LOCATION: Venice, CA
PRICE: $949,000
SIZE: 2 bedrooms (plus loft), 2 bathrooms
YOUR MAMAS NOTES: It may (or may not) surprise the children to learn that energetic, sometimes hammy, usually self-absorbed, and preternaturally talented actor/comedian John Leguizamo–who may or may not be quite as Puerto Rican as he's always claimed to be–maintains a hefty handful of residential properties on both coasts.
Our short, unscientific, and possibly incomplete research shows Mister Leguizamo and his wife Justine own (at least) a couple of townhouse in downtown Manhattan, a thickly wooded lake front getaway in Upstate New York, and a West Coast penthouse outpost just two short blocks from the beach in Venice (CA). Over the last few years Mister Leguizamo has, it seems, been in the mood to change up some of the ingredients that make up he residential real estate: The latter two of the aforementioned homes being for sale with asking prices of $949,000 and $835,000 respectively.
Let's begin on the West Coast, in the funky and a bit gritty Los Angeles beach community of Venice where property records reveal Mister and Missus Leguizamo spent $512,500 in March of 2000 to acquire a duplex penthouse condominium in a secure, mixed-used (and ass-ugly) building situated a quick skip to the beach and so far north in Venice it might as well be Santa Monica.
Although the listing for the Leguizamo's Venice penthouse no longer appears in the MLS–Redfin shows it was de-listed in mid-November 2011–the fairly compact low-rise aerie remains on the listing agent's website with an asking price of $949,000.
As it turns out this ain't the first time the Leguizamos have ridden the real estate bull at this rodeo. From July 2007 to October 2008 the 2 bedroom (plus loft) and 2 bathroom penthouse level pad was on and off the market a couple of times at unknown prices.
Mocha-colored hardwood floors glimmer throughout the open plan main living space comprised of entry, dining area and step-down living room with gas fireplace, airy double-height ceiling, and over-sized windows outfitted electronically-controlled blinds and enabled with views to the south and west over the surrounding roof tops. Sliding glass doors open the living area to a small but adequate-for-outdoor-dining semi-circular terrace that overlooks the complex's oval swimming pool, circular spa and exhausted-looking sunbathing terrace.
The apartment-sized and woefully out-dated (if decently-maintained) kitchen tucked up behind the spiral stairs that corkscrew up to the lounge-loft has old-school white tile counter tops, low-end and/or near-vintage appliances–check out that fridge from the 1980s–and mahogany-colored cabinets that Your Mama would bet both our long-bodied bitches Linda and Beverly ain't made of mahogany.
The coffee-colored wood floors continue in the bi-level lounge-loft while wall-to-wall carpeting the exact color of wet sand covers the floors in the bedrooms. Both the lounge-loft and the master bedroom have balconies/terraces that with the one in the living room makes a total of three outdoor spaces.
Back on the East Coast Mister and Missus Leguizamo have been on a bit of a real estate roll since early 2008 when they coughed up $5,750,000 to acquire a handsome townhouse in the heart of Manhattan's Greenwich Village known as the Gold Coast. The 3,136 square foot residence happens to be almost directly across the street from where, when we lived in N.Y.C., Your Mama used to see a straight-talking therapist of the lesbian persuasion.
In addition to to his Gold Coast townhouse crib, Mister Leguizamo has long owned another townhouse in the far less swank–but arguably more chic–farthest reaches of the East Village between Avenues C and D, a neck of Alphabet City quite familiar to Your Mama since we occupied a tiny but perfectly laid out 2-bedroom walk-up in a tawdry tenement in the Loisada for 10 years before we hooked up with the Dr. Cooter and married up to a deluxe duplex in a full service building in the gallery-choked West Chelsea neighborhood.
Anyhoo, prop records show the entertainer and his first wife picked up the East Village townhouse in the spring of 1995 for an undisclosed amount of money. The townhouse was transferred to a corporate entity in 2002 but deeds and documents we peeped on Property Shark strongly suggest Mister Leguizamo still owns the house.
Stay tuned for Part II, a brief (and somewhat dry) discussion of Mister Leguizamo's country house located in Upstate New York and on the market with and $835,000 price tag.
listing photos (Venice): Sotheby's International Realty
listing photos (New York City): Sotheby's International Realty via Street Easy
