One of Santa Monica’s Largest Estates Sells to the Next Door Neighbor

When a house has had only two different owners in 100 years, it’s probably a pretty nice place. In this case, this sizable estate was designed in 1921 by John Parkinson, the architect also responsible for landmarks such as the Art Deco-influenced Los Angeles City Hall, the Memorial Coliseum, Union Station and DTLA’s Grand Central Market. As detailed by The Real Deal, Parkinson built his family this elegant Italian Renaissance-style Santa Monica home, which was recently designated as a historic landmark.

Parkinson died in 1935, but his children continued to own the house until 1966. The next owners were the Alphson family, who constructed a two-story guesthouse on the property and held onto the place for nearly 60 years — until this spring, when the compound was sold for $14.2 million to real estate mogul Mark Weinstein after just one month on the market.

Set on more than 1.2 lush acres, the property is known as Woodacres Estate and was advertised as “one of the largest flat parcels in the city of Santa Monica.” The estate lies serenely behind gates on one of the town’s most desirable cul-de-sacs; the original house, renovated over the years but still architecturally intact, has five bedrooms and 3.5 baths in over 4,700 square feet, while the detached guesthouse offers an additional three bedrooms and two baths, plus a two-car garage.

Also on the premises are vast lawns shaded by magnificent specimen trees, fountains, patios, a large swimming pool and full-size tennis court, lighted for convenient nighttime play.

Weinstein, 63, remains relatively low-profile, though his MJW Investments company is one of the bigger real estate landlords in the U.S., with a $1 billion+ portfolio comprised of dozens of apartment buildings, shopping centers and parking structures spread across the country. For the last several years, his main residence has been the 11,000-square-foot Santa Monica mansion he custom-built in 2016, which sits immediately next door to the Woodacres Estate.

No word about what Weinstein plans to do with the property, but the historical designation would make it difficult to demolish the original 1920s residence. Per the listing, “the Woodacres Estates presents a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to recreate today’s version of a Santa Monica estate compound with a new mansion and possible restoration of the main residence as a guesthouse.”

Christopher Damon, Mary Beth Woods and Joyce Rey of Coldwell Banker held the listing; Woods also repped the buyer.