McClean, who also designed a 14,000-square-foot spec house down the hill from Niami’s project, is known for creating sleek hillside mansions sold to entertainers and technology executives such as Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss -- an enlarged, updated interpretation of the style pioneered by 20th-century Southern California modernist architect Richard Neutra. McClean said he studied commercial buildings such as hotels, museums and art galleries for his latest design.
“It’s very similar to a palace,” he said. “The house is about public functions rather than domestic living.”
Topping Versailles
Niami’s mansion is set to be the largest built in the U.S. this century, surpassing Versailles, a 90,000-square-foot chateau in Windermere, Florida, under construction for David Siegel, founder and chief executive officer of Westgate Resorts.
Notable residents of Bel Air, which is north of Sunset Boulevard and the University of California, Los Angeles, campus, include Tesla Motors Inc. Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk. President Ronald Reagan lived in Bel Air after leaving the White House, which has a floor area of 55,000 square feet.
A 258-acre Bel Air plot permitted for 18 homes is listed with an asking price of $125 million, according to Aaron Kirman, a John Aaroe Group agent who has the listing for the development land.
“Bel Air is the ultimate trophy,” he said.