After over two years on the market, Paul Allen’s 120 acre Beverly Hills land parcel has sold for $65 million, the Los Angeles Times reports. Allen, the late co-founder of Microsoft, purchased the property in 1997 for $20 million. With no buildings, the ridge-top space is one of the biggest undeveloped lots in the area.
The Beverly Crest land was nicknamed “Enchanted Hill” by Greta Garbo in the 1920s. She was the neighbor of screenwriter Frances Marion and silent film star Fred Thomson, who lived on the property at the time. The couple had a Spanish Colonial Revival home, designed by celebrated California architect Wallace Neff, though Paul Allen razed it soon after his purchase in the late ‘90s. Allen had originally planned on building a sprawling estate, featuring both equestrian facilities and a winery, along with a mansion. These plans never went through before his death in 2018, though he did divide the land into five separate lots and add a mile-long driveway, two guarded entrances, and utility infrastructure, so the new owner isn’t stepping onto a completely bare property.
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Jeff Bezos attempted to purchase the lot for $90 million back in February of 2020, though the deal fell through and the property was relisted just a month later. The $65 million sale seems like quite a steal when compared to this, and especially when compared to the original listing price of $150 million. Over the summer, Allen’s estate reportedly fetched $226 million for the programmer and businessman’s mega-yacht, which features a pool, library, and basketball court among other amenities.
