A-Rod Finds Buyer for Notable Mid-Century Masterpiece in Hollywood Hills at $4.4M

Published: September 7, 2019 | By: American Luxury Staff

Alex Rodriguez sold the Honnold and Rex Research House this month; he’d had it on the market since November of last year. A-Rod initially listed the property at $6.5 million. Not a bad profit at that ask, or in the neighborhood of it; he paid Meryl Streep and Don Gummer $4.8 million for the historically and architecturally relevant house in 2014.

A-Rod didn’t fare quite as well. When the dust had settled, he’d settled for $4.4 million to see the home into the sunset. The lack of appreciation—both financial and aesthetic—for such an unusually fine and interesting house stymies somewhat.

The house was constructed as part of the Architecture Products Research House Program, which was launched hot on the heels of the high-profile Case Study Program. It was built in 1954, but renovated extensively by Xorin Balbes, who brought it up to date without disrupting its period spirit.

The concrete exterior is, from the street, formal and uninviting; a slatted timber accent alleviates the ponderous quality, though. The home’s interiors, on the other hand, open up to each other beautifully, with the master bedroom a splendid example of the optimistic postwar living style that saw unlimited potential.

The four bedroom home sits on a .36-acre lot, which frames it in green; the edge-of-wild landscaping makes for a very pleasing naturalistic context for this fine modern house.

Rodriguez joined the staff of ESPN’s ‘Sunday Night Baseball’ this season.

3905 September 7, 2019 Real Estate September 7, 2019