Last night, a longtime Yolanda follower forwarded us a promotional video for a spectacular view property on the so-called “Front Row” of the so-called “Bird Streets” area of the Hollywood Hills. Your gurl knows our readers love droolin’ over these slickly-produced shorts, so here it is for your consumption.
(EDIT: Sorry kids, those rugrats have deleted the video. Nobody ever lets Yolanda have any fun!)
And for those of y’all wondering what the heck “theFront Row of the Bird Streets of the Hollywood Hills” means, allow Yolanda to squawk an explanation. The Bird Streets are a neighborhood — actually, more like a collection of dead-end streets — located within the overarching Hollywood Hills area. They are situated directly above the Sunset Strip and West Hollywood, and homes there are the priciest in these Hills. And yes, all the streets are named after species of fowl.
The Front Row refers to a group of homes within the Bird Streets, homes that are situated on a particular long ridgeline with panoramic, unobstructed jetliner views of the entire LA basin.
We’re not sure how many houses are in the entire Birds community, but we’d guess 150. Maybe 200? Maybe even more? Possibly — Yolanda ain’t sure. But we do know that only fourteen of those properties are located on the coveted “Front Row”. This is one of them.
Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.The Front Row: Just 14 (or 12?) Bird Streets properties
Oh, and since the “Front Row” is the Birds’ most prestigious area, real estate there is scary expensive. Didn’t we mention that? Yeah. Folks with a house budget under $15 million? Sorry, you’re outta luck. To play with the big boys (and girls), you’d better come with a CEO title, a Forbes cover, or a mammoth trust fund. Preferably all three. And suitcases of greenbacks.
Naturally, all the Front Row homeowners are insanely wealthy and notable in some way. Here they are listed below, as helpfully numbered in the above video screen grab.
Walmart heiress Paige Laurie, previously owned by Tobey Maguire
Today’s house, formerly owned by actress Megan Mullally
The Winklevoss Twins
French filmmaker Francis Veber
TravelZoo CEO Holger Bartel, previously owned by Walmart heiress Sybil Robson Orr
Although the promo video lists only 12 Front Row properties, Yolanda believes there are two others not shown: one formerly owned by Dr. Dre and now owned by billionaire Alex Soltani, the other owned by legendary songwriter Diane Warren. But we digress.
Anyway, the house in question — the video property, remember? — has just been listed with a downright rude $18,995,000 asking price. It’s sandwiched between two larger homes: the first occupied by Paige Laurie and the other owned by the Winklevoss Twins of Facebook and Bitcoin fame and fortune. Their Paul McClean-designed manse is currently available for lease, if anyone is interested.
Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.Front Row of ballers
Owned by a prolific (and award-winning) interior designer named Lindsay Chambers, the whitewashed casa is freshly remodeled and chicly contemporary. There’s a brand-new infinity pool, a new rooftop deck, new landscaping and a modernized interior. And views that are nigh on infinite.
Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.Lindsay Chambers
Miss Chambers is a very nice young lady who has done up at least a couple dozen homes over her career. Though she originally hails from up north — California’s Silicon Valley, to be precise — she seems to have found a real niche here in LA, where she’s been flippin’ properties like pancakes over the past few years. And she recently paid $11.4 million for a development site over in Pacific Palisades, so she’s ready to let go of her just-completed Bird Streets nest. Time to focus on the new project, apparently.
Property records show Miss Chambers forked out $10,985,000 for the Front Row home in 2014. The following year, she attempted to flip out with a $12.5 million ask. The nerve! Interestingly, the 2015 listing marketed the property as a teardown (“development opportunity” in realtor-speak). But when no buyer materialized, she took matters into her own hands — literally.
Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.
Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.
Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.
Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.
Rather than razing the existing structure and building anew, Ms. Chambers opted for a clean-lined, contemporary redesign of the existing petite pad. (Current listing materials do not specify the home’s square footage, although records peg it at 3,803. But to Yolanda’s eyes, it appears smaller.)
Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.
Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.
Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.
Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.
A glassy front door allows visitors entrance into the open-concept floorplan — there’s a living room with a fireplace connecting to the marble-bathed kitchen, with its fancy appliances and exotic-lookin’ cabinetry. Just around this or that corner is the formal dining area and a family room/lounge beyond.
It’s abundantly clear that a rich bachelor(ette) or child-free couple would work best here — there are 4 bathrooms and just 3 bedrooms, two of which are fairly small. The master, however, has walls of glass in both the bed and bath, imbuing the space with a airy, island resort-like vibe.
Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.
Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.
Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.
Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.
The backyard is small, if nicely landscaped with olive trees and native plants. But the real selling point here, obviously, is that view. The westward-facing infinity pool basks in the sunset glow, the Century City skyscrapers glowering in the final rays of daylight.
Even better is the all-new rooftop terrace, with its unobstructed views of everything from the Downtown LA skyline to the Pacific Ocean, Palos Verdes Peninsula and (on a clear day) Catalina Island. Come on now — that’s a world-class, A+ view. And that’s why Yolanda won’t be surprised if somebody pays Miss Champers $17 or even $18 million for this saucy lil minx.
Yes, the market is soft right now. But drink in those views, kids — swirl them around and allow them to gently addle your mind with their warm buzz. This is the dream. It’s what LA is all about.
