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La Casa Pacifica, a San Clemente, Calif., estate once owned by Richard Nixon, has returned to market for US$63.5 million.
Lee Manning Photography
Joe McIntyre of New Kids on the Block fame has sold his renovated home in Los Angeles’ Hancock Park neighbourhood for US$5.84 million. The handsome two-storey weds original design details with a fresh East Coast ambiance.
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Pop star Shakira’s Miami Beach home is back on the market for US$11.65 million. The modern-style house boasts more than 8,700 square feet of pearl-white living space, handmade mirrors and a hookah lounge.
LOS ANGELES — Joey McIntyre won’t be hanging tough on this block anymore. The singer-songwriter of New Kids on the Block fame has sold his renovated home in the historic Hancock Park section of Los Angeles for US$5.84 million.
The traditional-style home, designed by architect Paul Williams, appears to have been in high demand. The property sold for US$41,000 more than the asking price about two weeks after hitting the market, according to the Multiple Listing Service.
Set back from the street, the 1925 two-storey boasts such handsome details as a flared gable entry, stonework and thin shutters that pop against the white front of the home. Inside, crisp white wainscoting, dark hardwood floors and warm grey hues combine for an East Coast feel.
A foyer lined in checkerboard marble sits beyond the front door and opens directly to the living and dining rooms. The kitchen, which has a wide island/breakfast bar and built-in booth seating, adjoins the family/media room. There are four bedrooms and six bathrooms, including an upstairs master suite with a fireplace.
The house sits on a quarter-acre lot that includes a guest house and a stone-rimmed swimming pool. Turf lawns, hedges and various patios complete the grounds.
McIntyre, 45, joined New Kids on the Block in 1985 after Mark Wahlberg left the group. The boy band’s hits include Step by Step, Please Don’t Go Girl and You’ve Got It (The Right Stuff).
He bought the property in 2007 for about US$4.55 million, records show.
Nixon house on the block
The oceanfront estate in San Clemente that was once owned by Richard Nixon and known as the Western White House during his presidency is back up for sale at US$63.5 million — down from its US$75 million asking price three years ago.
The seller is former Allergan Pharmaceuticals chief executive Gavin Herbert, who acquired the property and surrounding acreage from Nixon in the 1980s.
Dubbed La Casa Pacifica by the 37th president, the walled estate sits in a gated enclave on an isolated bluff that overlooks the ocean and a popular surfing spot. Panoramic views can extend 100 kilometres to San Clemente Island. The 5.45-acre property has about 135 metres of beachfront.
In addition to the Spanish Colonial Revival-style main residence, there are a two-bedroom guest house, multiple staff residences and offices, a greenhouse, a swimming pool, a tennis court, formal gardens and large expanses of lawn.
The 9,000-square-foot main house, built in 1926, features tile and hardwood flooring, arched doorways and groin-vaulted ceilings. Among living spaces are the ocean-view office used by Nixon and a master suite with an expanded bathroom and closet area. Rooms open to a courtyard with a tiled fountain.
With the 3,000-sq.-ft. entertainment pavilion and various other buildings, there’s a total of about 15,000 sq. ft. of living space.
Acquired for Nixon’s use in 1969, the estate has hosted numerous world leaders, including Japanese Premier Eisaku Sato, South Vietnamese President Nguyen Van Thieu and former president Lyndon B. Johnson.
Celebrities such as Frank Sinatra, John Wayne and Cesar Romero also visited Nixon at the estate. Nixon was not the first president to set foot on the property, however. Franklin D. Roosevelt once played poker at the home as a guest of the original owner, financier Hamilton Cotton.
Canadian rocker’s Maui retreat for sale
The coastal Hawaii home of Mike Kroeger, founding member and bassist for the rock band Nickelback, is for sale at US$4.88 million.
The palm-populated grounds are on Maui’s North Shore, one of the island’s more private areas. The new, 5,000-sq.-ft. estate offers ocean views from open living spaces and breezy lanais. To borrow from the band’s 2014 album, what are you waiting for?
Four bedrooms and 41/2 bathrooms fill out the floor plan, including a guest bedroom with a separate entrance above the two-car garage. There are double islands in the kitchen. The great room holds a wet bar.
An indoor-outdoor living room exits through pocketing doors to a covered patio. In between the home and the ocean are an infinity pool, spa and fire pit.
Kroeger founded the Canadian rock band in 1995 with his brother, Chad, the group’s lead singer. They’ve released nine albums, with hits including Rockstar, Photograph and How You Remind Me.
Shakira ready to get hip with the market
Pop star Shakira is once again shaking things up in Miami Beach, listing a modern mansion she owns in the area for sale at US$11.65 million.
It’s the fourth time the waterfront place has been up for sale during the singer’s decade-plus of ownership. She paid US$3.38 million for it in 2001, records show.
The two-storey home has been extensively renovated and blends minimalist interiors with elements that reflect the singer’s Colombian-Lebanese heritage. Bone inlay furniture and handmade mirrors fill out the floor plan. A hookah lounge sits off an entertainment room.
Wood floors imported from Spain cover the main level, which has a living room with a fireplace next to a dining area. A centre-island kitchen, an office, a gym, six bedrooms and 71/2 bathrooms also lie within the 8,708 sq. ft. of interior space.
Frameless windows take in views of the back patio, which surrounds a swimming pool. Privacy hedges part to reveal some 30 metres of water frontage.
Shakira has won three Grammys and 13 Latin Grammys. Her hits include La Bicicleta and Hips Don’t Lie.
— Los Angeles Times
