Mohamed Hadid’s mega-mansion in Bel Air, which he once hoped to sell for $100 million, is finally being torn down piecemeal after being held up in various legal battles.
Exclusive photos obtained by show that the house has been reduced to a very expensive pile of rubble.
Hadid, the father of supermodels Gigi and Bella Hadid, bought the site in 2011 and quickly began construction, cramming a 30,000-square-foot home into a 1.22-acre lot.
But the dimensions of the house were much larger and taller than city regulations would allow, and double the 15,000 square feet he had been given permission from the Building Department.
Neighbors then sued Hadid, fearing that the estate could slide down the steep hillside and crush the houses below.
Sahara Construction purchased the property in December for just $8.5 million and agreed to pay $5 million in damages for its demolition, hoping to recover the money through future resale and special tax credits.
Mohamed Hadid’s 30,000-square-foot mega-mansion is being demolished on the hillside of Bel Air.
Demolition work began last month after Sahara Construction bought the property in December and agreed to pay $5 million to demolish it.
Mohamed Hadid sold the houses for $8.5 million after he was ordered to demolish the estate for security reasons.
A visualization of the house posted on Instagram shows what could have been if construction work had continued.
Various construction vehicles are visible at the demolition site, including a dump truck and a bulldozer.
Mohamed Hadid, 73, has sold his half-built mega-mansion in Bel Air, which is being demolished in May 2021.
According to the New York Post, Hadid, 73, sold the house for a fraction of what he hoped to earn after he was ordered to demolish the estate for security reasons.
Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Craig D. Karlan ordered the massive structure demolished, calling it “a danger to society.”
According to various reports, the gigantic property, which has increasingly become a burden around Hadid’s neck, has turned into a $100 million estate in a decade.
Hadid, the alleged billionaire, argued in court in 2019 that he was so broke that he couldn’t afford the $5 million it would take to tear it down after his own architect said he was worried the building would “slide off hill and kill someone.” .’
Own architect Hadid said he was worried the building would “slide down the hill and kill somebody”.
The demolition of a house that sold in May 2021 for $8.5 million is now costing the company that bought it $5 million.
The company is using a “layered safety system” on the demolition project, including reinforcing existing fencing and installing mesh around the site strong enough to prevent up to 20,000 pounds of debris from falling down the slope.
Neighbors have long feared that the entire structure would “slide down the hillside”, crushing the houses below.
Hadid sold the house for $8.5 million after he was ordered to demolish the estate for security reasons.
Several workers can be seen working on the delicate demolition operation of the mega-mansion.
The California Supreme Court has rejected a real estate mogul’s appeal to review his case to overturn a demolition order last summer, calling the property a “clear and present danger” to his neighbors.
The half-finished mansion was located on Strada Vecchia Road in the “popular” Lower Bel Air neighborhood and is surrounded by some of the city’s “most famous estates,” the ad said.
According to Los Angeles Magazine, Hadid began building the mansion on a special order – without an agreement with the buyer – about 10 years ago.
The listing states that this is “a rare opportunity to build a world-class estate overlooking the city and the surrounding canyon.”
The house is located close to the exclusive Bel Air Country Club, as well as “world-renowned restaurants and boutiques in downtown Beverly Hills.”
The destruction of the building takes some time, mainly due to the fact that it is located on top of a steep hill overlooking several houses, which can be in the way of any debris or debris falling down.
From above, it seems that little is left of the house, but three floors still need to be removed.
Hadid’s 30,000-square-foot mega-mansion was nearly torn down with a growing pile of rubble.
At one stage, the building was planned to be a $150 million mega-mansion that Hadid planned to sell.
Demolishing a building is a delicate operation as the property sits on top of a steep hill overlooking several houses.
Gigi Hadid, Mohamed Hadid and Bella Hadid at the Victoria’s Secret After Party at the Grand Palais on November 30, 2016 in Paris, France.
“We are tearing down this house the same way it was built,” Paul Ventura, head of Sahara Construction, told last month. “We have to be very careful – we can’t just break everything. We have to be much more surgical than that.
“Therefore, instead of a demolition ball, we use hydraulic excavators with long arms and special devices on them to dismantle the structure more methodically and safely,” he added.
Ventura stressed that the company is using a “layered security system” on the demolition project, including reinforcing existing fences and installing a mesh around the site that is strong enough to keep up to 20,000 pounds of debris from hurtling downhill.
In addition to the steepness of the hill on which the four-story house stands, the Sahara has another problem to contend with: pieces of a giant house that Hadid built without the approval of Los Angeles city planners.
Demolition engineers use the original approved plans to dismantle the building piece by piece.
But, Ventura added, “Because the original builder (Hadid) did not build it as planned, much of the demolition work is exploratory in nature. We have to carefully demolish the walls to the steel load-bearing beams to see what’s there.
“We are not sure what we will find when, say, we tear down a wall or another part of the structure. Because most of the building is not included in the plans.
Instead of a demolition ball, “we use hydraulic excavators with long booms and special attachments on them to demolish the structure more methodically and safely,” the demolition company explained.
Demolition engineers use the original approved plans to dismantle the building piece by piece.
The home was supposed to include a 70-seat IMAX theater and a huge wine cellar, more than doubling the home’s 15,000 square feet of city-approved space.
Hadid, the alleged billionaire, argued in court in 2019 that he was so broke that he “couldn’t afford” the $5 million it would take to demolish it.