A land development company belonging to Prince Abdul Aziz, the king’s third son who also serves as deputy foreign minister, has gone to court in an attempt to push through the project after objections from neighbours.
The planning row began after the prince’s firm, Tower Lane Properties, spent $12 million on five-and-a-quarter acres of land in the wealthy enclave of Benedict Canyon in 2009, and applied for permits to build a palatial residence.
Even in an area dotted with multi-million dollar homes, other occupants were outraged by the initial proposal for an 85,000-square-foot compound, and likened it to “building a Walmart in our neighbourhood.”
That was later scaled back to a 60,000-square-foot project but opponents argued it was still out of proportion with surrounding houses.
They called for an environmental impact study, objecting to the disruption and damage that could be caused by construction crews moving up and down narrow canyon roads. » | Nick Allen, Los Angeles | Wednesday, May 23, 2012
VANITY FAIR: There Goes the Neighborhood: Tucked away in Beverly Hills, the secluded neighborhood of Benedict Canyon is home to the sprawling estates of Jay Leno, Bruce Springsteen, and David Beckham, as well as moguls David Geffen and Ron Burkle. But when a mysterious Saudi prince announced plans to build a big spread of his own—85,000-square-feet big, complete with servants’ quarters and a private “sons’ villa”—the claws came out. Led by Martha Karsh, the hard-charging wife of a billionaire investor, the neighbors have hired a team of lawyers and launched a publicity blitzkrieg to stop construction. Michael Shnayerson documents the real-estate war galvanizing this once quiet Los Angeles enclave. » | Michael Shnayerson | Saturday, October 29, 2011
