Palm Springs

Boom! Will A New Gay Retirement Community Bring Life To Southern California Desert Real Estate?

Real estate in Palm Springs, California has taken it on the chin in recent years and some planned projects in the Southern California desert have stalled out. But a new, very ambitious project is betting that Palm Springs, which has always found support from two main groups, retirees and the gay community, can boom by putting those two groups together. Architect Matthias Hollwich, the principal of Hollwich Kushner, has created BOOM, a $250 million development planned for the Palm Springs area. The development will be in Rancho Mirage, the golf community that is also where Larry Ellison's new home, Porcupine Creek, is located.

Fast Company Design reports that Hollwich's firm is one of ten architectural firms including Diller Scofidio + Renfro, Juergen Mayer H., and Lot-Ek who are working on this 100-acre project to be developed by Los Angeles-based Boom Communities, Inc. Each firm was given a piece of the community to design. There will be a total of 300 residences set to break ground in 2012 with a planned second phase that will be at least as large.

Tags: boom, gay community, palm desert, palm springs, rancho mirage, retirement community

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Bing Crosby's Palm Springs Home, Estate of the Day

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Estates

It's the time of year when we hear Bing Crosby crooning "White Christmas" You could celebrate your own Christmas inside Bing Crosby's estate in Rancho Mirage, California.

The home is on more than an acre of land in the Thunderbird Heights community. The five-bedroom home combines an Asian theme with a dose of with Hollywood memorabilia. Legend has it that President John Kennedy met with Marilyn Monroe here back in 1962 and one two-bedroom suite in the house is named the Kennedy Suite and decorated with images of the young president and Marilyn Monroe. The Kennedy suite has a full-sized living area and a private entrance. The master suite has a fireplace and a spa. Much of the home opens to an outdoor swimming pool and spa with fireplaces and a custom-designed putting green. This estate is on the market for $3.495 million dollars. The home is also available as a vacation rental. More images are available on the estate's photo website.

Gallery: Bing Crosby's Estate Thunderbird Estates Palm Springs

Tags: bing crosby, california real estate, estate of the day, palm springs, rancho mirage

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Suzanne Somers Drops The Price In Palm Springs Again

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Estates, Celebrity Shopping

Real estate in Palm Springs, California continues to be slow moving but it looks like Suzanne Somers and Alan Hamel are tired of waiting. Somers and her husband have chopped another $2 million off their home known as Les Baux de Palm Springs. The pair bought the land back in 1977, gradually enhancing the 65 acres with guest houses, an amphitheater, an updated pool and a renovated and expanded main house. Somers filled the home with a decor as exuberant as she is, French country touches keep company with velvet sofas, giant chandeliers and more than one zebra skin rug. Back in 2008 this property hit the market at $35 million but can now be yours for just $12.9 million.

Gallery: Les Baux de Palm Springs

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Tags: celebrity real estate, CelebrityRealEstate, les baux de palm springs, LesBauxDePalmSprings, palm springs, PalmSprings, suzanne somers, SuzanneSomers

Ten Biggest Real Estate Price Drops

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Estates

The most expensive real estate in the country has taken some pretty major price cuts over the past year or two. In the past, mega-mansions with huge pricetags would often sit on the market a year or two without a price cut with owners secure in the knowledge that the right buyers would eventually come along. These are uncertain times and there are some very motivated sellers testing their luck in the real estate waters. Our list of top ten reductions of U.S. properties we've covered in the past starts at a $10 million cut and it only gets higher from there.

10)The Sloane Mansion, was $64 million, now $54 million
Price Cut=$10 million
The Henry T. Sloane mansion on East 68th Street in New York City is located just steps away from Fifth Avenue on the East Side. The building has 18,500 square feet total spread out over five stories and there are 15 bedrooms and 17 bathrooms, seven fireplaces, a ballroom and a rooftop garden. The mansion was designed by architect Charles Pierrepont H. Gilbert for Sloane, the heir to a furniture empire, in 1905. The home is classic Beaux-Arts style and five of the rooms have all their original details intact including wood-paneled ballroom with original oil-painted murals. It has been on the market for over a year but may need to go lower than $54 million in this economy.

