Monday, November 5, 2012

Doctor Dre Lives Large in Los Angeles.

BUYER: Dr. Dre and Nicole Threatt
LOCATION: Los Angeles, CA
PRICE: $15,400,000
SIZE: 9,696 square feet, 5 bedrooms, 8 bathrooms

YOUR MAMAS NOTES: Late last week Your Mama received an rapid fire cluster of covert communiques from an obviously well-informed fellow—let's call him Freddie Finefellow—who thoughtfully sought to let us know that his thorough research turned up evidence that wickedly rich* rapper/producer/audio headphone tycoon Dr. Dre—real name: Andre Romelle Youngdropped  a very A-list $15,400,000 on an I-have-arrived style mansion high above the Sunset Strip near the high-priced apex of the celebrity-chic Bird Streets neighborhood** of Los Angeles, CA.

Property records Your Mama peeped and poked around show the off-market deal went down very quietly way back in December 2011 and that the huge hilltop house was purchased through an opaquely named trust that we were easily able to connect to Mister Dr. Dre's real name as well as to several other properties he owns in the Los Angeles area.

The deluxe but architecturally ambiguous house—we'll call it a soft contemporary because we don't know how else to categorize it—wasn't officially on the open market at the time of Mister Dr. Dre's acquisition but older older listings from mid-2009, when the city view estate last sold for $12,800,000, shows the 9,696 square foot house was "newly built in 2001" and "recently cosmetically buffed." 

Listing information from 2009 also indicates the gated and privately situated residence is powerfully sited on a broad, private promontory at the tail end of a quiet cul-de-sac with extraordinary, eyeball shredding 280-degree views thaton a clear daystretch beyond downtown, over the Baldwin Hills and across the Pacific to the outline of Santa Catalina Island. There are—or were in 2009, according to listing information form the timesix bedrooms and nine bathrooms.

The primary public entertaining spaces include—again, as per 2009 marketing materialsan impress-the-guests style foyer with floating curved staircase, a formal dining room that seats 10 or more and a decidedly grand, double-height formal living room with fireplace, high-gloss wood floors and a towering, two-story wall of windows and glass doors that connect to a shaded veranda that over looks the unusually flat backyard.

Listing photos from 2009 show a giant greenhouse window floods the sleek and shiny center-island eat-in kitchen with natural light and a spacious "garden room" outfitted with a booze hound friendly built-in wet bar.

A view like thisof the sprawling, semi-suburban metropolis of L.A.might not be every person's preferred cup of property tea but that doesn't take away from the fact that a view like this, from the back veranda of a private mansion in the center of a gigantic city, is goddamn spectacular. You can hate Los Angeles—and heaven knows there are loads of people who loathe Los Angeles for a variety of both justifiable and precocious reasons—but it's just plain boneheaded not to be able to appreciate a view such as this property possesses.

The second floor master suite offers a soaring ceiling and a full wall of city view windows, a sitting area with fireplace, a small private terrace with big views and boutique-sized walk-in closet/dressing room. In 2009 the attached master bathroom was equipped with a shower stall lined on two exterior walls with hip high windows so a person can take in the city views whilst washing their coochie-coos.
 
Wide stone terraces and a deep covered veranda extend the living areas outside and step down to a flat grass pad plenty big enough for a good-sized Rover or two and a dark-bottom, T-shaped negative-edge swimming pool and spa.

In addition to his new, I-have-arrived-style digs above the Sunset Strip, Property records show Mister Dr. Dre owns a number of other properties including a 13,748 square foot mansion with 8 bedrooms and 6 bathrooms tightly wedged onto a wedge-shaped parcel in an affluent gated community in proto-suburban Woodland Hills, CA that he picked up in May 1999 for $2,375,000. For what it's worth, former teen idol, actor and reality show denizen Scott Baio owns a 5 bedroom and 4.5 bathroom mini-mansion on the same street he and his missus bought in November 2010 for $1,850,000.



