By ,
Published February 01, 2017
Betsey Johnson, the energetic, cartwheeling fashion guru from New York City, is going bicoastal: The fashion-forward 73-year-old recently bought 1.95 acres of land in Malibu, CA, where she will build a Hamptons-style saltbox home.
The land itself cost Johnson $2.9 million, but her new house will cost much more. Terry Lucoff, the listing agent for the transaction, says the sellers originally had plans for a 6,200-square-foot Mediterranean-style mansion on the land, but later had the blueprints changed to a saltbox-style residence.
The architects, Tim and Terry McNamara, worked with the seller to reorganize rooms and add dormers, a gym, a heated spa, an ice pool, a study, and a guest suite, according to Lucoff. He said the sale to Johnson was "quiet, but not confidential."
"The piece of property and the location is so exceptional, that before the property was even listed or in the MLS, it had two offers at asking price within five days," Lucoff says. "The buyer loved the new plans and said she would continue with the home as the seller designed."
That fabulous new style comes with a higher price tag: The Mediterranean had a build-out projection of $4 million, but the new home is projected to take $6 to $6.5 million to complete. Either way, it'll certainly be larger than her apartment in the Big Apple.
https://www.foxnews.com/real-estate/designer-betsey-johnson-buys-land-and-plans-for-a-6m-saltbox-in-malibu