American businessman Darwin Deason’s La Jolla estate, ‘The Sandcastle’, has been listed for $108 million, a potential record-breaking price for San Diego County real estate. If it is sold for the expected price, it would surpass the existing record of $44 million held by billionaire Egon Durban, who bought the Del Mar beach property earlier this year.
Mr. Deason’s property spans approximately 13,000 square feet and features stone columns, balconies and a private elevated beach. The interior is inspired by Old World Europe with gold accents, marble floors and mosaics. The guest house is modeled after Le Petit Trianon of Versailles. The billionaire, who founded Affiliated Computer Services and sold it to Xerox for more than $6 billion in 2009, bought the property and a neighboring parcel for $26 million the same year. They have since invested an estimated $60 million in its construction.
Credit: sandcastlelajolla.com
Mr. Deason commissioned renowned designer Timothy Corrigan, who has designed for Hollywood’s elite and royalty, to create the interiors. Designed with French elegance and inspired by the Hotel du Cap-Eden-Roc in Antibes, the property features custom-made furnishings, a 16-seat dining room and a nautical-themed bar. The grounds include a pool, fitness center, and a beach boathouse with slate roof tiles imported from China.
Credit: sandcastlelajolla.com
Mr. Deason also brought $40,000 worth of imported sand to match the Augusta National Golf Club’s distinctive white shade. “Anybody who watches a golf tournament knows it’s a brilliant shade of white,” he told The Wall Street Journal. The property also includes two natural caves on the grounds.
Credit: sandcastlelajolla.com
Despite the grand design, Mr. Deason, a Dallas-based businessman, says he doesn’t use the property as much as his other homes. Compass agents Brett Dickinson and Ross Clark said, “Due to the current oceanfront construction standards set by the State of California, in the history of La Jolla, no other property on the coast like Sandcastle has ever been built and will never be built.”