In October 2010, property records suggest Mister Dre dropped $4,750,000 on a four-story, 8,843 square foot ocean front house on Malibu's swish and swanky Carbon Beach. The 6 bedroom and 7 bathroom house was—as it turns out, on the open market for most of 2011 and part of 2012 with little or no tongue wagging by the property gossip. As best as we can tell from old listings we squeezed out of the internets, the property was first listed with an $11,000,000 price tag that inexplicably increased to $12,500,000.

*In 2011, Forbes estimated Dr. Dre had a net worth of a quarter billion bucks and last month, they estimated, he'll haul in another $110 million in pretax earnings in 2012. Kaching!

**So called because all the streets are named after—you got it—birds.

listing photos (Sunset Strip): Hilton & Hyland
listing video (Malibu): Areté Estates

35 comments:

Anonymous said...

Not bad.

Anonymous said...

I hear the "Spec" House around the corner on Oriole shopped for 45 Million sold for 40 million.. the redone revamped Ricardo Montlban house... rumors just rumors...

FalseProfit said...

Pretty lame and generic, not unlike Dr. Dre's music. At least he's doing something with the money he made from those garbage headphones everybody is wearing.

Anonymous said...

The house itself is rather uninspired, but the views are so sexy I don't even care. Love the T-shaped infinity pool, too.

Anonymous said...

Mama you've been married to a doctor for how long now and you still can't spell the word right!!?

Anonymous said...

Our Mama is certainly up early this morning! And did she remember to change her clock?

The Rabbi much prefers this soft contemporary, even if a tensy bit lame and generic, to last week's bicycle helmet-air traffic control tower residential collision. Wasn't that a cosmic, deep-impact disaster?

The Rabbi imagines engaging Verandah on the veranda, in spirited Talmudic debate, concerning the audio qualities of Dr. Dre's Beats Studio vs. Bose Quiet Comfort. And she envisions a carport almost effortlessly appended to the facade.

Rabbi Hedda Hadassah LaCasa

Anonymous said...

Dear Mama but calling this home his "I've arrived" house is to undermine who Dr. Dre is as a performer and the extreme status he holds in the music industry's hierarchy. You must do your research and pay proper respect to a man with a net-worth in the nine figures.

Anonymous said...

I would have purchased the Ellison daughter's house in a minute over this.

Anonymous said...

Not sure if it is sold... but here is the Oriole spec house that usta be Ricardo's

http://drewfenton.com/properties/detail.php/178/1423-oriole-los-angeles/

Anonymous said...

http://mccleandesign.com/en/projects?id=57

More pics of Oriole house

Anonymous said...

I don't think those two Oriole houses are the same house??

Anonymous said...

Mama, another big house on Oriole Drive sold off-market a few weeks ago for $17 million. It belonged to big-time Scientologist Grant Cardone and is right next to the former Daria Zhukova and Montalban houses.

i remember Cardone's place was on "Selling LA" a while ago and he seemed like a douche when he flipped out when he got an all-cash offer of 14 mill on the place and said there's no way he would go that low.

FalseProfit said...

The McClean house is not the one Dre purchased. But, he should have! That's an awesome house.

Ricardo Montalbán's house is now owned by Irish property investor Paddy McKillen and his wife Maura.

FalseProfit said...

November 5, 2012 11:58 AM,

Thanks for posting that link to Montalbán's former house. They really did a wonderful job updating that property.

Anonymous said...

*SPECTACULAR

Anonymous said...

I heard the Walton gal sold her house on Tanager and bought the other Oriole House to knock down! Rumors Simply Rumors.

Doug-g said...

Beautiful view, but blah house. I wish I could buy the lot, tear down the house and move this one http://www.wonderviewdrive.com/ there.

As for the Wonder View house, the description states that it was built by one of the owners of Grauman's Chinese Theater for his wife, Rhonda Fleming, between 1938-40. Not sure how this happened as Rhonda Fleming did not marry the man in question, Ted Mann, until 1978 and he didn't even move to LA until 1970. Linking this comment to the original post (this featured home is owned by Doctor Dre), the description further mentions that the Wonder View house was owned by a Dr. Pierre Menard for 40 years, selling to the current owners in 2002. Perhaps someone can explain when Rhonda Fleming lived here.

