Billionaire Howard Hughes’ Palm Springs Home Goes to Developer Jeffrey Steenberg for $1.4M

Published: August 25, 2018 | By: American Luxury Staff

Howard Hughes’ former Palm Springs retreat has a new owner: L.A.-area developer Jeffrey Steenberg. The home sold for $1.35 million; it had appeared on the market at the tail end of 2016 with an asking price of $1.2 million.

The home’s previous owners include many entertainment celebrities, and one legendary power broker: producer Robert Evans. Evans’ larger-than-life personality provided inspiration for Dustin Hoffman’s character in ‘Wag the Dog,’ Alan Arkin’s in ‘Argo,’ and, most recently, Bob Odenkirk’s in ‘Better Call Saul.’

It wasn’t only Hughes’ larger-than-life inscrutability, though, that delivered cachet and gravitas to the ethereal little modern home. The house is nestled in a private nook of the desert community that also includes Bob Hope’s so-called ‘mushroom house,’ and its open floor plan has a uniquely effective sense of fluidity. Transitions feel fairly effortless, and the house, with its setting, has a certain meditative, calming quality that encourages socializing.

The layout is designed for vacations—there are three suites in the home with central common areas—and an abundance of outdoor lounging and relaxation space makes impromptu congregating entirely easygoing. The private decks of the suites are interconnected, each gradually shifting into collective space.

The property exterior extends to only a quarter acre, but outcroppings and hills provide unusual privacy for a smaller lot. Succulent gardens, a brick-bordered pool, and patios keep the emphasis in the Palm Springs sun.

5326 August 25, 2018 Real Estate August 25, 2018