New Yorkers might not blink at such a condo price in a city where a 6,300-square-feet unit in the former Plaza Hotel just sold for $24.4 million -- $1,000-per-square-foot more than the Spelling deal.
Luxury-unit buyers in Los Angeles are even pickier than those in New York and expect their units to be elaborately personalized, said Wine, whose company has built several luxury projects on the East Coast including the Time Warner Center in New York.
"A buyer at the Century is a person of considerable net worth who values their lifestyle and their time," he said.
High-end homes on Los Angeles County's Westside are generally valued at $4 million to $6 million, but they aren't trading much right now for at least two reasons: there are few distressed sellers, and owners are waiting for downward pressures on prices to stop, said Beverly Hills real estate agent Drew Mandile of Sotheby's. But houses appealing to someone with the resources of Candy Spelling are virtually impossible to find.
"The problem with the $40-million house is that there aren't any," said Mandile, who was not involved in the Spelling transaction. Putting together a custom home on that scale takes three to four years of concentrated effort, and people who finish the task rarely part with their homes. "The pain of building a $40-million house is the reason you don't want to sell it," Mandile said.
Spelling may be a case in point. Her current residence, which she and her husband called "The Manor," was built from 1986 to 1990 and quickly became a source of fascination to observers.
It was, depending on one's perspective, either an architectural wonder or an obnoxious affront to the neighborhood. At the time, everyone seemed to have an opinion.
Aaron Spelling died there in 2006, and his widow is nearly ready to scale back and move on, her attorney said.
"The Manor is an awfully big property for one person," Goldberg said. Candy Spelling "is always getting feelers" from potential buyers, he said, including one who promised "nine figures and change plus a jet. Now she will have to start listening to the offers."
Spelling's agreement puts the total price tag for units sold so far at the Century at $200 million, according to Related. The company has built several other residential projects in Los Angeles and was tapped to develop the $3-billion Grand Avenue project downtown, next to the Walt Disney Concert Hall.
