Following up on some interesting real estate stories previously covered in the Buzz…
1054 S. Orange Grove Ave.
On February 15, we wrote about neighbors in the Wilshire Vista area who have banded together to try to save an historic duplex at 1054 S. Orange Grove Ave. Group leader Doug James told the Buzz yesterday that a nomination to declare the building an Historic Cultural Monument was unanimously supported by the Los Angeles Cultural Heritage Commission last week. So the nomination will now move on to the City Council for final approval. According to James, monument status wouldn’t mean the new owner couldn’t re-develop the property, but “once it is officially declared an HCM, if he wants to go ahead with development, he must retain the original structure AND return it to its original fixtures.” James said the neighbors’ battle isn’t over yet, but the CHC vote was “AMAZING” progress.
Hudson Ave. Hot Property
Also on February 15, we reported that a home on the 300 block of S. Hudson Ave., most recently owned by Nickelodeon president Brian Robbins and his family (and previously owned by television producer John Wells), had recently changed hands for a local-record-setting $19 million. Recently, we noticed a feature in Architectural Digest magazine, showing what designers Nate Berkus and Jeremiah Brent did with the house during the time it was owned by the Robbins family. “These are people who have flexed a lot of creative muscle over the years in entertainment and fashion. They asked us to make the house less heavy and ornate, and more appropriate for a modern family—something friendly and warm,” Berkus says in the story. Check it out for details and an extensive photo gallery.
Ralph Chandler Mansion on Rossmore
And finally, back in 2016, we reported on the lightning-quick sale of the Wallace-Neff-designed Ralph Chandler mansion, on the 100 block of N. Rossmore Ave., which had just hit the market for the first time in 55 years. It was purchased by TV producer Patrick Moran and writer Jordan Budde…and it turns out their renovations, with architect Evan Braun, K&M Contractors, and interior designer Christos Prevezanoswere, were also recently featured in Architectural Digest. The AD story says Moran described the house, as purchased, as “weighed down by an excess of decoration: faux antiquing on the moldings, heavy drapery, Louis-esque crystal chandeliers,” so the renovation was “mostly an exercise in subtraction.” This one, too, contains an extensive photo album of the completed (and definitely stunning) renovations, and – if you like before and after comparisons – you can find more pre-renovation photos, from the time it was sold, here and here.