I do love the house whether Rhona Fleming lived there or not. So much better than what they often come up with today, IMHO.

Petra's said...

House is nice enough but the view clearly takes the prize. I like his Malibu house too, it actually looks quite tastefully decorated. A rapper from Compton with taste? Who knew?

And Mama, your little witticisms never fail to crack me up. "eyeball shredding view" "booze hound friendly wet bar" "washing their coochie-coos". Amazing!

Anonymous said...

Hey 12:39, what house on Oriole did the Walton heiress girl supposedly buy? BTW her house on Tanager doesn't look like it's been sold???

Michael in WeHo said...

I've had sex twice in this house. True story!

Anonymous said...

Dear 11:29,

I respectfully reject your "I've arrived" shade. We all know that Dr. Dre has deep pockets. Spending 15 million on a house does indeed say I've arrived... or have plenty.


But the exact quote was "I-have-arrived STYLE mansion." My interpretation of Mama's meaning was that Dr. Dre's house is leaps and bounds above his contemporary -P.Diddy's monstrosity of a house (posted a few weeks back). And we all know that P.Diddy has money as well - but style? Let's just say, Diddy definitely doesn't have the staging Lady in her Pink Toyota on speed dial. - And in this case, that's a detriment.

Anonymous said...

this is almost 2 years old. c'mon... and this is his house he uses to throw parties. he doesnt live here

Anonymous said...

the Fortress up on sunset plaza just sold again!!

Anonymous said...

"You must do your research and pay proper respect to a man with a net-worth in the nine figures." (11:29).

Ah yes, Americans love to go on their knees and kiss the ground rich people walk upon. Gods come down to earth as it were, to favor us mere mortals.

Anonymous said...

Thank goodness we finally got a Marxist rant about a fabulously wealthy African American buying a mega-mansion. I was beginning to think the commies around here were a bunch of racists...

Anonymous said...

Dre arrived almost 2 decades ago. He is old money now by definition in Hollywood. Give the man the respect he is due.

FalseProfit said...

How could anyone expect a woman to respect Dre? Have you listened to the music he got rich producing?

Anonymous said...

5:08 Europeans by and large don't kiss the ground the rich walk on like Americans do. Of course they are all Marxists there, are they not? I mean after WW2 the whole continent went communist, didn't it? And still is. It is so disgustingly "Marxist" not to be dazzled by the rich.

Anonymous said...

Surprisingly old news and common knowledge for most who follow the bird streets. Grant Cardone... former owner of 1401 Oriole Drive who had it on the market for ages name dropped his neighbors 'Dre' a million times along with DeCaprio to get it sold.

Anonymous said...

What I'd really like to know is who bought the huge house at 1415 Oriole that Roman Abromovich sold. IMO that house has the best view of all the Bird Streets.

FalseProfit said...

1415 could use a 1423 style makeover. That would be one hell of a trophy property. As it stands, the interior leaves a whole lot to be desired.

Anonymous said...

The 1423 Oriole listing has been removed from, but here's an interesting article, with 1 pic, about what's happening with it now:
http://www.independent.ie/business/irish/mckillen-gave-son-deeds-to-mansion-3290614.html

Anonymous said...

The 1423 Oriole listing has been removed from Drew Fenton's website, but here's an interesting article, with 1 pic, about what's happening with it now:
http://www.independent.ie/business/irish/mckillen-gave-son-deeds-to-mansion-3290614.html

Also, you can see a 3D aerial pic of it on iPhone's Apple Maps (even though Google Maps & Bing Maps still show the Montalban house).

Anonymous said...

A little digging pulled up some gorgeous pix of 1423 Oriole Dr (the former Montalban house) here:
http://mccleandesign.com/en/projects?id=62

Unknown said...

Thank you for sharing this information. That is a wonderful looking house. The view of L.A. is just spectacular. I have been thinking about moving to the area and am trying to get as much information as possible about the city. I have been researching houses and los angeles car dealerships. The results have been impressive and I am looking forward to seeing the city for myself.