An 18-acre property on a hilltop that was once partially owned by former first lady Betty Ford has found a buyer.
Sandra Vidal, the agent who represented the seller, said the property was deposited and the sale is expected to close on November 30. Vidal, citing the pending closure, declined to quote the price but said the deal was close to the property’s $ 30 million offer price.
The site, marketed as “a jewel for developers,” represents a rare, fairly large portion of vacant land in the Hollywood Hills. It is located off Cahuenga Boulevard East, directly off 101 Freeway, overlooking the Hollywood Sign, Hollywood Reservoir and Downtown LA
The 18-hectare plot was created by merging several plots. Part of the property was once owned by Ford, according to Forbes, and some was previously owned by violinist Israel Baker.
Ford, a native of Chicago who was married to President Gerald R. Ford, established a Southern California base in the Riverside County town of Rancho Mirage in the years after the couple moved out of the White House. The socially minded first lady co – founded the Betty Ford Center, a drug treatment facility there in 1982.
She could have seen the Hollywood Hills property as a place to expand the center’s presence.
“While there is no concrete evidence that Betty Ford has plans to build a center on this site, it is a solid assumption,” Shauna Walters, a Compass agent who previously had the listing, told Forbes in 2019, “like the place. has beautiful views and an overall peaceful, serene feel.”
The seller was Behzad Forat, a Studio City businessman who bought 4.5 acres of the land from Baker in 2007 for $ 600,000, according to records. In 2015, Forat unveiled plans to build a 250-unit residential complex on the site; at one point he was also in talks with former LA councilor Tom LaBonge about securing a zoning change for the property in exchange for donating part of it for public use.
However, the development plans fell apart and the property was subsequently marketed as the grounds for a special mansion. It was listed for $ 30 million in early 2019, and was then pulled to and from the market at the same listing price. It went on contract once in April to only be re-listed in October.
“He’s just ready for the next chapter,” Vidal said of Forat’s reason to finally sell. “He’s a businessman.”
In addition to a residential complex or special mansion, previous reports suggested that the property on the hilltop could potentially be used as a sort of magnificent institution building or foundation center, but so far the future of the site is unknown.
The identity of the buyer remains unknown. Vidal added that she never spoke to the buyer directly and was unaware of any plans for the property.
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