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House Gives Buyer a Chance to ‘Make History’ or Just Enjoy It

The seaside resort town of Del Mar is just 1.8 square miles, but within its boundaries are some of the most architecturally significant and interesting homes in San Diego County.

Del Mar rises steadily upward from the ocean at a pretty steep incline to a ridge that descends to the San Dieguito Lagoon on its eastern edge. The topography itself is part of its appeal and throughout the years it has attracted people who are drawn to a rural and secluded environment. There is not a straight way up and around on the meandering streets east of Camino Del Mar, the road that runs through the center of town. And that’s just the way the residents like it; if you don’t live up there, you aren’t likely to drive through.

A rendering of a home at 107 Via De La Valle in Del Mar that was sold for .8 million by Jon Granston of P.S. Platinum Properties in October 2016 with completed and approved plans for new construction by Del Mar based-Bokal & Sneed Architects. Photo courtesy of P.S. Platinum Properties

A 2,998-square-foot home at 14121 Recuerdo in Del Mar was sold in August 2016 by Jon Granston of P.S. Platinum Properties for .85 million. Photo courtesy of P.S. Platinum Properties
The deck and interior of a home at 606 Zuni Drive that is on the market “as is” for .695 million. Photo courtesy of P.S. Platinum Properties

On one of these winding, tree-lined streets is 606 Zuni Drive and it is one of Del Mar’s most interesting properties. Jon Granston, a real estate and leasing agent with P.S.

Platinum Properties, has a listing on this 4,261-square-foot home that was designed in 1960 by renowned local artist and architect Herb Turner as his personal residence. Turner was studying art and architecture in New York and came to Del Mar in1952 to apprentice under John Lloyd Wright, who was living in Del Mar in a home he had built and who was also the son of the pioneering midcentury modern architect Frank Lloyd Wright. Turner, who died in 2010 at the age of 84, designed more than 50 custom residential and commercial properties in and around the community.

“Herb was really well-known for Del Mar architecture and did a lot of work in town, same as John Lloyd Wright,” Granston said. “I think for someone who is drawn to architecture and especially modern architecture, this home is probably going to appeal to them.”

Granston said what is unique about this home is that if you follow architecture and if you follow the lineage through Frank Lloyd Wright, to John Lloyd Wright, then Herb Turner as the apprentice to John Lloyd, it’s where a lot of midcentury modern architecture was derived.

“When you walk through the home there are a lot of elements that you would typically see in a Frank Lloyd Wright home,” Granston said. “It’s not like someone in 2016 just coming up with that concept; it’s actually someone who studied under him who created that for his own home.”

Granston has a creative approach for the sale of this property from what is typical and one he has successfully employed before during his nearly 15 years in the real estate business. The home is offered for sale “as is” for $3.695 million with already developed plans for a complete renovation from Principal Architect Jennifer Bolyn of eos Architecture Inc..

Granston said his team decided to bring eos architecture on to design a renovation plan because the home was at its maximum allowable square footage for the lot.

“It’s not going to be a tear down, so we really wanted people to be able to visualize what they could do with the existing home to maximize square footage.”

Granston said $3.695 million is for the existing home and that they did an analysis of the current market for new construction of similar homes in the area, calculated construction costs for the highest and best use, backed that out and added in incentives for whomever it is that ends up going through the process.

Granston said another option is that someone could just come in and keep the existing structure and have what is currently there or they could totally do something different.

“When it’s finished, it will be a $6 million to $7 million home,” Granston said.

Granston sold a home in La Jolla at 1641 Crespo Drive using the same strategy.

“Crespo was a 1950s John Lloyd Wright and we actually went through a similar process on that one; it was a smaller scale remodel,” Granston said. “And you walk in the house now, you can’t even tell what was old and what was new. The builder and the designer, Intimate Living Interiors, did a really good job of fusing the materials and design elements.”

Granston was the buyer’s agent on the sale of Crespo and Amber Anderson of Pacific Sotheby’s International Realty was the listing agent. The 1,843-square-foot home sold for $2.229 million in May 2014.

“It is rewarding when you have a client who wants to modernize a really cool historical home,” Granston said. “I’m finding that when the people who are tired of the standard Craftsman/Tuscan homes find projects like this, it strikes a chord.”

Send luxury real estate items to sglidden@sdbj.com.

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