realtor.com; Scott Gillen/IMDB
Builder and designer Scott Gillen arrived on our radar this year when he announced a stunning (and record-setting) reclamation project in Malibu was nearly complete. The New Castle took the place of a legendary hilltop mansion destroyed by fire. Building on its ashes, Gillen created a version of the castle featuring his signature beach style. When it hit the market at $80 million, it was the highest listing price ever for a single-family home in Malibu.
Gillen, the founder of development firm Unvarnished, followed that phoenixlike project by paying the highest price ever for undeveloped land in Malibu: $50 million.
So who is this guy? Believe it or not, the man dominating one of the most coveted real estate markets in America doesn’t even think of himself primarily as a developer.
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“I’ve lived in Malibu for 30 years,” Gillen says. “But my real job is as a filmmaker and director. I directed commercials and television shows for 17 years, and then I got into design. Most of my directing projects involved very intense design elements.” He’s shot more than 120 commercials for clients such as Lincoln-Mercury, Mercedes-Benz, and GMC.
Nearly two decades ago, Gillen was embroiled in a contract dispute that prevented him from working on commercials for about a year.
“So I decided to build a house,” he says. Creative juices have to flow somewhere, right?
His first house was in the beach community of Venice. After the first showing, it sold for what at the time was the highest price ever on Venice’s main drag of Abbott Kinney Boulevard, he says.
“It was a pretty big deal, and my agent suggested I ought to do this for a living.”
And why not? In the realm of home development, Gillen doesn’t have to answer to corporate executives—he can follow his own vision.
“I like not having to answer to anybody. I’m a little bit of a control freak,” he says with a laugh.
It’s been about 14 years since he sold his first property in Venice. Since then, he’s designed and built more than 22 homes, including the uber-luxury community called The Who, which consists of four lavish one-story houses on a hilltop above the Pacific Coast Highway.
The first three homes sold within four days of going on the market, and the fourth is being completed. Built in a postmodern architectural style, they all have impressive views, pools, and great rooms; use high-end materials and finishes; and offer thousands of square feet of living space. He gives all his houses names, and these bear the individual monikers of Who, What, Where, and Why.
Gillen’s next project was the aforementioned record-setting New Castle. (David Geffen‘s Malibu compound—which was recently sold for an estimated $85 million in a private deal—was never on the market.)
After testing the waters for $80 million in April, the soon-to-be-completed New Castle is set to return to the market in mid-September, with a lavish launch party planned.
On a promontory adjacent to Serra Retreat above Malibu Creek, the New Castle sits on 3.5 acres and has 360-degree views, a 4,000-square-foot guesthouse, a 75-foot infinity pool, a waterfall, and a double-gated driveway with a motor court and valet stand.
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Which brings us back to Gillen’s $50 million purchase of 24 acres on the bluffs above Malibu Colony. The sellers—Oaktree Capital and Big Rock Partners—spent over a decade securing coastal development permits and entitlements. So Gillen not only bought the land, he also avoided spending time and energy dealing with California’s notoriously tricky Coastal Commission.
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Gillen plans to build five custom estates on the property, each with ocean views and measuring over 10,000 square feet. Individual lots will span 2.45 to 5.78 acres, and the finished estates will be priced in the $40 million–$60 million range. Gillen plans to call this luxe enclave The Case, evoking the spirit of the Mid-Century Modern Case Study homes he deeply admires.
Architect Richard Landry, who has designed luxury estates for a number of celebrities, was instrumental in securing the entitlements for the homes to be built on the property.
When all is said and done, in about two and a half years, the $300 million project will likely set another Malibu record. We’ll be sure stay on The Case.
The post Only in L.A.: Filmmaker Turned Builder Is Breaking Malibu Price Records appeared first on Real Estate News & Insights | realtor.com®.
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