- NEWS
- SPORTS
- BUSINESS
- ENTERTAINMENT
- LIFE
- TRAVEL
- OPINION
$38 million bay-view home is 2nd priciest O.C. listing
October 6th, 2009, 2:00 am · 14 Comments · posted by Jeff Collins
Click to enlarge
A Corona del Mar home that apparently has been in the Irvine family for 140 years went on the market last week for $38 million, currently the second-highest list price in Orange County.
Atop a bluff overlooking the channel leading into Newport Bay, the four-bedroom, five-bath home sits on a 2.4-acre lot — the largest in Corona del Mar, according to the Multiple Listing Service listing description.
The house was built in 1936 on a home site that was “culled from the extensive holdings of the area’s largest ranch,” the listing says.
Which ranch? The home’s listing agent couldn’t be reached to explain, but there’s strong circumstantial evidence that it refers to none other than the Irvine Ranch.
Property records show, for example, that the current owner is Nita Irvine Wheeler Connelly, who happens to have the same name as James Irvine’s great-great granddaughter.
Property records show further that the home’s previous owner was Kathryn Lillard Wheeler — who had the same name as James Irvine’s great granddaughter. Kathryn Wheeler had two daughters, Nita Connelly and Helene Huyler. The home was deeded to two women with those same names in 2003, the year Kathryn Wheeler died.
The home’s exact size isn’t given. But the MLS description says:
“Steeped in history, the vintage residence was built in the Bermuda style and retains all of its original character. Features include: a great room with vaulted ceilings and a fireplace, four bedroom suites, an enclosed lanai, an indoor pool, a lighted tennis court & gazebo, a guest apartment, two garages and a service building. (To see photos, CLICK HERE or HERE!)
“A piece of California history, this venerable ground has remained to this day in the same family for over 140 years.”
Hale O Pau Hana
The property, which came on the market last week, is a few doors from Myford Irvine’s former residence, the Hale O Pau Hana house. That residence set an off-the-water price record when it sold for $27.1 million in May 2008.
The highest sale price for an Orange County home was $35 million, paid for actor Nicolas Cage’s Lido Channel home. Other homes have had higher asking prices:
- $87 million is the tentative asking price for the Villa del Lago estate in Newport Coast that’s under construction, but it’s not yet in the MLS.
- $75 million was the asking price for the Portabello Estate in Corona del Mar, but that home came off the market and never sold.
- $38.5 million was the asking price for 18 Harbor Island in Newport Bay, but the price has been reduced to $32.6 million.
That leaves just one current listing with a higher asking price: 2665 Riviera Dr., in Laguna Beach’s Irvine Cove, which currently is listed for $40 million.
Related news:
- $40 million home hits market in Laguna Beach
- Here’s what a $40 million Laguna Beach home looks like
- O.C. home reportedly goes for record $35 million
- $34.5 million Laguna home is O.C.’s second priciest sale
- Mansion will now cost you $77 million
- $75 million sale not on record
- Vegas tycoon buys Emerald Bay home for $28 million
- Orange County’s 10 priciest home sales
- O.C.’s “street of gold”
14 Comments
-
ADVERTISEMENT
-
-
Blog within a blog ...
-
HOW TO TRACK US
<!--
--> -
ADVERTISEMENT
did Collins break-up with McMonigle? I don’t see his name mention in the article anymore…surprise! lol.
I dont understand how would anyone come up with such a horrifly color for any building on earth…is that toothpaste blue?
If I recall my history I believe Wheeler served as Secretary of the Navy in some post WWII administration
At one time in the 80s Joan Irvine Smith owned two contiguous lots unimproved in Abalone Point
Suspect those were sold off (separately?) and built out long ago?
Sure they are trying to sell as high as possible, the question is if they would get it.
In the mid-while MGM in Vegas is will slash the price of their condos 30%
I did work on this property 2 years ago and I was amazed at the location and views. The house reminded me of a mini hearst castle but needs some infrastructure work. I would pay 22 million and add 4 million in upgrades………I wish that was one of my options……
From the pics, it looks like a stunning piece of land. I like the older house too. Lucky family. Too bad they are selling.
Jeff, does this include the boat house too? Or is that a separte listing?
best wishes
Pool House is staying in the family.
Rob Smith of the McMonigle Group told me that the “Boat House” — the property on the water along Bayside Drive — is not for sale.
The property that the McMonigle Group is listing along Bayside Drive is a neighboring parcel and does not belong to the Irvine family, he said.
If you look at the Google map of the area …
http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=92625&sll=33.601167,-117.880565&sspn=0.0017,0.002401&ie=UTF8&ll=33.601147,-117.88056&spn=0.0017,0.002401&t=k&z=19&iwloc=A
… then zoom out to see 401 Avocado, you’ll notice that 401 Avocado is across the street and atop the bluff overlooking the Boat House.
Jeff, thanks. I saw two signs in front of the boat / pool house a couple weeks ago - although the signs are now gone. The indoor pool is really nice …
best wishes
Are you saying the story you posted was incorrect — that it wasn’t in the Irvine family for 140 years?
pdu:
No. I’m not saying my post was incorrect.
I’m saying that the “Boat House,” a separate property on a different street, is not for sale — or so I’m told by the McMonigle Group, which is selling a neighboring property.
I like the Hale O Pau Hana house.
WOW, it must be so sweet to live so very well.
I hope I can some day soon. I will share the wealth, tho.
:)
Its a great opportunity to build something exceptional because of the land size and that the property is not in any HOA. No architectural guidelines, no crazy rules on style or landscaping as long as the building(s) sits within the set-back and height limit.