Looks like the $22,500,000 behemoth on S. Mapleton Drive in hoity toity Holmby Hills that all the blogs and gossip glossies (see #3) including Your Mama thought Jennifer Garner and Ben Affleck were in the process of buying is back on the market.
Perhaps that explains why the real estate seeking couple were out looking at high priced properties in Malee-boo last week.
I'm so happy to hear that...the yard was just not enough for the kind of money. With kids, you need a great yard (at least if you're paying $22 million) instead of so much square footage that separates you from the family.
ReplyDeleteThere's a nice house for sale in La Jolla, SD that would fit them perfect and wouldn't have all the creepy pappo'z waiting for Jen to sneak out in her Prius and hubby's Boston cap.
ReplyDeleteThat's good news. Maybe Malibu? Great place to raise children. Fun for grown-ups too!
ReplyDeleteWhy don't they buy Just Jack's Shack and a beach place as well? Or is HP not cloistered enough for A-listers with small kids?
ReplyDeleteAlessadra,
ReplyDeleteGood question - I thought the HP schools were supposed to be good.
It was a problem with the homeless trespassing on some properties that I've heard of.
BTW, those 2 books I mentioned on LA Homes have some fantastic pictures of Hancock Park homes in their heyday, as well as aerial photos of the development.
Sadly, half of them are gone now . . .
HP would be a nice choice for them b/c residents do leave celebrities alone. Paps might be an issue in which case a few blocks away in gated Fremont Place would be good. It's a totally different feel there though, and very different type of people. Much stuffier, much more plastic surgery and arrogance. HP is far more laid back and easygoing. And after living in HP for 30+ years, I have yet to witness a homeless person within the confines of the neighborhood.
ReplyDeleteMaybe they hired new personnel to handle their moolah and acted quick!
ReplyDeleteAlso, they may just home school their little darling with tutors/mentors that specialize in celebuspawn lifestyles.
Maybe they will buy Sean's house!
ReplyDeleteI bet 311 and 219 are being built by the same builder and BenJen are really buying 219.
ReplyDeleteWhich house in Holmby Hills were they looking at?
ReplyDeleteRB
I seriously doubt the working-class Bostonian and the smallville, West Virginian are going to raise their children in Malibu.
ReplyDeleteThey are going to want a neighborhood. They're going to try to impose as much normalcy on their children's lives as possible.
I wouldn't be surprised if they've looked at gated communities, and on the flip side, I wouldn't be surprised if they've looked in more 'normal' neighborhoods.
Now, what fits those criteria in sunny, southern CA?
(I'm glad for them that they didn't choose that house on S. Mapleton, because it is boringly ugly.)
Lucy,
ReplyDeleteOnly one correction- Ben's not working class- his mother went to Harvard and is a respected educator. He's been acting since childhood.
The couple is surprisingly down to earth given their successes.
RB - They reportedly looked at and may have been negotiating to buy 311 S. Mapleton and Ben has been photographed at the construction site at 219 S. Mapleton. The houses are similar architectually. 219 (in my opinion) is a better location and would be more private.
ReplyDeletewow, things sure change, I remember when an old decorator friend of mine, rolly polly kind of guy, managed to get him self put on title to a house on murifield, 18,000sqft. the market was shit, but he got an old broad to put him on, he got the house and he sold it or the next person sold it to antonion banderas. who later knocked down the next door house, that one must be worth miillions now,
ReplyDeleteThanks, Luke! As I've been hunting around Cambridge with my eldest son lately, I know that it is far from 'working class'...
ReplyDeleteHi Lucy,
ReplyDeleteCambridge actually has a broad cross section. Ben and Matt went to public high school in Cambridge. I'm sure that their experiences there influenced later film projects, which have included settings in working class Boston.
An aside, the kitchen from Julia Child's former Cambridge home has been moved to the Smithsonian.
Luke- obviously, I've been missing that cross section. Regardless, I'm voting for a neighborhood house for the Affleck/Garner family.
ReplyDeleteProperty Pimp... the decorator you are referring to is designer John Cottrell. He, indeed, sold the house which was featured on the cover of ARCHITECTURAL DIGEST to Banderas and Melanie. It is a stunning estate... and yes, they bought the house next door, which was originally part of their parcel and had been subdivided somewhere down the line, and had the house torn down, because it was incongruent with the architectural style of their home. Thereby restoring the original parcel of land.
ReplyDeleteI seem to recall that the Banderas house has some sort of pedigree - anyone know anything about its origins?
ReplyDeleteTo Lucy
ReplyDeleteMalibu has a big name. Are you a beach dweller as we are? If so you'd respect Malibu's sense of community. People are kind. It's a relaxed and close knit town, especially so for children.
Matt Damon's mom was the one who taught at Harvard. I hear Ben has been looking in Laughlin Park too...(his brother lives in the gated community)
ReplyDeleteBen's mother went to Harvard- she has taught in private secondary schools- didn't say she taught at Harvard.
ReplyDeleteThey should move to Hidden Hills...gated community, lots of activities for kids and families, a yearly carnival, pumpkin festival, theatre. It's great and no one really bothers the celebrities there. It's also close to shopping and restaurants. And the paparazzi can't get in to take pictures during all of this fun stuff.
ReplyDelete