Bob Hope Estate Sold To Supermarket Mogul Ron Burkle For $15M

The Bob and Delores Hope estate in Toluca Lake, California has been sold to supermarket magnate Ron Burkle, who reportedly is planning on preserving and restoring the main residence.

Real estate reports said the 5.2 acres estate was sold for $15 million, far below its initial asking price of $27.5 million when it first went up for sale in 2013. In 2017, a developer obtained an escrow on the property and submitted permits to demolish outlying buildings, presumably to build additional housing density.

A motion at that time to declare the site a historic-cultural monument was put forth by a local councilman, but failed. Burkle already owns the Hope Palm Springs residence, which he bought for $13 million two years ago. He reportedly plans to restore the Toluca Lake estate, which sits in prime territory in an increasingly dense area.

The main residence on the site was built in 1938 by architect Robert Finkelhor and expanded to 15,000 square feet in the 1950s. The property boasts indoor and outdoor pools, a guest house, a three-hole gold course and putting green.

All proceeds from the sale will go to the Bob and Delores Hope Foundation, as stipulated in Delores Hope’s will. She died in 2011, with Bob Hope passing in 2003 at the age of 100.

Billionaire Burkle’s fortune was built via supermarket chains Ralphs, Fred Meyer Inc. and Food4Less.

 

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