Tuesday, April 29, 2008

Arthur Blank Selling Buckhead Mansion

SELLER: Arthur and Stephanie Blank
LOCATION: Tuxedo Road, Atlanta, GA
PRICE: $10,600,000
SIZE: 8,225 square feet, 7 bedrooms, 7 full and 3 half bathrooms
DESCRIPTION: Spectacular mature gardens and lake are viewed from the iron balconies of this magnificent 4 acre estate. Situated on one of Atlanta's finest streets, across from the Woodruff estate, the grounds of this wonderful seven bedroom home are unparalleled in Buckhead.

YOUR MAMAS NOTES: About a week ago Your Mama received word from the Buckhead Blabbermouth that Atlanta Falcons owner, Home Depot co-founder and billionaire Arthur Blank recently put his baronial Buckhead mansion on the market for $10,900,000. Being blissfully and almost totally ignorant about professional sports, the only tidbit Your Mama can pull out of the dark recesses of our gin soaked mind about the Atlanta Falcons is that it's the team for which disturbing dog torturer Michael Vick last quarterbacked. However, let's not uglee this story up with discussing that pile of sick whom Your Mama hopes is some demonic dude's new "wife" in whatever prison he's landed.

Knowing little about Atlanta other than it's sometimes called "Hotlanta" and that land luvin' billionaire Ted Turner and He of the Fabulous Sunglasses Elton John maintain residences in the southern city, we once again turned to our saucy and sassy friend Fiona Trambeau who happens to know a thing or two about Buckhead thanks to a sexually confused, Guinness guzzling and pill popping former consort who shall remain nameless. For now.

Miz Trambeau informs Your Mama that Buckhead is one of Atlanta's finer neighborhoods and its winding and leafy streets are lined with mansions both modest and excessive, stately and over-stated. According to Miz Trambeau, there also happens to be a thriving nightlife in Buckhead that is peopled by khaki clad bizness men who look like they might have belonged to a fraternity in college and young women in strappy high heels, expensive mini dresses and even more expensive handbags. As you might imagine, Miz Trambeau finds it all a little mainstream for her notoriously wild and wicked ways.

Anyhoo, property records reveal that Mister and Missus Blank purchased their 8,225 square foot brick Colonial Revival style mansion on Buckhead's Tuxedo Road in April 1993 for $3,380,000. Listing information indicates the house includes 7 bedrooms with 7 full and 3 half bathrooms. It's a good thing listing information also indicates that the Blank pile also includes staff quarters, because with ten terlits you definitely need a live in gurl with a scrub brush super glued to one of her hands.

Listing information and and a recent report in the Atlanta Journal Constitution reveal that the interior spaces include a two story foyer for impressing guests and the pizza delivery man, a dining room that seats 12, a library, media room/home thee-ay-ter, and in-law suite (which is a fantastic feature for those with frustrating in-laws), a wine grotto for perfect for well to do winos to tipple and taste, and an in-home fitness center in which the hung over home owners can privately sweat out the booze the next morning .

However, it's really the outdoor spaces that make this property a real head turner. Four acres of magnificent, meticulous and mature landscaping include a private lake (that looks a wee bit small to be a lake, so let's call it a pond), multiples terraces, patios and decks, a swimming pool, sculpted lawn areas, gazebos, pergolas, quiet contemplative corners and secret sweet spots where one could easily and freely frolic in their birthday suit without any fear of being spied by neighbors or hovering helicopters.

As the children might expect and any high end property shopper would hope, Mister and Missus Blank's Buckhead estate sits in solid real estate company. Across the street is Windcrofte, the Regency style behemoth that was once the home of Robert Woodruff, a man who had Coca Cola cash coming out his philanthropic wazoo. Currently owned by big biznessman and wannabe Republican politician Guy Millner, the 7-acre property is also on the market for $13,900,000.

According the Atlanta Journal Constitution, the billionaire Blanks will be staying in the hotsy totsy 'hood and plan to move to another Buckhead property that is currently under renovation. Your Mama hopes their new digs will include landscaping as lovely and impressive as their old house and we look forward to being invited to a garden party this summer to check it all out.

41 comments:

Anonymous said...

Not being much of a landscape enthusiast I have only one thing to say,the pond needs oxygen and quickly.
Looks like a typical rich persons suburban house to me.I would like to see some interior shots though.

Anonymous said...

You don't like diving through a layer of pond scum for your morning swim, so chic?

I'm not a huge fan of the house, but I love the design of the rear loggia, pool and steps sweeping down onto the grounds, which are just beautiful.

Anonymous said...

