Thursday, November 5, 2009

Michael Bay Buys in Bel Air

BUYER: Michael Bay
LOCATION: Bel Air Road, Los Angeles, CA
PRICE: $10,900,000
SIZE: 3 parcels, 4.93 acres, 6,067 square feet, 7 bedrooms, 7.5 bathrooms.
DESCRIPTION: Rare opportunity to purchase over 4.9 acres on 3 parcels in prime lower Bel Air with existing 1 story house and ample usable land. Main residence has spacious entertaining rms overlooking spectacular city & cyn views and includes 2 bedroom suites and maids. There are three additional detached structures for staff totaling 4 bedrooms and 4 bathrooms. Private grounds with pool & championship sunken tennis court. The possibilities are endless to maintain, build up or build a new estate altogether.

YOUR MAMAS NOTES: Late last night, just before Your Mama was fixin' to slather our face with cold cream and put our lotion gloves on in preparation for bed, we received a brief covert communique from an anonymous source whom we'll call Natalie Noname. According to Ms. Noname, producer/director Michael Bay recently bought a house on Bel Air Road that he is in the process of knocking down so that he can build something new, bigger, better or whatever.

Chisel chinned Mister Bay got his start in Tinseltown directing commercials and music videos for folks like Meat Loaf, Wilson Phillips and Donny Osmond. He busted into the film world in the mid-1990s with two hugely successful action flicks, Bad Boys and The Rock and has gone on to become –for better or worse–the man responsible for producing such cinematic gems as Pearl Harbor, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, The Hitcher, The Unborn and, of course, the wildly successful money minting movies that are the Transformers franchise.

Property records do indeed confirm at least part of what Natalie Noname told us which is that Mister Bay forked over $10,900,000 for a 4.93 acre, 3-parcel property on super swank lower Bel Air Road. What Your Mama does not know, of course, is what Mister Bay's destruction and construction plans might be although Ms. Noname told us that at least some portion of the car port at the front of the property has already been razed to make way for some heavy equipment.

As best as we can tell, the property was listed with a much higher asking price of $18,250,000 and was purchased from the estate of big time philanthropist and recently deceased gal about Los Angeles Marion Jorgensen.

A little Hollywood meets real estate history lesson here: Ms. Jorgensen, born rich, was married to producer Milton Bren (Topper, There Goes My Heart, Wyoming, Barnacle Bill and etc.) way back in the golden days of early Hollywood. Marion and Milton went splitsville in the mid 1940s but not before they produced two sons, one of whom is Donald Bren, the multi-billionaire real estate mogul and sole owner of the Irvine Company whose primary holding is the 93,000 acre Irvine Ranch which encompasses more than 20% of all the land in Orange County, CA. Mister Bren went on to marry the "Queen of Film Noir," Oscar winning actress Claire Trevor (Dead End, Key Largo, The High and the Mighty and etc.), and ex-Missus Bren went on to become Missus Jorgensen in 1953 when she married steel magnate Earle Jorgensen who was a member of Ronald Reagan's White House kitchen cabinet, a group of unofficial but influential advisors to the president. But we digress...

Mister Bay's new property sits on its own promontory with sweeping views of Los Angeles. The current house, a sprawling single story contemporary built in 1951, wraps around a vast motor court accessed through two electronically controlled gates. According to listing information, the main house measures 6,067 square feet and includes two bedrooms, 2.5 poopers, plus a staff suite with private pooper. There are, according to listing information, three additional detached structures which contain 4 more bedrooms and 4 more poopers for staff bringing the total count to 7 bedrooms and 7.5 bathrooms.

The front facade of the main house and accessory buildings surround a vast motor court on three sides and at the back, the house wraps around a terrace with an in-ground, free form swimming pool. There are well tended but somewhat old fashioned gardens an a properly oriented sunken tennis court. However, if what Ms. Noname says is true and Mister Bay is planning to tear the house down, the details of the house and landscaping matter little since they'll soon enough be replaced with something Herculean that is a tangible expression of his ego and more suitable to his own real estate tastes.

Mister Bay's new neighbors will include Salma Hayak and her wildly rich French biznessman husband Henri Pinault who live in one of Kelsey Grammar's many former homes, the decrepit but but still dee-voon Dame Elizabeth Taylor, Kirk Kekorian's first ex-wife Jean, billionaire media mogul Gerald Perenchio, swimsuit model turned ack-tress Cheryl Tiegs, and soft porn purveyor Joe Francis, just to name a few.

Curiously, Mister Bay already owns two other properties in Los Angeles. Property records reveal that in April of 1999 he paid $5,160,000 for a big house on Stradella Road in Bel Air and in November of 2005 he scooped up a 3 bedroom and 4 pooper property on Chalon Road in Brentwood. Mister Bay also owns 17,339 square foot mansion on N. Bay Road in Miami, FL that he bought from Hulk Hogan in August of 2007 for $17,000,000 and, apparently having had a real estate change of heart, quickly flipped it back on the market. The 11 bedroom and 11.5 pooper waterfront extravaganza remains on the market with an asking price of $18,900,000.

