Horse-clogged Sullivan Canyon, snugly tucked between the swanky Westside neighborhoods of Brentwood and Pacific Palisades, has long been a favored residential destination of wealthy Tinseltown equestrians. Famous folks like Steven Spielberg, Christian Bale, Ryan Murphy and Kathleen Kennedy maintain ranches (and/or mansions) in this bucolic nabe.
Though once somewhat overlooked, Sullivan Canyon real estate is now piping hot. One area ranch sold for $18 million a couple years back, and moneyed buyers with a taste for country livin’ have begun flooding the sidewalk-free lanes.
Last fall, a quaint ranch popped up for sale — its first time on the market in 58 years, according to the listing. The humble, low-slung property does not appear to be professionally landscaped and sports a rather ugly black-topped driveway.
But be not fooled by the feigned modesty. The asking price was a ballers-only $8.25 million! (However, the buyers were able to negotiate a substantial discount, paying a “mere” $6,667,500.)
The proud new owners are a local banker named David Comfort and his loaded wifey Kasey Crown, a licensed psychotherapist and educator “specializing in the treatment of trauma, relational conflict and existential issues“. The pair have three young children.
In addition to her therapy work, Ms. Crown is also an heiress to the multibillion dollar Crown family fortune. According to Forbes, the Chicago-based clan is one of the wealthiest families in all of America, with a cumulative net worth exceeding $8 billion.
Kasey Crown is the only daughter of philanthropists Steve and Nancy Crown (her father is the eldest child of Lester Crown, the family’s 93-year-old patriarch.) So it shouldn’t be the least bit shocking that she can afford a $6.7 million fixer-upper ranch.
But anyway. Per our research, it appears the Sullivan Canyon property may be solely owned — technically speaking — by our lovely Ms. Crown. Yolanda suspects that is due to some sort of airtight prenuptial agreement. But, of course, we digress.
A scarlet front door provides the front facade with a much-needed pop of color, while a smattering of potted plants and fruit orchard lend it a bohemian sorta vibe. In addition to the main residence, there’s a detached three-car garage out front and a wee guesthouse tucked into a corner of the backyard.
The sprawling home centers around lovely oval swimming pool that we pray Ms. Crown does not remove. It’s really lovely.
The structure(s) themselves total 4,513-square-feet of living space — including the detached garage and guesthouse, we assume — with 4 beds and 4.75 baths. Originally built in 1949, the digs were lightly updated at some point but still feature those coveted mid-century hallmarks — open floorplan, vaulted ceilings, walls of glass.
Check out that cool art studio, with its skylights that bathe the room in sunshine. Yolanda actually loves this pricey little ranch — we think it could be made fantastic with the aid of a good decorator — but we have no idea if Ms. Crown sees things the same way. Maybe she’ll raze the whole shebang and begin anew. She certainly has the cash to do just that.
This ranch is located on a prime Sullivan Canyon cul-de-sac where nearly all the neighbors are famous: directly across the street is media heiress Elisabeth Murdoch, who lives right next door to actress Diane Keaton and two doors away from Sugarfina CEO/founder Josh Resnick.
Anywho, the Crown-Comfort family currently resides in the ultra-trendy neighborhood of Venice (CA), on one of the area’s most coveted streets.
Back in 2010, Ms. Crown forked out $2,357,000 for the Cape Cod-style abode, which happens to sit right next door to the home of activist Jodie Evans. The home’s interiors were redone in a breezy manner — with ice blue kitchen cabinets — by Ms. Crown, who has already admitted that she’d like to sell the place, as it ain’t spacious enough for her growing family of five.
And as you’d expect of proper multibillionaires, the Crown family has a portfolio of numerous luxury properties. Chief among their holdings is the lavish (and stunning) Ojai Valley Inn resort in Ojai, CA.
Somewhere on the Ojai Valley Inn property is Casa Elar, a 10,400-square-foot “Tuscan villa” custom-built for the Crown family as their part-time residence.
Kasey Crown’s parents (Steve & Nancy Crown) additionally preside over a custom-built ski chalet in Aspen. Way back in 2008, the property was photographed (and profiled) for Architectural Digest.
Mr. and Mrs. Crown’s main residence, however, is a palatial estate in the ultra-wealthy Chicago suburb of Winnetka, Illinois.
The tricked-out $28 million Tudor pad includes 10,000-square-feet of interior space on 1.7 acres of lush property filled with formal gardens and mature trees. Surely that place requires a couple full-time gardeners, right?
Listing agent: David Offer, Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices
Kasey Crown’s agent: Veronica Klein, Compass