I love it--the grounds are beautiful. I also would like to see some interior pictures. Jeez, if I only $10-mill for a house, I would buy it even without seeing the interior.

Anonymous said...

I just pulled up the realtor's listing--there are quite a few more pictures, but all of the exterior only--none of the interior, but still worth a look.

Ellen said...

I've seen this house, it's real purrty on the outside...I suspect the interior needs an overhaul as that's actually a decent price for the area. Tuxedo Rd. is nice.

Want to see a neighbor house that's terribly overpriced? Check out 541 West Paces Ferry at $20M. Pretty on the outside. Euro-trashtastic on the inside.

I def. like this one better!

lil' gay boy said...

Nice bones to this one (not crazy about living in Atlanta, but if you have to, Buckhead is the place to be). The grounds remind me of Nana's before she sold her Roslyn home.

I guess this is what my Southern friends mean when they say someone is "walking in tall cotton."

But I must need my eyes examined - other than the scummy little "water hole," I see no "lake." Surely they must be referring to a body of water beyond the trees at the foot of the yard?

Anonymous said...

I live in the Tuxedo Forest neighborhood, although in one of Buckhead's more modest abodes. This season, the cruelty of beautiful outdoor spaces in the ATL makes my, and most every other Georgia peach's, lungs and sinuses quiver. You see, Buckhead is pollen city in the U.S. allergy capital of Atlanta, and I would only fork over money like that if the interior spaces were to die for. Their realtor, who must be a smart marketer, knows this and really must convince his clients to let him in for some serious staging. Something must be ugly inside, for most Atlantans try to NOT be in their gardens this month.

pch said...

I don't hate the house, but it ain't doing much for me. The grounds don't knock me out, either, in the context of the South. In Los Angeles, impressive; in Atlanta, whatever.

Anonymous said...

Little tidbit of info, Mr. Blank is the founder of Home Depot, Maybe the interior is Home Depotized?

Alessandra said...

Is it Home Depotized on a drunken contractor spree? One wonders...

Beautiful grounds and interesting house. I'm in no rush to ever live in Atlanta but this one certainly evokes gracious southern living...as soon as they clean the damn pond scum.

Anonymous said...

The house is OK...Atlanta is OK...the pool, however, is orgasmic!

Anonymous said...

I'm swooning. I'll take it!

Anonymous said...

I'm swooning. I'll take it!

Anonymous said...

I'm swooning. I'll take it!

Anonymous said...

Multiple Orgasm Virgina Girl?

lil' gay boy said...

You can take your finger off the return key now, Miz Virginia . . .

;-)

Fortunately, I am lucky enough to not be a martyr to my sinuses - I live for the outdoors in spring.

Has anyone found any interior pics? I shudder to think of that gracious home being Home Despot-ized . . .

Anonymous said...

The two pics don't do this home and grounds justice. From the air, it's magnificant.

The Blank family's foundation and various business interests are conducted out of this energy efficient and environmentally award-winning building, completed in 2004. Wowie. Is he hiring?

Alessandra said...

Thanks for the links, Sandpiper.

StPaulSnowman said...

I don't know about the rest of you but I find it really difficult to keep my modest lily pond algae free. Light+water=algae and it is a constant struggle to control it. Perhaps the algae in California is better behaved. For ten million, they should have an ultraviolet setup so these photos would look better........a sort of "staging" of the landscape until the deal is closed.

Alessandra said...

We spank the water into submission daily here in SoCal.

My impression was that it helps to keep the water flowing and that stagnant water will grow more algae, but my knowledge of aquatic botany is limited to recognizing a water lily and saying, "Ooooh, pretty!"

StPaulSnowman said...

Alessandra; You are correct about the running water but waterlilies prefer still water......damned if you do...and if you don't. Fortunately, algae is controlled naturally as the lily pads cover about 60% of the surface and starve the algae for light. Just one of nature's little frustrations. Say.....do you have mosquitoes in California? The mosquito is our state bird.

pch said...

I have friends with a large ornamental pond at their Mississippi place, and I've never noticed algae there. It has a jet-type fountain in the center, and they have a few full-time gardeners. (I know, I know -- everything about these people is over the top.) Can't remember seeing any lily pads. Snowman, would you guess it's the motion from the fountain and/or regular human intervention doing the trick? Or something else? I'm curious all of a sudden.

Mosquitoes very rare, at least along the Southern California coast.

StPaulSnowman said...

pch; according to my waterlily sensei in Ohio, it is the motion of the water which disturbs the plants. This certainly seems to be true for the hardy natural waterlilies we have here, always thriving in the placid shallows of our many lakes. There are few living things as beautiful as waterlilies and lotus flowers, but hey, you guys can grow most anything in your gentle climate.....I have zone envy.

