainer Schaller’s Spanish Villa Lists for $78 Million

    Two years after he died in a tragic plane crash at age 53, a sprawling Mallorca estate owned by the late fitness mogul Rainer Schaller has just hit the market for the first time. Nestled amid the foothills of Spain’s Serra de Tramuntana mountains, the entire spread is asking a substantial $78 million.

    The former founder, owner and CEO of RSG Group, which operates fitness brands such as Gold’s Gym, McFit and John Reed in more than 30 countries, began assembling the compound back in 2016, per listing agent Alby Euesden of The Agency. Five structures connected by manicured gardens were completed in 2022, with three more buildings currently under development set to come online next year.

    The estate’s bohemian interiors are furnished with an mix of African and Indonesian accents.

    PM foto

    “The inspiration for building such a property came from the owner’s desire to entertain family, friends and business associates … to build not just a family home, but a dream retreat of wellness and relaxation,” says Euesden. “Taking inspiration from his travels, Mr. Schaller combined the traditional style of Mallorcan rustic fincas with furniture and decor from around the world, including Indonesia and the African continent and Indonesia. As for the layout, the idea was to provide guests with the utmost privacy, whilst encouraging them to gather and meet at beautifully designed common areas.”

    Known as Torre del Sol, the 61-acre spread features two private villas with a combined 16 bedrooms and a matching number of baths, as well as heated floors and high-end sound and TV systems. There’s also a duo of entertaining spaces—one a pool house boasting a spacious dining area, a caterer’s kitchen, a cigar lounge, and two barbecue areas, and the other a sports pavilion with an entertaining space overlooking basketball, tennis, and volleyball courts. Rounding it all out is a decked-out relaxation spa with a sauna and massage rooms.

    An alfresco entertaining area is like something straight out of a movie.

    PM FOTO

    Especially standing out are a fireside dining room, a gourmet kitchen, and numerous rooftop terraces with sweeping views of the mountains and Mediterranean Sea. Other highlights include a 65-foot infinity pool and spa surrounded by palm trees, as well as a private chapel, a wine cellar and tasting room, a game room, an indoor-outdoor gym, an alpaca sanctuary, a vineyard, multiple water wells, and a solar power system.

    Schaller, who amassed his RSG fitness empire and $250 million fortune from scratch, opened his first McFit gym in Germany in the late 1990s and later acquired Dallas-based Gold’s Gym for $100 million after the company filed for bankruptcy during the Covid-19 pandemic. He died along with his partner, her daughter, their son, an employee, and the pilot in October 2022 when a plane they were taking to a vacation crashed off the coast of Costa Rica.

    Click here for more photos of the Mallorca estate.

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    Charlie Puth Is Selling His $11 Million Midcentury House in Beverly Hills to Josh Flagg

    He already owns a Beverly Hills fixer-upper that you might have seen featured on the latest season of Million Dollar Listing Los Angeles. Now word on the street has it that Josh Flagg has decided to plump up his property portfolio with another residence in the 90210, this one a renovated modernist spread in the posh Trousdale Estates neighborhood.

    As first reported by TMZ, the real estate broker and reality TV celeb is currently under contract to purchase the mid-1960s digs from singer-songwriter Charlie Puth for an undisclosed amount in an off-market deal. After first hitting the market late last year with a nearly $17 million ask, records show the house underwent several substantial price chops before landing at its current $11 million ask. The recently married Grammy-nominated musician originally acquired the home for around $9 million almost seven years ago, back in winter 2017. 

    Towering double doors open into 4,800 square feet of split-level living space.

    Cris Nolasco

    Built and designed by noted architect Rex Lotery, the property is widely known as “The de Cordova House,” for its previous owners Freddie de Cordova, a longtime producer of The Tonight Show when it was hosted by Johnny Carson, and his socialite wife Janet. The split-level abode has four bedrooms and five baths in 4,800 square feet of living space boasting terrazzo-clad rooms flowing out to courtyards providing canyon and city lights views.

