The well-established Old Las Palmas neighborhood in Palm Springs boasts a relatively young home on the market.
The eight-year-old residence at 372 Camino Norte was a ground-up new build designed by architect James M. McEachern. Adding a new home to an existing inventory of older ones is a way to turn the addition into a trendsetter. In some respects, this modern structure has done just that, according to Patrick Jordan, a principal of PS Properties (the listing agency).
"What is happening is that older homes are being brought up to date with all the bells and whistles," Jordan said. "This one was built with all the bells and whistles."
Some of the "bells and whistles" include items that meet or exceed the Palm Springs directives on sustainability. This includes a 10kW solar system, two tankless hot water systems, top-grade double-walled insulation with an energy-efficient roof, and desert-tolerant landscaping that requires little water usage.
More than that, there is a sense of how removed from the world one feels after stepping beyond the privacy hedge.
"What people always say is that they are taken aback when they walk through the entry and behind the wall of green hedge [and] the property is unveiled," Jordan said. "From the street, you can't really tell too much, so when they walk in the property is unveiled."
This privacy attracted the first buyers of the home.
"Only one family has owned it and they are very private people, which is why they love the property so much," Jordan said.
That's not the only draw, however. This 4,100-square-foot, four-bedroom/six-bath home allows one to "indulge yourself in modern sophistication and luxury behind this walled and gated oasis," the listing said.
The living space is airy – a feeling enhanced by 12-foot ceilings coupled with Fleetwood sliding doors and large picture windows that allow unparalleled views of the San Jacinto Mountains. Underfoot, you'll find Italian marble floors throughout.
The floor plan features a master bedroom suite on the west side with volcanic stone sinks and an oversized soaking tub, finished with Carrara marble countertops.
The other bedroom suites are a world away on the home's east side. The bathrooms there feature underlit onyx countertops.
A Lutron HomeWorks automation system allows residents to change lighting and other atmospheric conditions at the touch of a button.
The kitchen is a veritable entertainer's delight, featuring an island draped with Carrara marble and a peninsula bar. Top-of-the-line chef's appliances and a Blanco SteelArt kitchen sink complement meal preparation.
Mother Nature's picturesque bounty can be enjoyed from the outside pool with an elevated spa, the fire pit, or other outside seating areas that allow one to escape from the rat race we often feel like we're trapped in.
Old Las Palmas, situated to the west of Indian Canyon Drive, emerged out of a one-time citrus grove in the 1920s, according to oldlaspalmas.org. Prescott Stevens acquired the property and subdivided it, paving the way for master carpenter Alvah Hicks to turn it into what would become a thriving development. Today, the development's boundaries take in approximately 300 freestanding homes plus a handful of apartment and condo complexes.
It became the area that boasts the largest number of celebrity homes in Palm Springs. Those who have called Old Las Palmas home include Leonardo DiCaprio, Goldie Hawn and Kurt Russell, Lily Tomlin, Dinah Shore, Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz, Elizabeth Taylor and Mike Todd, Red Skelton, Donna Reed, Debbie Reynolds, Mary Martin, Kirk Douglas, Ann Miller, Edgar Bergen, Rona Barrett, William Powell, Alan Ladd, Lena Horne, Jack Warner, Samuel Goldwyn, Edward G. Robinson, Clark Gable, and Gene Autry.
Hicks was a transplant from New York; he came to the West Coast in 1912 and decided to call Palm Springs home in 1913. Hicks' builds have stood the test of time. The Ingleside Inn is still open and "The Cloisters" was bought by Liberace, who transformed it into an opulent showcase that is just a stone's throw from the Camino Norte home now on the market.
Old Las Palmas is a short hop from Palm Springs' thriving downtown area, and it has often been billed as one of the city's premier neighborhoods.
"With many of the older estates and homes being updated and enhanced, Old Las Palmas will continue to be viewed as a desirable and prestigious neighborhood," oldlaspalmas.org predicted, echoing Jordan's assessment that everything old becomes new again.
Approximately one half-mile west of the Camino Norte property is "The House of Tomorrow," located at 1350 Ladera Circle. Elvis and Priscilla Presley spent their honeymoon there and leased the place from 1966 to 1967. The home, built in 1960, helped define the architectural style of Palm Springs, according to la.curbed.com.
With its cutting-edge offerings, the house at 372 Camino Norte might go down as the site that now assumes that mantle.
Address: 372 Camino Norte, Palm Springs
Listing agent: Patrick Jordan, PS Properties
Listing price: $3,795,000
