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“Money can’t buy me love….”

The Beatles, “Can’t Buy Me Love” (YouTube;”Official Video”)

Money ALSO can’t buy intelligence, balance, wisdom, or good taste.

You think about such things a lot, as you watch the antics of rich people in California, or anywhere.

A New York hedge fund manager :-) and his wife, who bought the one-acre Point Dume property at 28827 Grayfox Street (Google Map) told the City of Malibu that the 7,000-square-foot house on the property, a series of diamond-shaped rooms designed by Bart Prince, which cascades down the slope, does not meet their needs or taste. The couple plans to DEMOLISH it and build an almost 6,900-square-foot compound with a two-story residence, a detached garage, and a pool and cabana.

:-)The Rich Are Different.” (1)

Well, of course SOME of the neighbors are upset, which would happen anyway when someone NEW moves into a neighborhood, even without the wanton destruction of a Bart Prince home that was once described as one of the most significant new structures in Malibu.

Among Point Dume residents who are urging preservation of the house — as well as million-dollar views — are Julia Roberts, Sean Penn, Don Rickles and Chad Smith, drummer for the Red Hot Chili Peppers.

“In my wildest dreams, I would never, ever have thought it would be possible for someone to build closer to our home … and also into the view of what you know is so precious to us and our family,” said Smith, who lives next door and is leading the effort to stop the project. “It blows me away that this is possible.”

Malibu does not have an historic preservation ordinance, which likely would not apply anyway, since the home was built in 2005. For that reason, the Los Angeles Conservancy has chosen to stay out of the matter so far.

The one-acre Point Dume property at 28827 Grayfox St. was bought in 2010 by the Sogel Family Trust for $6.2 million, down from the original listing price of $9.9 million, after 318 days on the market.

Behind the trust are Sean Fahey, a co-founder of Claren Road Asset Management, and his wife, Robin Luce.

The couple and their two children are “…excited to come out to Point Dume and be part of the community.”

Good luck with that. 😉

Building the house for its original owners, Mark Lever and Alisa Morgenthaler, was no small feat, architect Prince recalled from his base in New Mexico. The design was constrained by rules intended to protect the canyon, some of which have since been lifted. Prince’s “organic” architecture was inspired by Frank Lloyd Wright, who promoted harmony with nature.

Prince said it was his aim to let the house follow the slope of the land. The structure is steel on a masonry concrete base, with glass and copper as the main exterior materials. It was built to last, with mitered joints and custom doors and windows that open at the corners and slide back.

“It took forever to build that house,” said Robin Poirier, a contractor who supervised much of the carpentry. “The house was perfectly tailored to fit that site … so that it does not obstruct anyone’s view. … The new house … is like a gigantic billboard.”

(In an “unrelated” :-) story today, deputies arrested three of four fleeing suspects early this morning and seized a boat carrying 3,000 to 4,000 pounds of marijuana that was docked illegally in Malibu’s Point Dume State Preserve. :-) )

-Bill at

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