Tags: dunellen hall, DunellenHall, estates, hamptons, new york city, NewYorkCity, palm springs, PalmSprings, park city, ParkCity, price cuts, price drops, PriceCuts, PriceDrops, san francisco, SanFrancisco, santa barbara, SantaBarbara, suzanne somers, SuzanneSomers, utah

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Decline In Travel Costs Coachella Valley $30 Million

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Travel & Hotels

Like Las Vegas, the area around Palm Springs, California is another location that has felt the bite of the drop in tourism. The Desert Sun reports that the Coachella Valley has lost nearly $30 million in convention and meetings travel in the last seven months. A survey of f local meeting hotels conducted by the Palm Springs Desert Resort Communities Convention and Visitors Authority revealed that canceled meetings added up to a total loss of 51,000 room nights in hotels in the area.

The event was part of Tuesday's Travel Rally Day, a nationwide event meant to raise attention for the beleaguered travel industry. Like private jets, corporate travel has taken a huge hit partially because of the economy and partially because of the media focus on the excesses of big business.

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Tags: coachella valley, CoachellaValley, palm desert, palm springs, PalmDesert, PalmSprings, tourism

Two Iconic Homes In Palm Springs, Estates of the Day

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Estates, Celebrity Shopping

There happens to be a lot of traffic moving through Palm Springs this weekend as music fans make their way out to the Coachella music festival in Indio, California. So what better time to look at the real estate in Palm Springs. This resort town has taken a huge hit in the real estate market over the past year but it boasts some of southern California's best architecture. Two iconic estates each once owned by two entertainment legends illustrate this perfectly.

Up first, a home once owned by singer Dinah Shore. The Wall Street Journal reports that Ms. Shore had the home built in 1963, the same year that she stopped hosting "The Dinah Shore Chevy Show." The modernist home was designed by architect Donald Wexler who also designed the Palm Springs International Airport in the 1960s. The 7,000 square foot home has six bedrooms, a fireplace, pool and space. The current owner, who is a television writer bought the home in 2002 for around $3 million and has restored the home and relandscaped the property. It is listed at $5.95 million.

The other home, Las Palomas, belonged to Cary Grant for two decades starting in 1952 and offers a different style of Palm Springs classic. It is one of only a few of the 1920s era Spanish Estates left in Palm Springs. It was built as a copy of an 19th-century Andalusian Spanish Farmhouse and has six bedrooms. It is listed at $4.95 million.

Gallery: Dinah Shore Estate

Gallery: Cary Grant Estate

Tags: cary grant, CaryGrant, celebrity real estate, CelebrityRealEstate, dinah shore, DinahShore, palm springs, PalmSprings

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Kaufmann House, Estate of the Day

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Estates

Earlier this year, the Kaufmann House, in Palm Springs, California, a classic Richard Neutra home was part of Christie's Spring Contemporary Art Auction. It sold for $16.8 million including commission along with an additional plot of land adjacent to the property for $2.1 million. The Real Estalker reveals that the architectural classic is back on the market because the current owners are divorcing. The home is now listed at $12.9 million and is having a hard time finding buyers, not because of the house, which is exquisite, but because Palm Springs real estate is some of the hardest hit in California's real estate doldrums.

Experience more lush living in luxury homes and mansions or see the stars living large with celebrity homes galleries at AOL Real Estate.