    Perched atop a ridge amid a roughly half-acre parcel of land, the stone, glass, and redwood structure is tucked away behind gates and high hedges and fronted by a spacious motorcourt with room for up to nine vehicles. Double front doors open into an entry foyer, which displays a striking floating staircase and steps descending to a soaring living room lined with built-in shelving and walls of glass.

    The garage has been converted into a fitness studio.

    Cris Nolasco

    Other main-level highlights include a cozy sitting area warmed by a fireplace and a dining room topped with a sculptural chandelier, plus a gourmet kitchen outfitted with wood cabinetry, marble countertops, an eat-in island, commercial-grade appliances, and a hidden refrigerator. Upstairs, the primary suite has a spa-inspired bath equipped with dual vanities, a soaking tub, a steam shower, and a sauna, while the landscaped grounds come complete with a pool, a fire pit, and several spots ideal for alfresco lounging and entertaining.

    In addition to his soon-to-be-former Beverly Hills home, Puth also maintains properties in Studio City and Santa Barbara. As for Flagg, he still owns the aforementioned 7,100-square-foot Beverly Hills mansion that he picked up sight unseen in spring 2022 for $9.2 million, as well as a place on Miami Beach’s exclusive North Bay Road.

    Click here for more photos of Josh Flagg’s new Trousdale Estates home.

    Cris Nolasco More

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    This $13 Million U.K. Country House Was Once Home to a British Movie Star

    Drummers Yard, formerly known as Birchens Spring, is among the U.K.’s most interesting country houses. Designed in 1938 by Arts and Crafts architect John Campbell, who lived in Germany for much of his career, the Grade II-listed property in Buckinghamshire graced the pages of Country Life before the once-glamorous estate fell into disrepair. Following years of neglect, the English manor notched another claim to fame when it was snapped up in 1960 by legendary British actor Dirk Bogarde, best known for his starring roles in Doctor in the House (1954), The Servant (1963), and The Night Porter (1974). 

    Modeled after the hillside villas of Italy combined with the stateliness of a Scottish castle, Bogarde remodeled Drummers Yard from top to bottom before offloading the place two years later to Peter Rogers, the producer of the wildly popular Carry On comedy film franchise, and his wife, Betty Box, who worked on the Doctor series that Bogarde appeared in. The sought-after spread traded hands once more in 1997 to the current owners, who, after nearly three decades in residence, have hoisted the property on the market for £10 million (or about $13 million). 

    A spacious reception room spills onto a large stone terrace.

    Knight Frank; Silver Screen Collection/Getty Images

    “Campbell intended for each room to have at least two garden elevations, ensuring the house is light, bright, and airy with exceptional views of the gardens,” notes the listing, which is being represented by Knight Frank. “Whilst appealing to architectural purists, the house will equally suit families looking for a comfortable, well-laid-out home.” 

    Set on a whopping 12 wooded acres near Beaconsfield, the house itself has been adapted to contemporary living by award-winning interior and architectural studio, Tollgard Design. There are seven bedrooms and eight bathrooms across the main house’s 10,000 square feet. On the ground floor, potential buyers are welcomed by a grand entrance hall topped with a dramatic brick and stone arched ceiling. A corridor brings you to a sunroom that overlooks the garden, a circular-shaped formal dining area, a drawing room with a fireplace, and a thoroughly modern Scandinavian-inspired kitchen by Sola. The bedrooms are located on the home’s upper levels. 

    The updated minimalist kitchen is by Swedish design brand Sola.

    Knight Frank; Silver Screen Collection/Getty Images

    Despite the many modern updates, rest assured you’ll find plenty of period details reminiscent of the Arts and Crafts movement, including its whitened brick arches and Cornish slate roof. In addition, the digs contain a private gym, complete with a sauna and a steam room, while the grounds are decked out with a two-car garage, a tennis court, and a separate two-bedroom cottage with its own entrance. 

    Click here to see more photos of Drummers Yard.

