Mohamed Hadid's controversial hilltop ‘Starship Enterprise' mansion site is up for auction — again
The remnants of Mohamed Hadid's stalled-out megamansion could be yours.
The demolished concrete remains of Hadid's $50 million Los Angeles residence are being sold in a sealed-bid auction, the Real Deal reported. The no-reserve sale has a starting bid of $7.9 million and lasts until July 16.
The former dwelling earned the nickname 'Starship Enterprise' from alarmed neighbors, who feared the pad's gargantuan size and uncertain foundations would lead to a cliffside disaster for the entire neighborhood.
5 Hadid's would-be home sold at auction in 2021 after he was ordered to tear it down.
Anadolu via Getty Images
5 A judge previously ordered the under-construction home to be torn down amid safety concerns.
MEGA
5 Sahara Construction completely demolished the property.
MEGA
Compass's Tracy Tutor and Premiere Estates Auction Company's Todd Wohl hold the listing.
The unfortunate eyesore currently belongs to Paul Ventura's Sahara Construction, which purchased the property at auction for $5 million in 2021. Attempts to sell the Bel-Air property since then have failed to bear fruit.
Sahara Construction has carefully demolished the partially built structure down to its concrete foundations, the Real Deal reported, citing a court-ordered engineering report that declared the site now safe for a 15,000-square-foot home.
Hadid previously tried to build a home twice that size, and was taken to court over his efforts.
5 Hadid, pictured with his famous daughters, Gigi and Bella, in 2016.
Dimitrios Kambouris
5 Hadid planned to build a 30,000-square-foot structure on the hilltop site.
AP
'If this house came down the hill it would take a portion of the neighborhood with it,' said Los Angeles Judge Craig Karlan in his 2019 ruling for Hadid to demolish the illegally built hillside home.
Hadid, a real estate developer and father to Bella and Gigi Hadid, began construction on the planned megamansion in 2014. The tycoon fought the city of Los Angeles for several years to build the estate. Hadid's company 901 Strada LLC filed for bankruptcy when he was ordered to tear down the structure.
Sahara Construction listed the property for sale in the fall of 2023 for $18 million, The Real Deal reported, but the listing was removed last year.
'The demolition took a tremendous amount of money,' Premiere Estates Auction Company's Todd Wohl told the outlet. 'From the court's standpoint, the legal issues and development issues are cured. There's a flat pad now. This would survive a major earthquake.'
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New York Post
23-05-2025
- New York Post
Mohamed Hadid's controversial hilltop ‘Starship Enterprise' mansion site is up for auction — again
The remnants of Mohamed Hadid's stalled-out megamansion could be yours. The demolished concrete remains of Hadid's $50 million Los Angeles residence are being sold in a sealed-bid auction, the Real Deal reported. The no-reserve sale has a starting bid of $7.9 million and lasts until July 16. The former dwelling earned the nickname 'Starship Enterprise' from alarmed neighbors, who feared the pad's gargantuan size and uncertain foundations would lead to a cliffside disaster for the entire neighborhood. 5 Hadid's would-be home sold at auction in 2021 after he was ordered to tear it down. Anadolu via Getty Images 5 A judge previously ordered the under-construction home to be torn down amid safety concerns. MEGA 5 Sahara Construction completely demolished the property. MEGA Compass's Tracy Tutor and Premiere Estates Auction Company's Todd Wohl hold the listing. The unfortunate eyesore currently belongs to Paul Ventura's Sahara Construction, which purchased the property at auction for $5 million in 2021. Attempts to sell the Bel-Air property since then have failed to bear fruit. Sahara Construction has carefully demolished the partially built structure down to its concrete foundations, the Real Deal reported, citing a court-ordered engineering report that declared the site now safe for a 15,000-square-foot home. Hadid previously tried to build a home twice that size, and was taken to court over his efforts. 5 Hadid, pictured with his famous daughters, Gigi and Bella, in 2016. Dimitrios Kambouris 5 Hadid planned to build a 30,000-square-foot structure on the hilltop site. AP 'If this house came down the hill it would take a portion of the neighborhood with it,' said Los Angeles Judge Craig Karlan in his 2019 ruling for Hadid to demolish the illegally built hillside home. Hadid, a real estate developer and father to Bella and Gigi Hadid, began construction on the planned megamansion in 2014. The tycoon fought the city of Los Angeles for several years to build the estate. Hadid's company 901 Strada LLC filed for bankruptcy when he was ordered to tear down the structure. Sahara Construction listed the property for sale in the fall of 2023 for $18 million, The Real Deal reported, but the listing was removed last year. 'The demolition took a tremendous amount of money,' Premiere Estates Auction Company's Todd Wohl told the outlet. 'From the court's standpoint, the legal issues and development issues are cured. There's a flat pad now. This would survive a major earthquake.'