Gallery: Kaufmann House

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Tags: california real estate, CaliforniaRealEstate, estate of the day, EstateOfTheDay, kaufmann house, KaufmannHouse, palm springs, PalmSprings, richard neutra, RichardNeutra

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Elvis Presley's Palm Springs Home On The Market

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Estates

Some names add cachet to a house years after they have moved on. Elvis Presley definitely falls into that category. Now his Palm Springs home, basically his "Graceland West" is up for sale in a pocket listing (meaning I can't direct you to a listing page). The home is located in the foothills of the San Jacinto Mountains in Palm Springs. Elvis lived in the home for almost eight years (he purchased it in 1970) and spent his last birthday there.

The approximately 5,000 square foot home has four bedrooms. Architect Albert Frey designed the Spanish-style stucco home which includes Presley's bedroom suite with two complete bathrooms, a sunken black and red tile tub, and dressing area. The living room has a cathedral beamed ceiling and overlooks the pool. The home is being sold with Presley's original kitchen appliances, a separate indoor sauna and steam room, plus his private covered Jacuzzi.

Just last year Reno Fontana and his wife, Laura bought the home and announced plans to restore it and offer it as a West Coast destination for Elvis fans. They also created a website dedicated to the home which does show a few interior pictures of the vintage decor and Elvis movie posters and gold records on the walls.

The property is approximately two acres and is listed at $17 million. For more information about the property, or to request a showing, contact Honey Brooks at 415.435.2585 or honeybrooksrealtor (at) comcast.net.

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Tags: celebrity real estate, CelebrityRealEstate, elvis presley, ElvisPresley, palm springs, real estate

Crescent Drive, Palm Springs, Estate of the Day

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Estates

I've covered the work of Xorin Balbes before this designer does some of the coolest interior design around Southern California rehabbing older homes into showplaces. He collaborated with architect Paul Ashley on this Palm Springs dream home, a four-bedroom contemporary built in 1974. The home has a maser suite with mountain and pool views plus a gorgeous bath complete with steam shower. There are three more suites each with a custom bath. The home is completely walled and gated which gives you privacy in your glass palace. It's modern design heaven with soaring ceilings, high-end finishes of bleached wood, concrete, marble and glass. The outdoor space includes covered patios and a large pool area. The whole place is as flawless as a movie set and the perfect pad for entertaining. This home is listed at $3.75 million.

Gallery: Crescent Drive

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Tags: california real estate, CaliforniaRealEstate, estate of the day, EstateOfTheDay, luxury real estate, LuxuryRealEstate, palm springs, PalmSprings

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First Ferrari to be Exhibited at Desert Concours

by Rigel Celeste (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Cars & Autos, Events

On March 1st, less than a month from now, the very first Ferrari ever built will be on display at the Inaugural Desert Classic Concours d'Elegance in Palm Springs. Chassis Number 01C hasn't made a public appearance in 20 years, and this appearance will be made even more special by that fact that the car has a unique history in the area -- it recorded its first ever western U.S. race win in Palm Springs back in 1951.

Many other rare cars will be appearing at the historic O'Donnell Golf club that day, and tickets are just $20 for regular admission or a limited number of VIP tickets will be available for $150.

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Tags: Chassis Number 01C, ChassisNumber01c, Ferrari, Palm Springs, PalmSprings, rare

Mondrian Plans Palm Springs Hotel

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Travel & Hotels

The Mondrian hotel is getting a new outpost. The latest Mondrian will be in Palm Springs, California and will include both a hotel with approximately 200 rooms, and residences. This will be the seventh Mondrian; the chain includes the original hotel in West Hollywood, the Mondrian Scottsdale and properties currently under development in Las Vegas, Miami, Chicago and SoHo. The Palm Springs resort will be in downtown Palm Springs across from the Palm Springs Convention Center. The five-story property will include a destination restaurant and bar, spa, fitness center and a pool area with cabanas and outdoor bar access, and a kids club. The resort is planned to open in 2010.

