Huge 260-acre piece of land in LA’s exclusive Bel-Air neighborhood up for auction

A massive plot of undeveloped land in one of Los Angeles’ wealthiest neighborhoods is up for auction at a 70 percent discount, after sitting on the market for 10 years. 

The 260-acre property – three times the size of Disneyland – cuts through the middle of Bel-Air. The LA neighborhood is well known for its A-lister residents, and for laying claim to numerous record-breaking real estate deals.

Covering six percent of the ritzy neighborhood, the plot is a long undeveloped valley filled with arid brush known as Senderos Canyon.

Though the bidding is starting at a whopping $39million, the sum represents a last-ditch attempt to sell the property, which has been on and off the market since it was listed for $125million in 2013.

A rendering of the Senderos Canyon plot of land that is up for auction

A rendering showing a golf course in the Senderos Canyon

The canyon is currently the largest plot of land for sale in LA, beating out the 157-acre undeveloped property known as the Mountain of Beverly Hills.

Beyond the property’s obvious perks, it has also not yet been designated for a specific use, meaning it could be developed for just about anything. 

Prospective buyers have considered turning the property into everything from a retirement community or a goat farm, to a school with a sprawling campus or an extensive wellness retreat.

‘Everyone has grand ideas,’ Scott Tamkin, the property’s Compass listing agent told the LA Times.

A rendering of a mansion and a vineyard in the Senderos Canyon

A rendering showing the Senderos Canyon built into a horse ranch

Renderings in the property’s auction brochure show a nine-hole golf course spread out across the canyon, or a horse ranch enclosed by a manmade lake. 

Another suggests the land could be worked into a private wine-making estate. 

Tamkin, however, said it was most likely the land would be turned into a neighborhood of luxury houses. 

He told the LA Times the lot could fit about 17 homes.

A rendering of a golf course in the Senderos Canyon

A rendering of a private pond built into the Senderos Canyon

Bidding for the land begins on March 15 under Paramount Realty USA.

The property first hit the market ten years ago, and since then has seen its price drop steadily. 

In 2019 it was relisted for $75million, before dropping again to $60million. 

An overhead view of a rendering of a vineyard built in the Senderos Canyon

A rendering of a manmade lake built into the Senderos Canyon

One of the problems for buyers that is possibly hampering the sale is the significant amount of work that needs to be done to the land for any kind of development. 

Currently, there are about 20-acres that are construction ready, but the lower acres of the canyon would need to be significantly graded for development.

Bidding ends on March 15. Two weeks later, LA’s new so-called ‘mansion tax’ comes into effect on April 1, which would require the owner to pay a 5.5 percent tax should the sale exceed $10million.

If the property sold for $39million, that tax would equate to about $2.145million. To try to avoid that hit, the seller is providing a $2million credit to the buyer if they can close before April 1.

It’s not the first time a vacant lot in Bel-Air has asked for millions. 

Back in 2019, a 30-acre undeveloped plot – a fraction of Senderos – ready for a sprawling estate to be built on it was listed for $60million, nearly double what Paramount is starting the bidding of its untapped property.

And the Mountain of Beverly Hills was listed for a record-breaking $1billion in 2018, before crashing down to a foreclosure sale of a mere $100,000 after the owner was unable to pay off the loans he took out to purchase the property.