EXCLUSIVE: Playboy Mansion’s $10million renovation is still far from finished seven years after Twinkies king Daren Metropoulos bought iconic estate from Hugh Hefner
- Metropoulos bought the mansion for $100million in 2016 but allowed Hefner to continue living there until his death the following year
- He has been completely remodeling the huge estate since and additions will mean it will have a floor space equivalent to eight average American homes
- The dark underbelly of the estate’s history will be exposed in a book by Hefner’s widow Crystal – who was 60 years younger than the magazine publisher
The owner of the fabled Playboy Mansion is entrusting architect-to-the-stars Richard Landry to overhaul and modernize the property, scene of some of Hollywood’s wildest parties.
Tom Brady and Giselle Bündchen, Rod Stewart, Mark Wahlberg, Sylvester Stallone, Dr. Dre and Kylie Jenner have all used Canadian-born Landry to design stunning, money-no-object homes.
Entrepreneur Daren Metropoulos is already nearly four years into the monster renovation project – estimated to cost at least $10 million – recruited Landry to update one the world’s most famous homes, previously owned by Playboy founder and editor-in-chief Hugh Hefner.
Metropoulos said the mansion’s heritage ‘transcends its celebrity’ and that ‘to have the opportunity to serve as its steward would be a true privilege’.
The 46-year-old business titan, who has headed up such companies as Pabst Brewing and Hostess Brands which produces snacks like Twinkies and Ho Hos, bought the 29-room property in 2016 for $100 million – and Hefner was allowed to live there until his death aged 91 the following year.
The multi-million dollar remodel of the Playboy Mansion is now in its fourth year. Building permits filed with the Los Angeles Department of Building and Safety show the property is undergoing extensive revision of the the main house, including the 2nd floor guest suite.
As it was: The exterior of the old Playboy Mansion was just as iconic and recognizable as the interior
Daren Metropolulos bought the Playboy Mansion from Hugh Hefner in 2016 and has undertaken a massive remodeling. He is pictured at the mansion in 2012 with Snoop Dogg
‘Hugh Hefner was a visionary in business, a giant in media and an iconic figure of pop culture whose legacy will leave a lasting impact,’ Metropooulos said.
Metropoulos, who sold Hostess to the jam company Smuckers for $5.6 billion in September, lives next door to the mansion and plans to combine the two estates.
Despite the amount of time already spent on the mega project, DailyMail.com’s exclusive images of the huge building site show there is still a long way to go before Metropoulos can move in.
Plans filed with the Los Angeles Department of City Planning show construction at the mansion includes a new basement below the original building, described as a ‘subterranean addition to an existing three-story, single family dwelling’.
Remodeling the iconic ‘estate-sized single-family residence’ includes partially demolishing a 650 sq. ft. staff house and building a new 4,400 sq. ft. addition ‘that includes a gym and a garage’.’ A separate 1,200 sq. ft. guest house is also being built.
The residential floor area of the main house will be 18,000 sq. ft. – eight times the size of the average American home.
Building permits filed with the Los Angeles Department of Building and Safety show the property is undergoing extensive revision of the floor plans in the main house, including the 2nd floor guest suite.
Work includes ‘remodeling kitchen, family room, bathrooms and powder room’ as well as the interior of the ‘servant’s quarters.’ And several new skylights are being added throughout the structure to add more light to the interior.
The famous residence was emblematic of Hollywood’s excess, hosting parties with lingerie-only dress code for the female guests who cavorted in the caved grotto.
Plans show construction at the mansion includes a new basement described as a ‘subterranean addition to an existing three-story, single family dwelling
The residential floor area of the main house will be 18,000 sq. ft. – eight times the size of the average American home
Remodeling the iconic ‘estate-sized single-family residence’ includes partially demolishing a staff house and building a new 4,400 sq. ft. addition ‘that includes a gym and a garage’
Elvis Presley reportedly slept with eight Playmates at once at the home, while John Lennon burned a Matisse original with a cigarette.
Donald Trump even filmed an episode of The Apprentice at the mansion where contestants got to meet Hefner and his girlfriends.
The mansion also has a sinister past after getting caught up in the Bill Cosby sex abuse allegations.