17 comments:

Anonymous said...

Awesome.
How long before he has Megan Fox over to wash his "Ferrari" again?

StPaulSnowman said...

Say, Mama, what exactly qualifies as a "championship" tennis court?. I play a fair amount of tennis and the only thing I can think of would be the amount of court around the baselines and sidelines. Perhaps just having the family tennis championship would qualify as well. Any thoughts?

Rosco Mare said...

I am sad and disappointed that demolition is progressing because this estate is truly superb -- properly proportioned structures with stunning city views; beautifully maintained, and intact, interiors by William Haines and Ted Graber; and elegant landscaping. The house was designed by Burton Schutt, and mid-century soft modern doesn't get any better than this. Think: Old school Bel-Air with a killer vibe. (Schutt also designed a similar house on Copley in Beverly Hills for Randolph and Pat Scott that has been replaced with a gigantic Richard Landry French palace.) This house has enormous rooms providing a great flow for entertaining. President Reagan celebrated each of his election nights here. Mrs. Jorgensen was a lovely, energetic woman who was a tireless fund raiser for the Arts and children's charities...and she knew exactly was was going on around the world! The restrained good taste exhibited in this residence has almost faded away with the generation that created it. Go to www.960belairroad.com. You'll see what I mean. I'm too bummed to write any more.

Alessandra said...

Not that I watch Mr. Bay's movies to begin with, but if he tears down this MCM gem, I will never see another of his movies again. So there!

And I'm calling it a gem simply based on the roof-line and the angles of the house and how the landscaping was integrated around it. I'm sure whatever is there is far better than the load of crap he's going to build.

Billy said...

I’m with Rosco Mare and Alessandra the man has no sense. Tearing down such a gem is just wrong.

Is there a pool for what faux revival style is going in?

Rosco Mare thanx for the link, the house reminds me of a great aunt’s place in the Muirlands, although 960 is an order of magnitude larger.

Alex said...

It's so depressing to witness the destruction of something with soul and elegance torn down to make room for another gaudy temple to the ego of a talentless hack.

MH Critic said...

It's worth the visit to the www.960belairroad.com site to see what the house looks like (thanks Rosco Mare). Seems like it's a Mid-Century house. I like the bones of the house but the interior decoration style doesn't match the style of house. The kitchen(s) will have to be gutted. The landscaping is gorgeous. If Michael Bay rebuilds, I hope it's Mid-Century/architectonic and not some tacky house that doesn't suit the land.

Anonymous said...

My mother is turning over in her grave.

lil' gay boy said...

Rosco Mare, truer words were never spoken, Billy and Alexandra are right; even from the air, if you circle around the proprty you can see such a marriage of house & land that no other structure will ever do the lot justice.

Anonymous said...

worst fear confirmed, but from the moment mrs. jorgensen's property came on the market it has been inevitable. the website for the house, referenced above, superbly documents a way of life that existed for a certain group of people at a certain time and in a particular place. nancy reagan is still living a much more modest version of this life, but when she is gone, i believe that's just about it.

Crowley said...

It would be sad to see this place torn down. It is lovely and perfectly sited on the lot. Thanks for the link Rosco Mare. I find it hard to believe that Bay would construct a new place with such an eye, or with restraint for that matter. If his directorial style is any indication.

Tracy said...

This house is a fascinating example of its time, but I can see why it wouldn't fit into a modern lifestyle. Seven bedrooms and five of those are for staff? A kitchen that is clearly designed for staff use only? A parking lot right outside the front door? Aspects of the house are wonderful- I especially like the fretwork pocket doors between the living room and the dining room- but I can see how someone would want a house that functioned differently. Like others I'm afraid that Bay will raze it rather than work within its constraints.

Anonymous said...

I have always loved this home for its style and elegance.. and yes, it's perfect marriage with the hillside where it sits. When it came on the market I thought, "I hope nobody comes and tears this gem down" since the land across the street was bought and resold for $14 Mil and the land next door was bought and still on the market for $4.5 Mil or so.

This home is a true testament to a golden era of architecture, functionality and lifestyle. I have seen Michael Bay's home on Stradella and that home has the views of this one, but perhaps not the gargantuan size he prefers. There is no way he doesn't knock this home down. It will be a tragic event.

Anonymous said...

The house is beautiful, but the decorating is ludicrous and doesn't match the styling of the house at all. It's a shame that he'll knock it down, as it seems like the interior could probably be completely redone and modernized without destroying the exterior and landscaping.

Anonymous said...

Love this house, i slow down every time by to get a better glimpse. I happened to also love the interiors, nice gay decorators are going to go into a hissy fit trying to get their little ol hands on some of these furnishings. My guess, furnishings will probably go up for auction.

Babe Parish Doesn't Live Here Anymore said...

of course he'll tear it down... that michael bay... ugh. he'll rip it up only to implant some silly place like kyle mclachlan's house in Showgirls complete with neon palm trees.

i weep for old school hollywood.

MH Critic said...

I had to make one more comment. Hopefully Bay won't tear it down. Kelly Wearstler would be a good interior designer for this house.