An iconic Pacific Heights mansion in San Francisco, once owned by oil heir William Getty and his philanthropist wife, Vanessa, recently sold by Compass Real Estate in April for $27 million, making the historic five-story, six-bedroom home the most expensive property sold in San Francisco this year.
The property was first marketed for $30 million in June and officially listed on the market at $29 million in February.
The 107-year-old 9,700 square foot mansion was completely overhauled, which took four years. Ludovico Mazzola of Compass Real Estate, who represented the property, was specifically hired for this undertaking, considering that a majority of the fixtures, moldings and windows were replaced with a new version constructed to match the original or maintain the style of the house built in 1912. Work included a seismic retrofit. Mazzola has been working with the sellers since the start of his career.
"So many of these homes come on the market and they're not fully redone and have only a few renovated rooms," Mazzola stated. "The idea was to do a major overhaul as these homes deserve. They're icons of San Francisco, and often they're dilapidated."
Mazzola's biggest influence on the home was the design of the epic staircase that added drama, dimension, and light to a once-drab part of the mansion. Some of his suggestions include a 2-car garage that has been equipped with a hydraulic lift that magically transforms it to a 3-car garage. Other unique features of the home include a 750-square foot rooftop terrace with a retractable sunroof and 360-views of San Francisco. The ground floor includes a 1,000-bottle wine cellar, tasting room, and full workout facility.
"My involvement is greater than most Realtors and I've assumed roles of informing my developer clients on what buyers want and finding a balance between the beautiful and the practical," Mazzola shared. "The level of quality employed here is extraordinary. The home was preserved and updated and wasn't hacked to look like a modern monster."
The home was originally built by Bay Area architect Louis M. Upton, who designed many of Pacific Heights' notable masterpieces, such as Senator Dianne Feinstein's current residence. The Gettys purchased the home for $11.5 million in 2002 and Enrique Landa, a San Francisco-based real-estate developer, bought the home from the Gettys in 2015 for $12.5 million as an investment, with the purpose of renovating and selling it.
There have been only 17 sales between $20 million and $39 million in the city's history.
