California Megamansion With a Shark Tank Sells for $42 Million, a Coachella Valley Record

A California desert estate built into a mountain, complete with a shark tank and three nautical-inspired pools, has sold for $42 million, a record for the Coachella Valley.

The former home of the late newspaper publisher and real estate developer Duane B. Hagadone, the more than 20,000-square-foot house sits on nearly 8 acres in Palm Desert, California, according to listing agent Steve Frankel of Coldwell Banker. He shared the listing with Jade Mills, also of Coldwell Banker, and Bighorn Properties.

“This property was built into the mountain,” Mr. Frankel said. “So you’re looking at the mountains and the Coachella Valley, but also looking at the basin. It’s a full panoramic view and it’s just a marvel.”

First listed in mid-November for $49.5 million, the property found a buyer in about a month. It’s closing price was more than $28 million more than the next priciest recorded sale in Palm Desert and more than double the price of the valley’s most expensive deals, according to the Multiple Listing Service.

Part of the “impeccably maintained” Bighorn Golf Club, the custom-built estate has seven bedrooms and 12 bathrooms and was designed by architect Guy Dreier, who is based in the area. The structure mirrors the natural terrain, and “features overlapping planes and serpentine walls forming asymmetrical pavilions,” according to the listing.

It also features retractable walls of glass that not only let the outside in, but also detect wind and close when it gets too gusty in the desert, Mr. Frankel said. The great room has a ceiling of undulating wood panels and a titanium-clad fireplace, according to the listing. There’s also a Dale Chihuly sculpture and an aquarium tunnel made up of two tanks of exotic fish and a shark tank, Mr. Frankel said. Water features, including three interlocking pools with a nautical design, surround the property.

A glass-enclosed office is also built into the rock, giving it far-reaching mountain views.

“I call it the power office of all time,” Mr. Frankel said. Hagadone, who died last year at the age of 88, purchased the underlying property in 2004 for $4.5 million, according to records with PropertyShark. The Idaho-native owned the Hagadone Newspaper Company, a division of the E. W. Scripps Company, which at one point owned 17 newspapers. Hagadone also founded the Coeur d’Alene Resort and Golf Course in northern Idaho, a five-star resort and club.

Ref: California Megamansion With a Shark Tank Sells for $42 Million, a Coachella Valley Record (mansionglobal)