$135M Compound in Woodside, CA, Is the Bay Area’s Most Expensive Listing
A 74-acre property in Woodside, CA, complete with a stadium-sized Roman pool, has splashed on to the market.
Available for $135 million, the property, co-listed by Compass and Christie’s International Real Estate, is the most expensive listing in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Known as Green Gables, the sumptuous spread was created by a banker, Mortimer Fleishhacker, in 1911, and is a massive compound of seven homes in total. The multiple dwellings offer a total of 32 beds, 26 bathrooms, and 23,900 square feet of living space.
“There may not be another estate of this size in the country which can offer its owner such an unusual combination of privacy, panoramic views of the Western Hills, and multiple living options,” Brad Miller, one of the Compass co-listing agents, says in a statement.
“The estate is also surprisingly close to Town Center shops, restaurants, and the school in Woodside, one of the wealthiest and most vibrant enclaves in the heart of Silicon Valley,” he adds.
The family legacy estate began with an assemblage of nine adjoining tracts of land. Then the homes were built, intended for use by the family as a vacation destination.
Held in the same family for five generations, the enormous compound of seven homes is one of the largest privately owned tracts of land offered in Woodside, and features three swimming pools, a tennis court, artist’s studio, and barn, among many other assets.
The owner tapped the brothers Charles Sumner Greene and Henry Mather Greene—leading figures of the early 20th-century Arts and Crafts movement—to design the main house.
Notable features of the 10,000-square-foot home include an orientation toward the gardens, large windows to take in vistas of the Santa Cruz Mountains, and a game room with hand-carved furniture. Some of the original furnishings for the home are still intact in three of the bedrooms.
The other homes include a modernist six-bedroom home from the 1930s designed by William Wurster.
There’s also a rustic two-story tea house, a home from the 1970s with a private pool, an estate manager’s cottage, and two updated structures that date to the 1860s. The property also includes two private roads and wooded trails.
Other features include an intriguing free-form pool shaped around a colony of live oaks. The Roman pool, steps from the main house, is built to look like a Roman ruin. The grounds also boast edible and flower gardens, a lilypond, orchards, olive groves, and a reservoir.
Only 30 miles from San Francisco, the extremely private estate is just minutes from Woodside’s Town Center. The storied estate has hosted many notable guests over the decades.
In 1965, it was the site of a gala for the 20th anniversary of the United Nations. It can easily serve as a great entertainment venue, as well as an idyllic escape for hosting friends and family.
The expansive grounds also include ample opportunities to develop a golf course, vineyards, or equestrian buildings, or even function as a corporate retreat, the listing suggests.
The property is now one of the most expensive offerings in the entire country, and it will be interesting to see whether a buyer materializes for this massive opportunity.