Tom Cruise Sells Rumored Scientologist Retreat For Below Asking Price
Tom Cruise got an offer he likes for his Hollywood Hills West compound, even though it’s about $1.5 million under asking price. He originally listed it in January for $12.995 million, and accepted an offer for $11.4 million, according to the Los Angeles Times.
Of course rumors began to fly the second Cruise put the 2.5-acre estate on the market. Locally, many suspect it’s been used as a meeting place for high-level Scientologists, though Variety (in a piece published before the Times confirmed Cruise’s ownership) said it had found no evidence of that.
Its property layout is indeed ideal for corporate retreats. For example, the slate-roofed guesthouse with four bedroom suites is perfect for executive stays, while the owner/host can abide in the smallish three-bedroom main house, about 1,750 square feet.
There are also stone driveways and pathways all over the property, the better to walk and talk and plan on. But of greatest importance to anyone seeking privacy, the property is gated and heavily fortified, with a state-of-the-art security system—perfect for big cheeses of any denomination or corporation with plans they would prefer to go undisclosed.
Described in marketing materials as a “European-style estate,” the main house has walls of glass, smooth Venetian plaster, wide plank oak floors, and an Italian farmhouse kitchen.
It sits on a promontory in Laurel Canyon, off famed Mulholland Drive, and commands 280-degree city, canyon and mountain views.
The grounds include a heated pool with a lagoon, as well as a spa and waterfall. An additional structure was described in the listing as “a stone-clad craft building that can be used as a wine cellar and tasting room.”
Tom Cruise’s sister is reported to have enjoyed all these facilities as a recent resident, but before the Cruise family came on the scene and combined two parcels of land, the larger lot was owned by Frank Zappa’s former road manager, Marty Perellis. He used it as a refuge for rescued animals–dogs, llamas and lovebirds among them. It had to be oozing with good karma, among other things.
So that’s one luxe L.A. property sold for Cruise – but Variety reported just a couple of weeks ago that Cruise has also secretly “pocket-listed” his massive Beverly Hills mansion and residence of record for a whopping $50 million. Cruise and then-wife Katie Homes purchased the 10,000-square-foot, seven-bedroom, nine-bathroom, classically designed estate in 2007 for $30.5 million.
Perfect for Suri and her friends, the 1.3-acre spread has a children’s playground, a lap-length pool, a lighted tennis court and basketball court, and two guest houses. You can understand why Cruise might have been feeling a little lonely there.
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