LOS ANGELES – The long-running drama over the sale of the highest-priced home in the US appeared to be heading to its finale Monday.
The 57,000-square-foot Los Angeles mansion built by the late TV producer Aaron Spelling is slated for sale to a 22-year-old heiress to a Formula One racing fortune. The home on five acres of property in Holmby Hills has a bowling alley, beauty salon, several gift-wrapping rooms and parking for 100 cars.
"The Manor," as the property is known, had a list price of $150 million that did not budge during the real-estate downturn that sent prices in Los Angeles down by more than a third. The sales price was not disclosed.
The buyer, Petra Ecclestone, will be splitting her time between London and Los Angeles after her planned August wedding to entrepreneur James Stunt, according to a spokeswoman. Ecclestone's father is the British billionaire and Formula One racing boss Bernie Ecclestone.
The seller -- Candy Spelling, Spelling's widow -- declined to comment. Aaron Spelling produced such TV shows as "Mod Squad," "Charlie's Angels," "Dynasty," "Starsky and Hutch," "Beverly Hills, 90210," and "Melrose Place."
Candy Spelling and her husband bought the property in the early 1980s and tore down the existing house to build the French chateau-style home in 1991. The home has a double staircase inspired by "Gone With the Wind." It was considered the largest home in Los Angeles by far when it was built.
There is also a flower-cutting room, a china room, a "Prince Charles suite," named after its one-time royal guest, and a library in which Candy Spelling bound her husband's scripts. The estate has been shown since 2008 and was officially listed in March 2009.
If completed, the sale would underscore the importance of foreign buyers in the US real-estate market. Earlier this year, Russian investor Yuri Milner bought a Silicon Valley home for $100 million, the highest-known price paid for a single-family home in the US. Russian composer Igor Krutoy and his wife, Olga, recently bought a condominium at New York's Plaza for $48 million.
Petra Ecclestone also has a six-story house in London's Chelsea neighborhood purchased for $90.9 million, according to press reports.