    Knight Frank; Silver Screen Collection/Getty Images

    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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    Jenn Tran of ‘The Bachelorette’ Gave Away Her Final Rose at This Exotic Hawaiian Estate

    Always wanted to live out your fantasy of being on one of TV’s top reality dating shows? Now’s your chance, because the picturesque estate where Jenn Tran’s final rose ceremony took place in early September on the Season 21 finale of The Bachelorette has just popped up for sale on the Big Island of Hawaii, asking $3.75 million.

    And though things didn’t quite work out for Tran—her proposal to Devin Strader fell apart shortly after the pair left paradise—this magical locale certainly serves as a prime backdrop for conjuring up some romance. Currently operating as a family-owned wedding and special events venue known as Pa’ina Place, the listing is held by Carrie Nicholson and Coco Scherer of Hawai’i Life. 

    The three-acre site currently serves as a wedding and special events venue.

    360 Productions

    Sited in the Kaloko area amid a lush parcel of land spanning just over three acres, along the slopes of the Hualalai Mountains within “the only tropical cloud forest in the U.S.,” the property features two main structures and a guest cottage, all overlooking the Pacific.

    The first main structure includes a full kitchen, one bedroom and a bath, while the second main structure also has its own kitchen and living area, plus two bedrooms and one-and-a-half baths. There’s also the guest cottage, which comes with a kitchenette, a cozy studio setup with a bath, a tropical-inspired outdoor shower, and an ocean-view barbecue deck. 

    A modern bridal suite comes complete with its own dressing room.

    360 Productions

    Outdoors, the grounds are laced with landscaped gardens and citrus trees and host meandering pathways leading to a great lawn flanked by a gazebo. There’s also an event pavilion equipped with a cooking station and lighting and sound systems, as well as a detached bridal suite sporting a dressing room and a bath with an al fresco shower, an entire building devoted to restrooms, two fire pits, an upper viewing platform, and plenty of parking.

    A 26-year-old physician assistant student who lives in Miami, Tran began her journey on The Bachelorette back in July as the show’s first Asian-American female lead in the franchise. Out of 25 suitors, she wound up proposing to Strader at the end, only to have him become distant after they left Hawaii and eventually break off the engagement over a phone call. Most recently, she’s been competing with pro partner Sasha Farber on Dancing With the Stars.

    Click here for more photos of Pa’ina Place.

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    Car Collector Magnus Walker Lists Downtown L.A. Live-Work Building for About $20 Million

    A 26,000-square-foot live-work warehouse building in downtown Los Angeles, owned for almost 25 years by bon vivant former fashion designer and inveterate car collector Magnus Walker—one of the largest collectors of Porsches in the world—has zoomed onto the market with an asking price of around $20 million.

    Walker initially housed his Serious Clothing company in the building—the brand was popular in the L.A. music scene and worn by everyone from Gwen Stefani to Alice Cooper and Madonna—but later converted it to a live-work space through an adaptive reuse program. It wasn’t long after acquiring the property that Walker fell into the film location business, and Walker told Robb Report that “Filming was a happy accident. We saw the opportunity to build something into a pretty lucrative film location business for the next 10-12 years.” Since then, the building has been the site of numerous films, commercials and videos for Kevin Costner, Mary J. Blige and The Eagles.

    RELATED: This 1998 Porsche 911 Is a Low-Miles Unicorn That’s up for Grabs

    The two-story brick building, which dates to 1903, occupies three parcels over two lots with multiple street frontages and a heavy-duty gate that opens to a courtyard parking area with room for up to a dozen cars. Indeed, Walker has filled the courtyard with a gleaming selection of his vast collection, including a vintage Rolls Royce and a couple of ‘70s-era Corvettes.

    Part of the building serves as a workshop and showroom for Magnus Walker’s classic car collection.

    Gavin Cater

    Raw and industrial, the cavernous and rambling interior spaces have exposed brick walls, patinated wood floors, a functioning freight elevator, soaring ceilings punctuated by skylights, and enormous south-facing casement windows that fill the upper level with sunlight.

