LOCATION: Newport Coast, CA
PRICE: $8,599,000
SIZE: 8,471 square feet, 4 bedrooms 4 full and 3 half bathrooms
YOUR MAMAS NOTES: L.A. Lakers superstar Kobe Bryant's longtime wife, Vanessa, stood by her man in 2003 when he was accused of sexually assaulting a 19-year old gal in Colorado—the matter was eventually settled out of court—but in December 2011 Missus Bryant filed for divorce citing irreconcilable differences. Almost immediately, in January 2012, Mister Bryant quit-claimed full ownership of all three of the erstwhile couple's luxurious homes, located in two swanky gated developments in the conspicuously prosperous Orange County community of Newport Coast (CA), over to his soon to be ex-wife.
In January of this year (2013), just days after they announced—she via Instagram and he via Facebook—that they'd called off the divorce, Missus Bryant sold off one of the houses, a 6,000 square foot mini-mansion in the guard-gated Pelican Ridge Estates development, for $3,220,000 to an orthopedic surgeon. Property records show they paid $2.65 million for the house back in August 2003 and, so the stories go, the 5 bedroom and 5.5 bathroom residence was occupied by Missus Bryant's momma, Sofia Laine.
Your Mama first heard some rumblings a couple weeks ago but it wasn't until yesterday that, thanks an informant we'll call Mister Orange, the reconciled couple heaved another of their lavish homes, this one just around the corner from the one they sold in January, for $8,599,000. Property records show Mister and Missus Bryant acquired the mock-Med macmansion in early 2001 for an unknown amount from sports agent and rare coin collector Dwight Manley who paid $1.7 million for the house in the fall of 1997.
Current listing details show the fully customized two-story mock-Med macmansion, perched on a. 47 acre promontory parcel that's tucked privately into the tail end of a short cul-de-sac, measures in at 8,471 square feet with four bedrooms and four full and three half bathrooms plus garage space for four luxury cars and at least three fireplaces (living room, family room and master bedroom).
Mister and Missus Bryant's guests and the Chinese food delivery man are greeted in a voluminous, double-height foyer all done up in bland beige with a cornucopia of decadent finishes that include limestone tile floor tiles, an elaborate carved staircase with limestone handrails;, a glimmering chandelier, and what appears to Your Mama to be hand-rubbed (and beige-tinted) Venetian plaster walls.
The beige and champagne palette continues into the formal living room where there's a carved stone fireplace surmounted by an inset mirror, another palace-worthy chandelier and a pair of fringe-bottomed sofas covered in a chatoyant champagne colored fabric. There are so many fringed pillow on the sofas and other upholstered furniture a person would have to remove half of them just to sit down anywhere except on the tufted, animal print pouf in front of the fireplace.
The kitchen is certainly roomy and well-equipped with long stretches of counter space, a boxcar-sized center island, and the usual suite of high-grade stainless steel appliances but it's also terrifically ordinary in that it looks pretty much like a gazillion other kitchens installed in a gazillion other southern California mock-Med macmansions. The kitchen opens to a breakfast area and, somewhere nearby, there's a family room for casual gatherings and boob-toob viewing.
Other features of note include a paneled library/office with shark tank, an 850 square foot fitness room, and a hair salon because Missus Bryant prefers, apparently, to have her hair did and nails done at home by a glam squad that makes house calls. There's also—we think it's in the basement but are not sure—a newly installed state-of-the art home theater with lobby and wet bar.
Although current listing images do not show it, listing details show the master suite offers a sitting room, spacious all-marble bathroom, and a newly added walk-in closet/dressing room with custom finishes.
The resort-style backyard has extensive flagstone terracing, an extra-deep free-form swimming pool and spa with multiple water falls and rock piles and an elevated lounge area with three fire pits and a built-in semi-circular cushioned banquette. There's also a patch of grass or two, an outdoor kitchen/barbecue and panoramic views up and down the dramatic and densely developed Orange County coastline.
Mister and Missus Bryant have decamped their Pelican Ridge residence for a much larger and freshly finished 14,000-ish square foot mansion about 1.5 miles away in the even more exclusive Pelican Crest development, the same guard-gated enclave where The Real Housewives of Orange County's Heather Dubrow and her plastic surgeon husband, Terry, recently sold their 15,000-ish square foot faux-Italianate pile for $16.45 million.
Property records show Mister and Missus Bryant acquired their Pelican Crest crib in July 2008 for $9,540,000 and listing details Your Mama managed to dig up from the time of their purchase show that at the time of their acquisition the not yet completed four-floor mansion was designed with six bedrooms and nine full and three half bathrooms as well as subterranean parking for six cars. An expansive basement level was planned with media, game, wine, and music rooms plus and office and staff suite and a sub-basement was planned with an exercise facility equipped with steam and sauna rooms. Of course, we have no idea what sorts of alterations Mister and Missus Bryant made to the original plans but if their previous home, the one now up for sale for nearly $8.6 million, is any indication, we expect there to be a shark tank and a beauty parlor.
listing photos: Re/Max Olson