Anonymous said...

when the 500k home falls down to 50k which I know is soon

this place will sell for 1MM

if he was smart he should take it off the market and wait another 10 years when the suckers scam starts all over again, then he will get 10MM or more.

remember the last 10 years of RE pricing is based on fraud

Anonymous said...

btw to the guy who said he got the 1MM loan, did you pay high interest ?

they say that jumbo loans are really hard to get and the interest is very high.

Anonymous said...

Go away Average Ho/Jack Off.

Anonymous said...

I had an decorative pond thing in my back yard that I dug up and filled in. Couldn't control the algea. I was told to keep the water moving because it oxygenates the water and the algae doesn't like that. It wasn't worth my time and I couldn't keep my dogs out of it!!

Anonymous said...

Mama, just one small correction, Windcrofte was actually the Robert Woodruff estate. His brother George's estate was further down Tuxedo at Valley Road.

Also, you can tell Ms. Trambeau that Buckhead's party scene is waning as the "party triangle" is being redeveloped into a super-fancy shopping/condo/hotel district. I guess we don't already have enough of those in ATL...

Your Mama said...

Dear Two Dollar Cocktail...

Thank you for your respectful correction. We've righted our wrong.

As for Miz Trambeau...we'll let her know that in addition to picking up a former frat boy turned pharmaceutical sales rep she can also pick up a fancy pair of cha cha heels next time she's in Buckhead.

Anonymous said...

happy jack/average joe,

As I have patiently explained many times before, I don't have your credit...challenges.....so my loan was not difficult to get nor is it a high interest rate.

Anonymous said...

Mama, your children are tired of life in the drear provinces!

Anonymous said...

anon 1046am

I am doing better than fine, I do not need loans, I pay cash for everything, hence better RE deals, I was not talking about me here is the article that just came out.

Old conventional wisdom: The new "junior jumbo" mortgages — in the $417,000 to $730,000 range — are going to lower interest rates, lure new buyers, and breathe new life into the California real estate market.

New conventional wisdom: The "junior jumbos" are a major disappointment. They aren't that cheap, they are hard to get, and they're not helping very much.

The New York Times reports tonight: " ... the effort to make it easier to get jumbo mortgages — loans over $417,000 — has yielded frustration and disillusionment. ... many prospective borrowers and their mortgage brokers say the new loans are either not available or the rates are far higher than they expected. Relief, they say, has been replaced by grief. The program 'is so much of a failure that it’s really unbelievable,' said Daniel M. Shlufman, president of the FCMC Mortgage Corporation in Clifton, N.J.

Numbers: A Santa Ana mortgage broker is quoted saying he can get a rate of 5.75% for a loan of $417,000; but if the loan is just a little bit higher — into "junior jumbo" territory — rates jump to 6.99%.


as they say "it is possible that the ants will eat the mighty grasshoppers"

I am afraid that the day is coming soon.

Anonymous said...

btw I do not know happy jack, but since you mentioned my name, I felt it best to respond.

Anonymous said...

One of these days you need to get on The Dr. Cooter's couch and have him introduce all your multiple personalities to each other. They are all crystal clear to the real people.

Anonymous said...

A psychiatrist? I honestly thought he was a gynecologist. I don't know why but I thought Mama hinted in that direction. Thanks for the information, psychiatry is much more romantic.

Anonymous said...

Maybe because some of his patients are twisted vajayjays?

Anonymous said...

Average Joe? Happy Jack? Various anons that speak in multiple references of 10K party people...
Get a f**kin' clue you ape.

Your contributions here are the equivalent of a protest at a peace rally. Any one of us could monitor the same shit you visit regularly, but it dosn't fit here; it's off topic and makes you a predictable ass who pokes a hot stick at an otherwise calm and peaceful place for high end real estate fun. Get a life, you ape.

Every time you show up, it's inapropriate an off topic. Why do you have this perverse need to be such a d*ck?

You need to hook up with your shrink for a new meds evaluation.

Anonymous said...

Sponsor,

I'm not sure which is more disturbing. That he actually believes the partial truths he posts or that he thinks we are all too stupid to see that he is one and same person using different names.

Note to ed/jack/joe/bob/asshole - If you are going to pretend to be someone else, you shouldn't make reference to what you said in an earlier post when you used a different name. Moron.

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Anonymous said...

I drive by this house at least once a day and never knew this was his house. I just knew his house was on this street. I have a friend who lives two houses down and regularly sees ATL Falcons outside his house. What a small world!

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