It’s been many months since we’ve written about a house in the historic (and historically very beautiful) LA neighborhoods of Hancock Park and Windsor Square. So today we rectify that with this impressive red brick Colonial located on the finest block of what is arguably the Windsor Square’s best street.
But before dissecting the house, let’s quickly chat about its previous owner. In recent years, soaring LA home prices have enticed an onslaught of developers into trying their hand at mansion-flippin’ and spec-buildin’. One of those developers was Robert Quigg, who met with some early success — he flipped a Windsor Square home for $11.3 million in 2016 — and soon amassed no fewer than nine multimillion dollar residential projects, many of them in or near Hancock Park.
Soon, however, troubles began a-brewin’. Quigg employees and contractors kvetched about being underpaid (or in some cases, not paid at all). Folks who purchased pricey Quigg projects later discovered shoddy construction quality.
Late one cold November 2016 night, Mr. Quigg quietly fled to Australia with either his wife or mistress (depending on who you ask). He also declared bankruptcy, leaving folks back in the USA to sort out the $80 million mess.
One of Mr. Quigg’s most expensive projects was a rundown 1914 Colonial mansion he bought to expand and redo. After he fled mid-renovation, his creditor — billionaire hard-money lender Don Hankey — stepped in, taking the Windsor Square project’s reins.
Completed in early 2018, the modernized complex boasts an imposing street presence and 12,000-square-feet of extravagant living space spread over three full floors. Our Mr. Hankey initially asked an aggressive $12 million for the sprawler before settling for a much lower $9 million in late 2018. Still, according to Yolanda’s research, this was the biggest Windsor Square home sale of the year.
The buyers, it turns out. are Oscar-winning producer Michael Sugar and his wife Lauren Wall Sugar.
Mr. Sugar co-produced Spotlight, which garnered him an Academy Award for Best Picture. He also produced Cinemax’s acclaimed The Knick TV series — for that, he received a Peabody Award. Founded in 2017, his Sugar23 production outfit has several high-profile projects in development and recently scored a lucrative, multi-year deal with Netflix.
Long based in New York, the Sugars — who have a couple young kids — bought a big house in Encino two years ago. But with Mr. Sugar’s finances (and production business) rapidly on the ascent, we can see their reasons for upgrading to this pad, which is centrally located less than 10 minutes (by car) to Hollywood.
A wideset, royalty-worthy walkway leads to the column-flanked front door. Queen Elizabeth’s chariot could easily maneuver up there! Hold onto your bonnets down those steps.
On the property’s north side is a long driveway that passes under a porte-cochère before reaching the two-car garage.
The mansions’s stuffy, black-tie-attire-only front facade belies the warm, contemporary interiors. There’s a fireplace-equipped living room with comfy leather couches, a formal dining room filled with colorful urns, and a kitchen with cerulean blue cabinetry opening to a fireplace-equipped family room. There are hardwood floors throughout the residence and not one but three libraries — one on each level.
Let’s hope the Sugars like to read.
There are a total of seven beds and eight baths in the entire estate. Five of the bedrooms are upstairs, including the stunningly swank master suite, with its boutique-esque closet and resort-style bath.
Guests permitted to the full basement level are greeted by yet another library, this one adjacent to a boozy wine cellar/lounge and a mirror-walled gym.
Outside, there are both covered and open-air al fresco dining areas. Though the backyard isn’t huge — the lot size is just .41-acre, after all — it is elegantly landscaped with well-watered grass and a classy rectangular pool. Next to the pool lies the ivy-covered garage, which has upstairs guest quarters complete with a bathroom, kitchenette and small sleeping area.
As previously mentioned, the Sugars paid $5,550,000 for a brand-new Encino mansion back in March 2017. If that place looks familiar, it’s probably because Yolanda wrote about it last November (2018), when the couple lucratively flipped it to rocker John Fogerty for $6.75 million.
Listing agents: Branden & Rayni Williams, Hilton & Hyland
Michael Sugar’s agent: Oren Mordkowitz, Pinnacle Estate Properties