Bob Newhart’s former estate, now razed, lists as a vacant lot for $26 million

Comedian Bob Newhart used to call this Bel-Air address home when he owned a 9,169-square-foot house on the site.

He parted with the home earlier this year for $14.5 million and the house was torn down. Now the property has listed for sale as a vacant lot for $25.95 million.

Found within the East Gate area, the hedged estate sits on more than an acre of mostly flat grounds. Front and rear entrances provide access to the property.

The home that was razed was designed by noted architect Wallace Neff and built in 1941. The French country-style house had five bedrooms, seven bathrooms and five fireplaces across two stories.

Formal gardens, a lagoon-style swimming pool, various outdoor entertaining areas and a pavilion that once filed the grounds were also removed.

Michael Sahakian of Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage holds the listing.

Speculative developers razing older homes to erect modern mansions is nothing new in the Southland, particularly in tony Westside pockets, where location and acreage often exact higher prices than a structure itself.

Earlier this year, billionaire investor and Detroit Pistons owner Tom Gores completed a $100-million deal for a 30,000-square-foot spec house built on the grounds of Barbra Streisand’s former “Mon Rêve” estate in Holmby Hills. The developers who built the home bought the property as a vacant lot two years ago for $13.25 million.

Last year, hip-hop mogul Dr. Dre sold his 9,696-square-foot house in Hollywood Hills West for its land value of $32 million. The buyer, private equity firm founder Alex Soltani, planned to tear down the house and build a new home on the knoll-top site that takes in 300-degree city, mountain and ocean views.

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