Financier Robert Beyer, minority owner of the Milwaukee Brewers baseball team, recently listed his property in Los Angeles, located in the upscale Brentwood neighborhood of the city and called Ocho Manos, for $ 75 million.
Beyer, chairman of Chaparal Investments LLC and a member of the Milwaukee Brewers Advisory Board, and his wife Catherine bought the first plot of land from J. Watson Webb Jr. in 2000., a member of the Vanderbilt family who owned the land for 60 years. There was a farmhouse from the 1940s that they carefully deconstructed and donated parts of the interior to the Shelburne Museum in Vermont. Beyer subsequently purchased three surrounding parcels, including the former residence of film director Frank Capra, to create the current iteration of this plot, which extends over about 3.5 hectares.
The couple received design proposals for Mediterranean villas and houses in the south of France. Baer told the Wall Street Journal that finding the stone, used throughout the house, was one of the biggest problems. Finally, they contacted the contractor responsible for the renovation work at the Hotel La Residencia in Mallorca, who managed to find and ship crate by crate of stone from Mallorca to the USA to use it in the house.
When choosing high-quality materials, no detail was overlooked, but they also wanted to make sure that the house was comfortable and livable. Beyer and his wife used numerous natural materials such as old wood and rare, sharp wood as well as 10- to 12-foot doors made of African mahogany. The walls are freehand plastered and the steel windows and doors are custom-made by Architectural Iron Works.
The result, completed in 2005, is a fabulous 20,000-square-foot eight-bedroom house with a double-height library, indoor and outdoor pavilions, and a resort-style backyard. The house has a timeless appeal with high ceilings and windows, quiet outdoor areas, spacious lawns and hotel-like amenities. The oversized living room has 20-foot-high coffered ceilings with direct access to the wraparound terrace, while the double-height formal dining room, flooded with light thanks to a large skylight, looks like it’s been ripped out of a centuries-old castle with carved wooden doors and immaculate stone flooring.
Other highlights include a gourmet kitchen, a catering kitchen, a fitness room, a wine cellar with a capacity of 1,200 bottles, a games room, a changing room and a storage room for porcelain, silver and glass. There is also a garage for four cars, a service building with a separate entrance and its own staff area.
The grounds, designed by Todd Bennitt, are as impressive as the interiors with an infinity pool, formal rose gardens, an olive tree, rolling meadows, quiet courtyards, numerous water features, a tennis court and a sports field. There’s even a treehouse hanging between the 80-year-old California sequoias that includes a swing bridge and a fire pole.
The name of the house, Ocho Manos, means eight hands in Spanish and was inspired by the couple’s four children. The house is listed with Carolwood Estates by Drew Fenton and the Beyers’ son, Andrew Beyer.
Read Also: MLB Star Justin Upton Puts his SoCal Farm on the market for $6.8 million