Real estate history was made last week in La Cañada Flintridge.
The 100-year-old home at 700 Berkshire Avenue, believed to have been designed by noted architect Myron Hunt for U.S. Sen. Frank Putnam Flint, sold last week for $11 million, the highest valued real estate transaction recorded in the city, according to the Realtors involved.
Mike Kobeissi of Kobeissi Properties represented the sellers, and Julie Milbrodt of Keller Williams Realty represented the buyers.
The sale of the home known as the “Crown Jewel Estate of La Cañada Flintridge” was recorded Thursday, May 10, and eclipsed 2017’s $10.5 million purchase of an Irish country manor on Woodleigh Lane.
“It took months to put together and everybody is very happy,” Milbrodt said of last week’s transaction. “It’s wonderful news.”
“This is a very famous home, it’s the mansion of La Cañada Flintridge,” said Kobeissi. “Once you see it, you can tell why.”
Built in 1918 and originally known as the Dryborough Estate, the home was used in the 1976 film “W.C. Fields and Me.” The grand mansion, with its expansive rooms that harken back to a bygone era, was featured as the prestigious Pasadena Showcase House in 1987 and again in 2016.
Its details include elegant long hallways, original wood paneling, six fireplaces, a large outdoor front porch and no shortage of balconies from which to take in 360-degree views.
The seven-bedroom home, which is situated on almost 2 acres of parklike grounds, includes three parcels, with 18,190 square feet of living space in all. There is also a sports court, a putting green, a horse corral, rose gardens, fruit and palm trees, a fountain and a pool.
The main house features four levels totaling 16,155 square feet of living space. A separate 2,035-square-foot guest house sits on its own parcel.
The previous owners of the home lived there for a quarter-century, Kobeissi said. Milbrodt predicted that the home’s new owners, who don’t wish to be identified, will have many years of memory-making ahead in the home.
“My clients are really, really amazing and they were wonderful to work with,” Milbrodt said. “Mike was great to work with, too. And even though some negotiating took place, it was a great transaction.”
Milbrodt said she can’t predict how long the record will stand, but imagines it could be a while: “There are not a lot of houses of this size in La Cañada, so I would say it’s probably not going to be soon — but who knows?”
It’s hard to imagine another home sale topping this one in the near future, agreed Nick Avedissian, who is the co-owner of the local office of Keller Williams Realty, along with Mike Derian. They both expressed pride in Milbrodt’s accomplishment: “This is beyond having a record sale or the commission she’s making. This is about bringing something to the client that they’ve wanted for a long time.”
