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You could say that the Rebel Alliance has successfully evacuated the facility, but J.J. Abrams’ pretty house in Pacific Palisades probably has more in common with the leafy Endor moon than the bitterly cold Hoth base. Either way, the powerful Hollywood producer/director (“Star Trek,” “Star Wars,” “Lost,” “Alias”) and his family have left the building, selling the place in a $20.4 million deal that closed off-market. The buyers are Ashley and David Kramer, he the co-president of talent agency juggernaut UTA.
While that sale price is less than the $22 million Abrams requested last year, it’s also comfortably north of the $14.5 million the New York native paid for the house, back in 2014. In the eight years since then, he and wife Katie McGrath gave the place a thorough remodel, transforming the rather matronly mansion into a contemporary and casually plush estate.
Originally built in 1995, the East Coast traditional-style structure sports five bedrooms and 5.5 baths in more than 7,000 square feet, and the place sits atop a bluff, in what is arguably the choicest pocket of Pacific Palisades’ Riviera neighborhood. Mostly invisible from the street behind gates and trees, the home’s blacked-out front door opens into an enormous foyer, where ice-white walls and ceilings strikingly contrast with ebony hardwood floors.
Both the living and dining rooms offer fireplaces, and the former is additionally outfitted with built-in bookshelves. The open kitchen, totally redesigned by Abrams, includes marble countertops and spills out to a breakfast room with direct access to an outdoor living room with its own fireplace. Back inside is a separate family room that adjoins a solarium currently configured as a games room, complete with foosball and ping-pong tables.
The primary suite lies upstairs and features a sitting area, private office, large bathroom and dual closets, plus a truly epic terrace with panoramic city lights views and another outdoor fireplace. The estate itself spans more than half an acre, and includes exquisitely manicured gardens, a bocce ball court and a swimming pool with inset spa. Elsewhere on the premises are a gym, maid’s quarters, a workshop and a three-car garage.
Abrams has moved from the Palisades to nearby Santa Monica, where he and McGrath recently completed construction on their own custom-built mansion. As for Kramer, the veteran talent agent and his wife recently unloaded their old house in L.A.’s Little Holmby neighborhood. First listed in May, that property quickly sold in a notably fierce bidding war. The buyer, a non-famous local businessman, paid $8.6 million — nearly $2 million more than what the Kramers were asking.
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