A Tech Investor Is Asking $120,000 Per Month for a Beachfront Mansion in One of California’s Premier Seaside Communities
As some wealthy buyers increasingly decide to hold off on the purchase of a new home while they wait and see what happens with interest rates, elections, and the global economy, the ultra-luxury rental market, from London to Dubai to southern California, has kicked into high gear.
Case in point: a 13,000-square-foot oceanfront mansion in Manhattan Beach, an affluent coastal town about 20 miles from Los Angeles, that’s up for temporary grabs at a stratospheric $120,000 per month. Should someone wish to make the deluxe beach house a more permanent home, it is also available to buy with an attention-getting $150 million price tag.
More from Robb Report
Formula 1's Jenson Button Puts Colorful Rental Villa up for Sale in Palm Springs
Bob Dylan's Grandson Buys a Hollywood Hills Retreat for $3 Million
The home, which is so jam-packed with bells and whistles that many might find little reason to go down to the beach, was custom-built for its owner, tech investor Bob DeSantis, an early investor in LinkedIn and a co-founder of Ariba Software. The three adjacent lots that comprise the property together span almost a quarter of an acre and were acquired around 2000 for about $13 million. DeSantis recently told The Wall Street Journal that he spent several years designing and building the residence, which was completed in 2009.
At the time DeSantis built the house, it caused quite a kerfuffle in the tony seaside community, where the median sale price of a home clocks in at about $2.5 million. Concerns about the town becoming overrun with megamansions that sprawl across multiple lots led to an ordinance that prohibits future homes from being built across three lots, as DeSantis was granted permission to do. Still, DeSantis told WSJ he built a smaller house than what the site would accommodate, and substantial offsets were added to the perimeter that was further softened with trees and other greenery.
The stone and teak-accented home has what DeSantis describes as a “Tommy Bahama feel” and contains three floors of elegant yet relaxed living space with a total of seven bedrooms and a dozen bathrooms. The sloped property allows for the main entrance and the primary living spaces to be situated on the second floor, which not only maximizes the view but also enhances privacy from beachgoers.
Most rooms on the main floor, including the spacious combination living and dining room, a paneled study with a built-in fish tank, the supersized eat-in kitchen, and the adjoining family room open to a grassy, ocean-facing yard with sunny terraces, mature plantings, and a mosaic-tiled swimming pool.
An elevator services all three floors of the home, including the top level, where the primary suite offers head-on ocean views, a spa-like bathroom, and a huge walk-in closet/dressing room. A large, covered terrace outside the top-floor gym also has sweeping views over the ocean, along with a hot tub.
The lower floor was designed for low-key entertaining. A huge lounge includes a TV area, a professional bar, and floor-to-ceiling glass sliders that connect to a stone-paved loggia with an outdoor kitchen and grilling area at one end. Elsewhere on the ground floor are a games lounge, a children’s playroom, and a guest or staff suite. One of the home’s more whimsical flourishes are the windows on the floor of the swimming pool that look down into the steam room, shower, and changing area below.
Other outdoor spaces include a wind-protected courtyard with a massive stone fireplace and a stone patio alongside the public walkway to the beach and footpath. The four-car garage plus two additional off-street parking spots are a huge bonus in the parking-strapped neighborhood, and DeSantis told WSJ that the state-of-the-art geothermal cooling system and array of solar panels on the roof cover 80% to 90% of the home’s utilities.
DeSantis also told WSJ that he has decided to sell as his family has relocated away from the Los Angeles area and no longer use the house full time. By far the most expensive home currently on the market in Manhattan Beach, should the property sell for anywhere near its sky-high asking price, it will obliterate the town’s current record of $21 million set in 2017.
The singular property, the only oceanfront house in Manhattan Beach that is or ever will be spread over three lots, is being represented by Eric Fonoimoana of The Jennifer Caskey Group at Compass, Brook Billings at Compass, and Branden Williams and Rayni Williams of Beverly Hills Estates.
Click here for more photos of 212 The Strand.
Best of Robb Report
Sign up for Robb Report's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