Yahoo
22-05-2025
- Yahoo
Remaining Slabs of Mohamed Hadid's Demolished $50 Million Mansion Hit the Auction Block After Years of Legal Drama
The demolished remains of developer Mohamed Hadid's failed $50 million Los Angeles mansion have hit the auction block with an opening bid of $7.9 million—years after the father of supermodels Gigi and Bella Hadid became embroiled in a string of legal woes over the property. The 1.2-acre site is being sold off by Paul Ventura's Sahara Construction in a sealed auction that will end July 15, according to its listing, which is held by Compass's Tracy Tutor and Premiere Estates Auction Company's Todd Wohl. But while the first few listing photos reveal renderings of a stunning hillside home, all that remains of Hadid's former mansion is a foundation and a few slabs of concrete—along with planning approval to built an opulent dwelling that spans up to 15,000 square feet. The listing, which was first reported by The Real Deal, also notes that, while bids are set to start at $7.9 million, there is no reserve on the property, which means that it will sell to the highest bidder, regardless of whether that opening bid price is reached. Despite the torrid history of the home that once sat on the land, the listing describes the property as a 'rare and exceptional development opportunity' to hold space in one of 'Los Angeles' most prestigious and desirable neighborhoods.' The vacant lot is situated at the end of a cul-de-sac and offers residents complete privacy, sweeping canyon views, and a 'foundation to build a world-class custom estate,' according to the listing. Hadid began construction on his own property on the plot back in 2012, laying the groundwork for a home that would ultimately span 30,000 square feet—double the size that planning permits allowed for on the plot. The initial work on the dwelling revealed the floor plan to be so vast that the home was nicknamed the 'Starship Enterprise' by horrified neighbors, who quickly voiced upset over the dwelling's expansive size. By 2015, the size of the home became the focal point of a furious legal dispute, when the City of Los Angeles prosecuted Hadid for refusing to adhere to the halt work orders that had been issued on the property. Three years later, Hadid had yet to downsize the property, prompting his neighbors to file a civil lawsuit against him, raising fears that the mansion could slide down from hits perch on the hillside and cause major damage to the entire community. The lawsuit claimed that the home had been illegally built, was not up to code, and that it was unstable, with a structural engineer testifying in court that the home's support piles had only been driven 20 feet into the ground, instead of the 30 feet that is required by building regulations. In 2019, a judge ordered Hadid to tear down the property, stating that the dwelling posed 'a clear and present' threat to his neighbors. 'If this house came down the hill it would take a portion of the neighborhood with it,' Judge Craig Karlan said of his ruling, according to the New York Post. Hadid made multiple attempts to appeal the ruling—and in 2019, he even filed for bankruptcy on behalf of the LLC through which he purchased the plot, claiming that his company was facing between $10 and $50 million in debt because of the construction costs involved in the failed project. In 2021, he opted to sell the property to Sahara Construction for $8.5 million, rather than pay the $5 million required to safely demolish the home—a cost that the buyer agreed to cover. The construction firm then took out an $8 million loan from Northern Bank & Trust Company in 2023 and completed the requirements to stabilize the slope. Things went from bad to worse for Hadid when he was ordered to pay a lump sum of $2.6 million toward his neighbors' legal costs in 2023. At the time, Joe Horacek, 81, who was one of the neighbors who led the suit, told the Daily Mail of the ruling: 'I feel vindicated. Now I just want Hadid to pay up and go away.' Meanwhile, Hadid lamented, 'This is a joke—it's crazy.' He then revealed he had plans to countersue for 'two or three hundred million dollars.' Although the property was initially listed for $18 million in October 2023, it was then swiftly removed from the market. According to The Real Deal, Sahara received a default notice on the loan that it took out on the property last month and is now delinquent on $9.4 million of debt. Fed Warns Interest Rates Could Remain Higher for Longer 2 Southern States Lead the U.S. With the Highest Number of Foreclosures Mortgage Interest Rates Today: Mortgage Rates Edge Up After Trump's Tariff Deals
