From Mansion to Condo

22 August 2008 - 9:00am

According to the New York Times, more than half of recent home sales in Los Angeles are condos, as density around transit, particularly downtown, becomes de rigeur.

"Candy Spelling, widow of the television producer Aaron Spelling, is downsizing.

After nearly 20 years in The Manor, a 56,500-square-foot French chateau-style home known for its size and extravagance — it includes a wine-tasting room, a bowling alley, a silver room, a china room and a well-known gift-wrapping room — she says she is ready for the next trophy property: a condominium.

'People say, How can you move from The Manor? There’s no place like it,' Mrs. Spelling said, sitting in the library with leatherbound scripts of every episode of Mr. Spelling’s shows, from 'Charlie’s Angels' to '7th Heaven.'

But a condo, she said, 'is no different than a house, maybe even better.'

Mrs. Spelling is the most conspicuous buyer in an ultraluxury condo market that is new in the sprawl of Los Angeles, where wealth and fame have usually spelled out “estate,” not apartment living."

Source: The New York Times, August 21, 2008
Bookmark and Share
As an alternative to burial, cremation is no longer green enough, say some environmentalists, because it releases smoke and mercury into the atmosphere.