Developer Ardie Tavangarian has announced plans to spend at least $47 million restoring and expanding Elizabeth Taylor's former 1.3-acre Bel Air estate, which he purchased for $15 million from former owner Rocky Malhotra in the summer of 2021. The project combines rehabilitation of the original 7,000-square-foot ranch-style home with a major 12,000-square-foot addition, and is intended to address public reports that the property had been or was about to be demolished.
Developer plans $47 million restoration and expansion of Elizabeth Taylor's former Bel Air estate
Developer Ardie Tavangarian has announced plans to spend at least $47 million restoring and expanding Elizabeth Taylor's former 1.3-acre Bel Air estate, which he purchased for $15 million from former owner Rocky Malhotra in the summer of 2021. The project combines rehabilitation of the original 7,000-square-foot ranch-style home with a major 12,000-square-foot addition, and is intended to address public reports that the property had been or was about to be demolished.
Taylor purchased the estate for $2 million in 1981 from Nancy, Frank Sinatra's first wife, and lived there until her death in 2011 at the age of 79. Tavangarian describes the combined result as a 'Taylor/Tavangarian manor.'
Portions of the original home are to function as an Elizabeth Taylor wing. Taylor's master bedroom, bathroom, and beauty centre are being preserved largely as she left them, and the room where she stored her jewellery collection in velvet-lined cases will also be retained. A gallery dedicated to Taylor-related artwork is also planned.
Tavangarian said he is restoring some areas of the home to their original condition after they had been converted into a showroom and offices by a high-end audio/visual company that rented the property from Malhotra and remained for a period after Tavangarian's purchase.
The restoration of the original structure is intended to reinforce its 60-year-old frame. A large hill adjacent to the house has already been levelled to create space for the new addition, which will use what both sources describe as Tavangarian's signature construction methods: subterranean framing and deep foundation footings allowing walls, floors, and ceilings to be built underground and reinforced to hold back shifting earth.
The addition will be three levels in some areas and will contain three bedrooms, a high-end screening room, a spa and other wellness amenities, a 4,500-square-foot retractable roof designed for stargazing with an expansive grass overlay, and a family 'pajama room' equipped with a large-screen television and snack canisters. The existing brick exterior will continue onto the new structure to create visual continuity between old and new sections.
Outside, Taylor's sapphire-coloured pool — said to have reflected the colour of her eyes — will remain, surrounded by natural landscaping and tall trees. The koi pond and shell-shaped fountain built by Taylor's nephew are being restored, and arbors of climbing roses as well as a bright pink hybrid tea rose named 'Elizabeth Taylor' will be retained. The thick bamboo that stood on the now-levelled hill is the only significant landscaping element being removed.
Tavangarian told the New York Post he is approaching the project as though Taylor herself were his client, saying: 'We're trying to create something that is a continuation of Elizabeth Taylor and her legacy while creating a phase 2 to enhance the beauty that is already here.'
No buyer is currently lined up for the property. Tavangarian declined to state a prospective asking price, though both sources note his custom mansions typically sell for more than $100 million. Work is expected to be completed next year.
Separately, Tavangarian's 35,000-square-foot Bel Air mega mansion Villa Siena, originally listed in the autumn of 2024 for $177 million, was relisted this month at $135 million after a prospective deal fell through. According to the New York Post, Tavangarian said non-disclosure agreements prevent him from disclosing further details about the prospective buyer, other than that the individual was not part of the tech-billionaire influx that has driven many recent area sales.
- No response or comment from the Elizabeth Taylor estate, her heirs, or any representative of her legacy organisations appears in either source.
- The precise completion timeline beyond 'next year' is not specified.
- The identity of the prospective buyer for Villa Siena who withdrew is not disclosed, with Tavangarian citing non-disclosure agreements.
- The terms or duration of the audio/visual company's tenancy under former owner Rocky Malhotra are not detailed.
- No independent architectural or preservation assessment of the project's historical fidelity is included in either source.
- Whether any local planning or heritage authority has reviewed or approved the renovation and expansion plans is not addressed.
- The Times of India — original — by TOI Real Estate Desk
- New York Post — by Karen Talley
Read the original at The Times of India