Feature: Bigger & Better
November 1, 2004
Today’s affluent homeowners, according to top developers and builders, are
stay-at-homes. And since they have the means to achieve their dreams, they build
customized luxury homes that satisfy every extroverted and introspective
desire–houses that are designed around elegant entertaining and relaxing,
reading and displaying homeowners’ extensive collections and collectibles.; function voidFunc() { } voidFunc();)
A detail from an I. Grace Co. project. (Click image
to
enlarge)
Unlike the well-heeled of previous decades, this demographic is shunning
opulent displays of wealth and instead is favoring comfortable, secure,
custo-mized environments that are meticulously tailor-made to fit their specific
needs and express their individuality.
Regardless of where these homebuyers may be in their lives, and even if resale or leaving behind a legacy for family is not a priority, state-of-the-art home technology and amenities are must-haves in homebuilding these days, along with topflight security systems and a front-row view of Mother Nature.
And despite the expense–$500 per square foot is a modest approximation in New York and Los Angeles–bigger is still better for the five-star American dream home. More and more space is required for carving out those all-important private retreats within the home, as well as those must-have gender-specific and hobby/collection rooms.
“It seems like people are trying to make their homes their world,” observes Sean Sweeney of Manhattan-based Sweeney + Conroy Inc., who, like many upscale homebuilders, is extending floor plans below ground level to accommodate the requests for extensive gyms, indoor swimming pools, home theaters and sport courts, from basketball to squash.
Homes occupying up to 6,000 square feet of living space were once considered
capacious, but today’s megamansions are weighing in anywhere from 8,500 to
27,000 square feet and more. Dan McGhee, president of Los Angeles’ J.D. Group
Inc., is currently building a 50,000-square-foot French Normandy— style home in
Bel Air, designed by New York architect Robert A.M. Stern. Its
13,000-square-foot subterranean fun floor will house many of the aforementioned
specialty areas, plus a bowling alley and wine cellar.; function voidFunc() { } voidFunc();)
I. Grace Co. develops New York apartments for the likes of Donna
Karan and the CEO of Saatchi & Saatchi. This Park Avenue home, once owned by
John D. Rockefeller Jr., was designed by Mark Hampton. (Click image to
enlarge)
Another example of the bigger-is-better philosophy is J.D. Group’s recent
completion of a 40,000-square-foot Beaux Arts—style home set on nearly five
acres in Holmby Hills, which abuts Beverly Hills. Clad in French limestone, the
home boasts a ballroom that doubles as a grand dining hall for 150 guests, and a
commercial-size kitchen with several thousand feet of cooking space, multiple
wash stations and walk-in refrigerators and freezers.
High-end developers and builders are satisfying clients’ nearly insatiable need for more square footage by burrowing down or towering up. McGhee says 80 percent of the homes he builds include large subterranean floors. And to reach the subterranean floor’s squash court from the fourth floor, developers are incorporating commercial-grade elevators, which cost from $55,000 to $65,000. In fact, elevators are becoming a routine amenity.
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