Maison de L'Amitie (House of Friendship) was a French Regency-style estate in Palm Beach, Florida. The plot area was about 25,000 square metres (270,000 sq ft) and bordered a length of 150 meters on the Atlantic Ocean. It was one of the largest and most expensive homes in the United States. The neoclassical palace had an area of 5,760 square metres (62,000 sq ft) and its outbuildings an area of 7,594 square metres (81,740 sq ft). Maison de L'Amitie had three outbuildings: a barn and two houses for guests plus a pool and hot tub. Besides the pool there was an outbuilding with two bedrooms and bathroom. A coach house was located next to the entrance gate, and the third outbuilding was located on the edge of a courtyard. The estate also included a 7,618 square metres (82,000 sq ft) tennis house.
The home was demolished in 2016.
Video Maison de L'Amitie
Interior
Maison de L'Amitie had 18 bedrooms, 22 bathrooms, a ballroom, a media room and an art gallery Behind the door was a room with an area of 380 m² with large windows offering a view of the ocean. The rooms had 6- to 12-meter high ceilings and were finished with marble and granite. Gold and diamonds were used in the bathrooms. The kitchen had mahogany furniture and stainless steel appliances. Maison de L'Amitie also had a garage which fits nearly 50 cars.
During a tour of the property in 2007, reporter Jose Lambiet noted shortcuts and flaws, including suspiciously thin, bulletproof hurricane windows and gold fixtures in the bathrooms that were only painted gold. Lambiet said that the property had persistent mold and was difficult to air condition.
Maps Maison de L'Amitie
History
The property of Maison de L'Amitie was formerly owned by Dun & Bradstreet family member Robert Dun Douglass. It was sold to tycoon Harrison Williams in 1930. Owner Jayne Wrightsman sold the house on May 1, 1985, for $10 million to Les Wexner. Three years later, on May 27, 1988, it was sold to Massachusetts nursing home magnate Abraham "Abe" D. Gosman for $12,089,500. Gosman built the Maison de L'Amitie mansion on the property. On July 30, 1999, the house was put in the name of his wife, Linda C. Gosman. After Abe Gosman filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy liquidation in 2003, the property went up for auction in 2004.
On January 7, 2005, entrepreneur Donald Trump bought the home for $41.35 million. Trump listed the home in early 2006 for $125 million. An employee of Trump Properties in Florida said that Trump had spent $25 million on renovations, while Trump himself claimed to have spent around $3 million renovating the house. In March 2008, after cycling through several real estate brokers, Trump lowered the asking price to $100 million. On July 16, 2008, Trump sold the home to Russian billionaire Dmitry Rybolovlev through his County Road Property LLC, for $95 million. At the time it was the most expensive residential property sale to ever occur in the United States. The Rybolovlevs had tried to secure a $25 million discount for the property.
Rybolovlev purchased the home with a trust. During divorce proceedings for the Rybolovlevs, Dmitry denied direct or indirect ownership of the house in a 2011 deposition. The house remained empty since the purchase.
In 2013, a Palm Beach County appraisal of the house valued it at $59.8 million. Rybolovlev said in 2013 that he wanted to demolish the house. He described it as an opportunity to divide the land into smaller plots. A plan to demolish the residence was approved by the Palm Beach architectural commission in April 2016. The Palm Beach Town Council approved a proposal to subdivide the property into three parcels of around two acres each. One parcel of 2.35 acres (0.95 hectares) sold for $34.34 million.
References
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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