Former Howard Hughes ´Sweetheart´ Property Above Famed Hollywood Sign Hits the Market



    Featuring unparalleled, 360-degree vistas of the greater Los
    Angeles area, from downtown to the Pacific Ocean and Catalina Island
    to the entire San Fernando Valley, 138 acres of land atop Hollywood´s
    Cahuenga Peak is available for purchase. Hollywood´s highest crest,
    perched adjacent to the iconic Hollywood sign, has been placed on the
    market for $22 million dollars, as announced by Teles Properties, the
    Beverly Hills-based real estate agency listing the property.

    A majestic and historic property, the 138 acres of Cahuenga Peak
    was acquired in 1940 by Hollywood legend Howard Hughes as a private
    Shangri-La where he planned to build a hilltop estate for his then
    love interest, actress Ginger Rogers. Though the land was never
    developed by Hughes, the property remained in his estate until 2002
    and is the last privately-owned undeveloped promontory ridge in the
    city of Los Angeles.

    "With its proximity to the Hollywood Sign, a world famous landmark
    emblematic of our country´s rich entertainment history, its vast
    acreage, and its second-to-none vistas, this piece of land could
    potentially be the biggest local real estate unveiling of the decade,
    if not the century," said Sarah Blanchard, the Teles Properties
    co-agent brokering the sale of the property. "We´re confident that the
    purchaser of this historic mountaintop will acquire for themselves one
    of the most scenic properties in the United States, not to mention a
    piece of Hollywood history."

    Consisting of five adjacent parcels of land with the potential to
    develop a single family residence and guest house on each, or a single
    compound spanning the entire 138 acres, the property holds the highest
    point in the region--the 1821-foot-high Cahuenga Peak. The high,
    expansive elevation of Cahuenga is the dominant natural feature in the
    area, towering above the entire city of Los Angeles from the Pacific
    Ocean to downtown facing south, the San Fernando Valley facing North,
    and the San Gabriel Mountains and Griffith Park facing east.

    "Howard Hughes had a vision of building an unrivaled estate atop
    Cahuenga Peak many decades ago," said Ernie Carswell, co-agent and a
    Teles Properties partner. "Though he acquired the land, his dream
    never came to fruition. Now, someone will have the opportunity to
    carry out what Hughes initially planned as a sweetheart offering.
    Also, the trails and natural wilderness are so beautiful, surrounded
    on all sides by this bustling city, that it can easily attract a
    benefactor to gift this back to the citizens of Los Angeles--even the
    world--for recreational hiking and experiencing the unrivaled vistas
    from the highest point in the area."

    The Chicago-based private equity company that purchased the
    property in 2002 from the Hughes estate uncovered access to the
    property via an access and utility easement that grants the property
    owner the right to develop a roadway across a 100-foot-wide strip of
    land owned by the Department of Water and Power that connects to the
    northerly terminus of Wonderview Drive. The eastern property line is
    located just west of Mount Lee Drive and the property is contiguous to
    public land on all sides. The Hollywood Sign is located southeast of
    the property line at an elevation of 1600 feet.

    For information on the property, please contact agents Sarah
    Blanchard or Ernie Carswell of Teles Properties at 424-202-3216, or
    visit the property´s official Web site at
    http://www.telesproperties.com/cahuengapeak.