    A massive roll-up door allows cars to be driven right into the building. In one section of the ground floor, a brilliant blue Pininfarina Battista is on display, while another area serves as a garage and workshop where Walker, famous for never selling a Porsche once it comes into his possession, keeps more than a dozen collectible versions of his favorite automotive brand.

    Making for an easy commute to his workshop and studio on the ground floor, the 11,200-square-foot upper level served as Walker’s bohemian residence, which he described as “a mini Hearst Castle/English stately home mixed with midcentury modernism and 60/70s furniture pieces.”

    RELATED: The 7 Best Air-Cooled Porsches We Saw at Luftgekühlt

    Huge casement windows on the upper-level living area frame city views.

    Gavin Cater

    In addition to an enclosed courtyard garden enveloped in lush greenery, flaming bougainvillea and fragrant night-blooming jasmine, the building’s prairie-sized rooftop offers 360-degree vistas over the city, including an up-close view of the downtown skyline.

    The number of bedrooms and bathrooms found throughout the massive structure is available by request via Tori Horowitz and Rinat Greenberg of Canyonhaus at Compass as well as through Geoff Anenberg at Normal Properties.

    Click here for more photos of Magnus Walker’s live/work building.

    Gavin Cater More

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    David and Victoria Beckham Drop $80 Million on a Waterfront Mansion in Miami Beach

    They already own a $20 million condo in downtown Miami’s ultra-luxe One Thousand Museum tower. Now word on the street has it that A-list couple David and Victoria Beckham are spreading their real estate wings over to the South Florida coast, having doled out $80 million for an all-new modern mansion overlooking Biscayne Bay on Miami Beach’s exclusive North Bay Road.

    As first reported by The Real Deal, the Beckhams—he a retired soccer star-turned-co-owner of the MLS team Inter Miami, and she a fashion and beauty mogul who first gained popularity in the 1990s as a member of the pop group Spice Girls—are currently under contract to purchase the Choeff Levy Fischman-designed digs. The seller is Hamptons-based spec developer Niklas de la Motte, who picked up the property in 2018 for $10 million from the trust of the late Sir Edward Porter and his wife Lady Anna Lee, co-founders of Miami International Fine Arts College (now Miami International University of Art and Design). The listing is held by Dora Puig of Luxe Living Realty.

    Lighted steps lead to the front door, which opens into 12,500 square feet of open-concept living space.

    Choeff Levy Fischman

    Nestled amid a gated parcel spanning over a half-acre, the Bart Reines-built abode that currently stands in the stead of a former 1920s Mediterranean-style house offers nine bedrooms and 13 baths in a little more than 12,500 square feet of living space on two levels. Stylish interiors by Antrobus Design Collective are adorned throughout with Ipe wood, Perlato marble, metal accents, and doors and windows framed in dark bronze, while posh amenities include an office, a movie theater, a gym and spa, and a rooftop deck providing bay and city skyline views, as well as a three-car garage with lifts and a private dock resting along 124 feet of waterfront footage.

    Among the other standout features is a dramatic entryway boasting a pair of reflecting pools and a cascading waterfall, plus a central courtyard donning yet another reflecting pool complemented by a two-story living green wall. There’s also a spacious living room sporting a linear fireplace and floor-to-ceiling pocketing glass doors spilling outside, along with a formal dining room, a sleek gourmet kitchen with a trio of islands and a commercial-grade walk-in refrigerator, and an opulent primary suite decked out with a luxe bath flaunting dual vanities and a soaking tub.

    Sitting out front are a duo of glassy reflecting pools and an attached three-car garage with lifts.

    Choeff Levy Fischman

    Rounding it all out are the palm-laced grounds, which host a lengthy infinity-edge pool abutting a marble-clad terrace spotlighted by a covered al fresco entertaining area with an outdoor kitchen.

    In addition to their new Miami Beach home and their $20 million condo at downtown Miami’s Zaha Hadid-designed One Thousand Museum residential high-rise, the Beckhams also lay claim to a $40 million townhouse in London and a $15 million country estate in the Cotswolds. More