New York Post
12-05-2025
- New York Post
This could be Brooklyn's second-tallest skyscraper — if it replaces an ‘eyesore' office building
A public-private partnership is eyeing a notoriously gloomy Downtown Brooklyn office building for an ambitious overhaul. The all-black, seven-story office building at 395 Flatbush Ave. Extension was once dubbed 'one of the biggest eyesores in downtown Brooklyn,' by Brownstoner. Now, the borough's second-tallest tower could take its place. The city Department of Housing Preservation and Development is looking to rezone the city-owned site to allow for a 72-story, 840-foot-tall mixed-use tower, the Real Deal reported. A tower that size would be second only to the 93-story Brooklyn Tower, just down the street. 3 A rendering of the proposed 72-story tower. Binyan Studio and TenBerke Architects Mayor Eric Adams unveiled the plan at last week's Real Deal NYC Forum 2025, touting the city's new tax incentives and City of Yes zoning changes making the proposed development possible. Developers Rabina and Park Tower Group control the site through a long-term ground lease with the city. Josh Rabina, President and CEO of Rabina, said the plan to replace the 'dark and outdated' office building will 'breathe new life into one of the most important intersections in Downtown Brooklyn.' '395 Flatbush will respond to the city's urgent housing needs, while anticipating and supporting future growth by overhauling the public realm for the thousands of people that pass through every day,' Rabina said in a statement. The 53-year-old building sits just above the DeKalb subway station, in the heart of Brooklyn's transit-rich central business district. The currently squat, triangular office is currently occupied by a Verizon call center and ground-floor storefronts. Its sheltered sidewalk is often crowded with computers and homeless encampments. A spokesperson for the developers said the 350,000-square-foot office building is 'no longer meeting the needs of the community.' 3 The current office building has been dubbed 'one of the biggest eyesores in downtown Brooklyn.' Rabina 3 Plans for the tower include a public public plaza, widened sidewalks and an improved subway entrance. Binyan Studio and TenBerke Architects The proposed 1.5 million-square-foot tower would include 1,263 apartments, 253 to 379 of which would be designated as permanently affordable at or below 80% of area median income, according to city records. The developers plan to construct the affordable units without receiving any loans or grants from the city, according to a spokesperson, but will instead will take advantage of new city tax incentives. An Adams aide has also stated that the building will house formerly homeless residents, Gothamist reported. The surrounding area will also receive a 10,000-square-foot facelift. The developers plan to construct a 4,750-square-foot public plaza along Fulton Street, widen the sidewalk along Flatbush, add green landscaping and expand the DeKalb Avenue subway station's public entrance. The new all-electric building design will also offer 66,000 square feet of retail space, in addition to 75,000 square feet of commercial space, according to a spokesperson for the developers, adding that the redevelopment will retain and reuse portions of the existing office building. Plans for the tower, however, are still in their infancy — the project must first pass through the city's lengthy land-use process. A public scoping hearing for the project will be held on June 5.