Judy Huth claimed Cosby assaulted her when she was 15 at Hugh Hefner’s home. Chloe Goins claimed she was assaulted by Crosby at the mansion, but criminal charges in the case were ruled out.
It also had a reputation of being dirty after multiple former Playboy bunnies spoke out about the dilapidated building and floors strewn with dog feces and urine.
Architect Richard Landry has been entrusted with rebuilding the iconic mansion
In 2011, health officials confirmed that the bacteria that causes Legionnaires’ disease was found in a whirlpool spa at the Playboy Mansion where more than 100 people fell ill.
The Los Angeles County Health Department presented its findings at an annual conference at the Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta. The legionella bacteria also causes a milder illness called Pontiac fever.
Symptoms, which include fever and headache, are the same as those suffered by the Playboy Mansion partygoers.
Hefner decided to sell the property to Metropoulos rather than leave it to his widow Crystal, 37, a former Playboy bunny who was 60 years younger than the publisher.
Crystal’s book, Only Say Good Things, which is due out in January promises to lay bare the dark underbelly of life at the mansion.
According to the publisher’s blurb, the book will be ‘a raw and unflinching look at the objectification and misogyny of the Playboy mansion’.
Now though it is all change under Metropoulos’s ownership, although there are additions that Hefner would have approved – such as a new dumbwaiter to be installed in the main building to deliver food and drinks to residents on different floors conveniently.
The existing elevator shaft is being modified and a new, modern elevator cab installed.
The movie theater will be expanded and a new ‘golf simulator area’ built.
Hugh Hefner poses with some of his playmates as Playboy Magazine searched for the 50th Anniversary Playmate at the mansion in 2003
The famous residence was emblematic of Hollywood’s excess, hosting parties with lingerie-only dress code for the female guests who cavorted in the caved grotto. Pictured: Hefner with Playboy bunnies Sheila Levell and Holly Madison
Hugh Hefner lived in the home until he died in 2017. He sold the property to Metropoulos rathe than leave it to his 60-years-younger widow Crystal
The notorious grotto at the Playboy Mansion where many couples hooked up. In 2011, more than 100 party-goers contracted Legionnaires’ disease from swimming in its waters.
Outside, the existing ‘pond’ swimming pool – better known as the infamous grotto, where many couples hooked up in Hefner’s day – is being replastered and a new pool cabana is being constructed.
The rear terrace deck is also being extended, presumably to allow more space for outdoor entertaining.
The dark side of the Playboy Mansion will be exposed in Crystal Hefner’s book due out iin January
And to help owner Metropoulos and his lucky guests unwind, the project also includes building a new 42ft x 23ft solarium.
Underneath the solarium, a new luxury state-of-the-art spa-jacuzzi is under construction which includes a ‘cold plunge,’ favored by celebrities such as Gwyneth Paltrow, Lady Gaga, Madonna and the Princess of Wales.
Building permits reveal workmen are also repairing ‘termite and dry-rot damage’ from the original wooden framing.
Landry, known as ‘King of the Mega Mansion’, designed the 12,000 sq ft French chateau-inspired property that was Brady and Bündchen’s home when they were together. The 28-bedroom, 32-bath compound was named the Robb Report’s ‘Ultimate Home’ in 2011.
Landry also designed a 30,000 sq ft property for Mark Wahlberg in the LA’s exclusive Beverly Park neighborhood which he sold for $55 million in February this year.
‘When he called me, he said: ‘Richard, I’ve been following you for years. I’m so glad now you can do my house,’ ‘ Landry told the New York Times in 2015. ‘What a nice guy. We had so much fun.’
Meanwhile, Metropoulos owns another fabulous home adjacent to the Playboy Mansion and said after Hefner’s death: ‘I was fortunate to know him as a neighbor and friend.’ The mansion’s heritage, he said, ‘transcends its celebrity’ and that ‘to have the opportunity to serve as its steward would be a true privilege.’
The Playboy mansion sits on five acres adjacent to the Los Angeles Country Club – on Charing Cross Road in the exclusive Holmby Hills neighborhood just off the famous Sunset Boulevard.
Completed in 1927, the house was designed by Arthur Kelly for department store scion Arthur Letts Jr. It was purchased by Hefner in 1971 for $1million – and the legend of the Playboy Mansion was created.
Source: Read Full Article