2 days ago
From America's Shopping Mall King, A $10 Million California Vineyard Estate
Nature provides wonders on California's Palos Verdes peninsula. Villa Oneira has been here since 1969, now fully refurbished and extended to five acres with a curtilage planted for privacy. Strand Hill Properties
It almost never happens. A property comes to market textured with two of the great intertwining themes of the American story. The first narrative starts in the 1960s, with the son of a German immigrant standing on a patch of scrub near the ocean in south-west Los Angeles. This is the house that Ernst built.
All undeveloped land translates as opportunity, and one man who was building a business out of that proposition in 1967 was Ernest (Ernst) W. Hahn, a developer who'd just opened his first shopping mall in Santa Barbara. It was a mall that would come to change the way Americans went shopping.
At La Cumbre Plaza, Hahn merged retail space with opportunities for fun and community activity—skating rinks, bowling alleys, day-care. He spread that vision into 29 brand-new shopping centers, making him the biggest mall developer in the western United States. He sold the company for $270 million—in 1980. American story number 1: entrepreneurial endeavor geared with new ideas.
The house that Ernst Hahn built for his family in 1968 on that patch of scrub was also forward-thinking. Forget traditional design, Hahn chose to ride the waves of mid-century modern style. The plot on Rolling Hills on the Palos Verdes peninsula was ideal for the architectural movement's articulated statement of indoor-outdoor living, with the bonus of sunsets over the Pacific, and the Hollywood sign behind.
Natural wood and stone, plus floor-to-ceiling glass, were central to the language of mid-century modern design. The current owners' sympathetic renovation in 2017 maintains authenticity, while upgrading facilities throughout for current times. Strand Hill Properties
The property is for sale today, listed at a smidge under $10 million by Lily Liang of Strand Hill Properties. It's grown with the times—but not at the expense of its original design. And herein American story number 2: regard for valued history combined with the will to improve.
Since purchasing the home in 2000, the current owners have added features inside and out that maintain the mid-century modern charm while increasing livability for our present age. Primary here was their decision to purchase adjacent land that increased the holding to a substantial five acres. Meticulous landscaping includes a clipped, box-planted garden, vibrant orchards of citrus, and a deep olive grove. The latter provides a year-round supply of your own olive oil.
But the standout that surprises, impresses and delivers in equal measure is a fully operational vineyard of 2,500 productive French Chardonnay and Pinot Noir vines on the estate's south-west facing slopes. Establishing a vineyard in your own garden would be a Herculean task. Inheriting one in full swing is a miraculous gift, especially when it comes with a solid customer list for the finished product.
Wine aficionados will respect the provenance of the 1,250 Chardonnay vines, planted in 2006 from French clones. The 1,250 Pinot Noir vines planted two years later are producing exceptional bottles too. With a yearly yield of 275 cases, the customer list for the Villa Oneira label includes local restaurants and hotels. Strand Hill Properties
Placid views of the sweeping coastline make the lawn-front terrace perfect for entertaining alfresco. Strand Hill Properties
So here in this corner of California, with the citrus scents of the Mediterranean wafting through the terraces and open windows, is an opportunity beyond rare. And the distinctly European feel is no accident either, because the owners are Greek. More on that later...
Villa Oneira, meaning House of Dreams in Greek, exudes the scale of an estate larger than its five acres. The sloping levels of landscaping create expansive vistas, and walking up the curving gated driveway you come across hidden additions. A stable block here, a tennis court there, separate guest/staff accommodation.
In 2017, a refurbishment across the 6,200-square-foot interior of this five-bed, five-bath home brought everything up to speed. Mid-century modern kitchens were born functional. Here Wolf, Sub-Zero and Miele mark the quality of improvements. If the pool, spa, wine cellar, outdoor kitchen and firepit are expected delights, how about (continuing the Greek connection) a chapel in the grounds, one modeled on a small church in Athens from 1600?
As night falls, the pool ushers in a calm, relaxing end to the day at Villa Oneira. Strand Hill Properties
The man who revolutionized American shopping laid the first stone of this spectacular property. But it's the current owners who have transformed it, over the past 25 years, into one of the most desirable homes in one of the most prestigious gated communities in Los Angeles. It's time for their story to begin a new chapter elsewhere—and for the next custodians of Villa Oneira to begin their own.
Lily Liang holds the listing for Villa Oneira, priced at $9,968,000. Strand Hill Properties is a member of Forbes Global Properties, the invitation-only network of top-tier brokerages worldwide and the exclusive real estate partner of Forbes.
