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From Mansion to Condo

Posted by: Tim Halbur

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."

Full Story: Downsizing in Los Angeles: Mansion to Condo
Source: The New York Times, August 21, 2008
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The increased attention to matters of urban design has forced the field to become alert to more aspects of the social and natural sciences, to transportation and civil engineering, water and waste management, zoning and public policy, and other areas earlier considered largely the responsibility of others.
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