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Tags: california, hotel, mondrian, palm springs, resort

Les Baux de Palm Springs, Estate of the Day

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Estates, Celebrity Shopping

Today's estate is a rather curious one, a bit of faux Provence tucked into the hills of Palm Springs, CA. The home belongs to Suzanne Somers and Alan Hamel and sits on 65 acres of desert land. Les Baux de Palm Springs. The couple bought the land way back in 1977 and it came with a small home that the couple eventually enlarged and added to, also including guest houses an amphitheater and an updated pool to the property. The decorating style is a wee bit confusing with some sort of charming French country touches which keep company with velvet sofas, giant chandeliers and more than one zebra skin rug. It's all a bit crazy but sort of endearing. Even the Real Estalker Mama, who is famous for dishing out the harsh words seems oddly touched by the overblown earnestness of the home. Is it worth $35 million? It's hard to tell but I suspect the price might be a wee bit overblown too.

UPDATE: As of August 2009, this home is listed at $12.9 million, a dramatic price cut of over 50 percent.

[via Palm Springs Life]

Gallery: Les Baux de Palm Springs

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Tags: alan hamel, estate of the day, luxury real estate, palm springs, suzanne somers, SuzanneSomers

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Cher's Turn as House Flipper, Estate of the Day

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Estates, Celebrity Shopping

Today's estate comes from the LA Times Hot Property section. It represents Cher's work as a house flipper. She bought this house in 2004 for $650,000 and completely renovated the home. Local architect Steve DeChristopher Jr. worked on the redesign turning the 1938 Spanish-style home into a new luxury pad. The four-bedroom home is now double the size it was with a new master-bedroom wing with his-and-hers wardrobe rooms, a fireplace and a wet bar. The home has a large pool and spa area and is walled and gated. It is listed at $2.495 million. After the jump, do you believe in beige after beige?

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Tags: cher, decoration, estate of the day, EstateOfTheDay, house flipping, palm springs, real estate, RealEstate

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Hamrick House

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Travel & Hotels

The Hamrick House in Palm Springs, California has recently undergone a major renovation and is available for lease for the first time in 65 years. The beautiful home has five suites and is an excellent xample of the architecture of the 1940s in Palm Springs. The home has gorgeous decorator details such as a a Carrera marble dining table surrounding by Starck lucite Ghost chairs. Amenities of the home include a central sound system, steam room, king size outdoor sun beds, an outdoor movie theater with surround sound, a salt-water pool and an upper sundeck that features a retractable roof, a private massage area & flat screen TV. The terrace alone is approximately 3,500 square feet of travertine stone. The property is gated and hedged for the ultimate in privacy and relaxation, and sits on a hillside with views of Palm Springs, neighboring cities, and unobstructed views of the San Jacinto Mountains. Rates start at $2,800 per night during the low season and the house can be rented for $29,500 per month during the peak season (now through May).

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Tags: california, hamrick house, HamrickHouse, palm springs, travel, vacation rental

Contempo Ecomodern Homes

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Estates

Planned communities are getting creative. The days of the McMansion seem to be giving way to innovative developments that offer unique design and environmental benefits. The Contempo Homes in Palm Springs, California aren't just modern they are "ecomodern." The developer defines this as being resource-efficient when it comes to design, construction and operation of the homes. The homes revive the Alexander style popularized by George and Robert Alexander in the 1950s and 1960s. Their homes, which featured high vaulted ceilings and angular lines, were popular with Palms Springs celebs such as Elvis Presley, Dean Martin and Debbie Reynolds back in the days when Palm Springs was the getaway of choice for many Hollywood legends.

Contempo Homes is creating four communities: Royal Palm Estates, Alexander Country Club Estates, Alexander Vista Estates and Alexander Village. The new homes include insulated SIPS panels which cut down on the need for larger air or heating units, solar panels, and desertscapes instead of water-wasting green lawns. The 1,800 to 2,000 square-foot homes are in the $500,000 to $700,000 range.

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Tags: alexander houses, eco-friendly, ecomodern, palm springs, PalmSprings