Ford Estate Sold To Hollywood Execs
Escrow is scheduled to close Friday on the longtime Rancho Mirage estate of former President Gerald Ford and his wife Betty, according to the Palm Desert real estate company that listed the property.
Ron Gerlich, vice president of HK Lane Real Estate, confirmed the sale of the longtime Ford home on Sand Dune Road in the Thunderbird Country Club.
The new owners, John McIlwee and Bill Damaschke, will become the new owners on Friday at the price of $1.675 million, according to their real estate agent.
The pair is no stranger to owning high-profile homes.
They already own the Garcia House in Los Angeles, made famous by the movie “Lethal Weapon 2.”
Day after day, they would look out of the large windows, and see tour bus after tour bus drive by the home on Mullholland Drive.
“I really am aware that we have a glass house on Mulholland Drive, and all that implies, but I want to be left alone,” McIlwee told the Los Angeles Times. “At the end of the day, it is my house.”
Gerald Ford died in 2006 at age 93 and Betty Ford died last year, also at 93.
The Ford estate spans 6,316-square-feet, contains five-bedrooms and was built in 1979 on 1.37 acres, according to online real estate listings. The Fords lived in the Welton Beckett-designed home for almost 30 years.
?You should never significantly alter something that has architectural integrity, ? Mcllwee said. “Don?t turn a mid-century marvel into a monstrosity it was never meant to be. We found a box of (architect) Welton Becket?s original plans in the garage. We intend to study them to find out what could have changed over the years. Before we make any decisions. It?s our intention that anything we do, we want people to believe it was, or could have been, original.?
Gerlich said a smaller home nearby, which was used by the Secret Service, was purchased by another buyer and was expected to close escrow next month. It was listed for $509,000.
