AMERICA’s most expensive house could finally hit the market for $500million this year as the developer adds the final touches to the LA hilltop super-pad.
The One sprawls over 100,000 sq ft and boasts 20 bedrooms, four pools, a bowling alley and 360 degree views over Southern California from its prime location in Bel-Air.
The One is set to become America’s most expensive home with a $500m asking price
The sleek house could be a palace for a modern prince of Bel-Air
An early design included jellyfish tanks in the wallsCredit: MCCLEAN DESIGN / CATERS NEWS
Film producer turned developer Nile Niami says the interior is nearly finished and he’s finally ready to “test the market” four years after he first announced the eye-watering price tag.
He said in a recent interview: “When you have something that’s as rare as the Mona Lisa, you can command whatever you want for it.”
If he achieves anything like the asking price it would smash the record for America’s most expensive home – currently the $238million penthouse bought by hedge fund billionaire Ken Griffin in Manhattan.
It would also eclipse the reported $275million a Chinese tycoon is paying for a mega-mansion in London’s Knightsbridge, and the world record $300million a Saudi Prince paid for a French chateau.
Niami began working on The One seven years ago.
One early design feature that won a lot of attention — a room with tanks of live jellyfish lining the walls — has been dropped because it was too difficult.
But Niami said he’s got something planned that’s “even better”.
An aerial view shows the massive property under construction in Bel-Air
The megarich buyer can swim in his choice of four pools, shown here in a concept image
The home will even have a four-lane bowling alley
The house is set on three acres on a hilltop in Los Angeles
Concept shots of the incredible home show a stunning minimalist-style pad with a surrounding moat and four separate pools
The plan is that the home, which comes complete with its own nightclub, will become the world’s most expensive house
The One will also come with its own home cinema, in addition to a full-size casino
Spectacular views of the Los Angeles skyline could distract you from your yoga
The architect behind the project is Paul McClean, a Hollywood designer whose recent clients include modern-day princes and princesses of Bel Air, such as Bitcoin billionaires the Winklevoss twins and style icon Calvin Klein.
Property expert Jonathan Miller said the eye-catching features of the house actually make it less sellable.
He told Bloomberg: “The problem is, the more amenities you add, the more you personalize the property.
“Even though the intention is to draw eyeballs to the property, you are also personalizing it, which may reduce the size of the market pie.
“It’s a very small, very tight market.”
But Niami says that’s not a problem and he has already been talking to potential buyers.
However the market is fragile, as shown by another Bel-Air super-mansion that was once the most-expensive home for sale in America.
The 38,000 sq ft property called Billionaire was listed by developer Bruce Makowsky for $250million but eventually sold for $94million in October, a 62 per cent price cut.
And a prime plot in Beverly Hills called The Mountain – listed for $1billion despite being undeveloped – sold at auction last year for $100,000.
Another house dubbed America’s most expensive, a palatial Bel-Air estate where The Beverly Hillbillies was filmed, had $160million knocked off its $350million asking price.
Niami has previously courted publicity by using semi-naked models draped in gold to advertise another LA mansion, named Opus, which went on sale in 2017 for $100million.
Movie producer turned developer Niles Niami has spent seven years building The One
A model of the sprawling house designed by Hollywood architect Paul McClean
