New page wikitext, after the edit (new_wikitext) | 'Mohamed Hadid's Bel-Air mega-mansion, which he had once hoped to sell for $100 million, has finally being demolished after being held up in various court battles — with new drone video footage showing the crumbled husk of the home dubbed the 'Starship Enterprise.'<br>Exclusive photos and video obtained by DailyMail.com show the home being reduced to a very expensive pile of rubble by a demolition crew.<br>Hadid, the father of supermodels Gigi and , purchased the lot in 2011 and quickly began construction, cramming a 30,000-square-foot house onto the 1.22-acre lot. <br>But the [https://www.tumblr.com/search/home%27s%20dimensions home's dimensions] were a lot larger and taller than city rules permit — and double the 15,000 square feet he was given permission for by the Buildings Department, including rooms like a 70-seat IMAX theater and a huge wine cellar that weren't on the original plans.<br>Neighbors took Hadid to court, fearing the estate might slide down the steep hillside and crush the homes below.<br>Sahara Construction purchased the property in December for $8.5 million and agreed to pay the $5 million in costs for knocking it down, with the hope that they could make the money back through a future resale and a special tax break.<br> Mohamed Hadid's Bel-Air mega-mansion, which he had once hoped to sell for $100 million, has finally being demolished after being held up in various court battles<br> New drone video footage and photos show the crumbled husk of the home dubbed the 'Starship Enterprise'<br> Hadid, the father of supermodels Gigi and Bella Hadid, purchased the lot in 2011 and quickly began construction, cramming a 30,000-square-foot house onto the 1.22-acre lot<br> But the home's dimensions were a lot larger and taller than city rules permit — and double the 15,000 square feet he was given permission for by the Buildings Department<br> more videos <br><br>DM.later('bundle', function()<br>DM.molFeCarousel.init('#p-25', 'channelCarousel', <br>"activeClass" : "wocc",<br>"pageCount" : "3.0",<br>"pageSize" : 1,<br>"onPos": 0,<br>"updateStyleOnHover": true<br>);<br>);<br>Hadid, 72, had started out building the mansion, on spec — without a buyer arranged — about 10 years ago, according to . <br>The listing called it 'a rare opportunity to build a world class estate featuring views of the city and surrounding canyon.' The home, located near the exclusive Bel-Air Country Club as well as 'the world-renowned restaurants and boutiques of downtown Beverly Hills.'<br>But the construction strayed far from plans submitted to the city, with the house growing to more than twice the 15,000 square feet the city had approved — and landing Hadid in hot water.<br>In 2015, he was prosecuted by the Los Angeles city council after he refused to comply with stop work orders on the mansion. <br>In 2017, he pleaded no contest to criminal charges, and was sentenced to 200 hours of community service.<br><br>He was also ordered to pay $3,000 in fines and other hefty fees.<br>In 2019, Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Craig D. Karlan ruled that the illegally-constructed house was a 'danger to the public' and must be taken down.<br> RELATED ARTICLES <br><br><br><br>Share this article<br>Share<br><br><br>A rendering of the home posted to Instagram shows what might have been had the building work been allowed to continue <br> Hadid was ordered to stop illegal construction which went beyond approved plans, and a judge ruled in 2019 that it was a 'danger to the public' and must be taken down<br> In 2017, he pleaded no contest to criminal charges, and was sentenced to 200 hours of community service.<br><br>He was also ordered to pay $3,000 in fines and other hefty fees<br> Hadid, a purported multimillionaire, argued in court that he could not afford the $5 million it would take to tear it down after his own architect said he was worried the building 'will slide down the hill and kill someone'<br> Sahara Construction bought the property for $5 million in December and agreed to pay for knocking it down after Hadid claimed he couldn't afford to do so<br> Speaking to DailyMail.com last month, Hadid said he was not sad to see the house reduced to a pile of rubble<br>Hadid, a purported multimillionaire, argued in court that he could not afford the $5 million it would take to tear it down after his own architect said he was worried the building 'will slide down the hill and kill someone.' <br>Hadid was also sued by his neighbors Joe Horacek, 80, his wife Bibi, and [https://mega555kf7lsmb54yd6etzginolhxxi4ytdoma2rf77ngq55fhfcnyid.com/ megacatkp55k5rtmloe3da7k7w7hp5l2da2kkmbc7lqdlm442wrxrqyd.onion] John and Judith Bedrosian, with the two couples ultimately spending four years and an estimated $9 million in legal fees fighting in court.<br>Their battle with the Palestinian-American tycoon came to a climax last September at the end of a civil trial when a Santa Monica jury awarded the Horaceks and the Bedrosians a total of $2.9 million — but that was bittersweet for the neighbors, since it barely covered a third of their lawyer fees and was just a fraction of the $26 million they were seeking in damages.<br>Hadid has filed an appeal against the $2.9 million judgment awarded to the neighbors by the civil trial jury. <br>In complying with the demolition orders, Hadid sold the home for a fraction of what he had hoped to make.<br><br>It was then sold to Sahara Construction.<br>Speaking to DailyMail.com last month, Hadid said he was not sad to see the house reduced to a pile of rubble.<br>'I've moved on with my life — that's all behind me now,' he said.<br>'I wish the people who bought it well and I wish them well with whatever they build there in its place. I have other projects I am involved with now.' <br> Hadid is the father of supermodels Gigi and Bella (pictured together at the Victoria's Secret show in Paris in 2016); he was married to their mother Yolanda for six years<br> Hadid was also sued by his neighbors Joe Horacek (pictured), 80, his wife Bibi, and John and Judith Bedrosian, with the two couples ultimately spending four years and an estimated $9 million in legal fees fighting in court <br> How Hadid's house should have looked.<br><br>His plans included an elaborate Turkish bath, complete with ornate wood carvings, colorful tiles, and marble and mirrored walls<br> Hadid planned elaborate sculptures for the grounds of his now-destroyed magnificent mansion. The real estate tycoon had plans to include a 70-seat IMAX theater and a huge wine cellar that were not part of the original construction plans<br> more videos <br><br>DM.later('bundle', function()<br>DM.molFeCarousel.init('#p-56', 'channelCarousel', <br>"activeClass" : "wocc",<br>"pageCount" : "3.0",<br>"pageSize" : 1,<br>"onPos": 0,<br>"updateStyleOnHover": true<br>);<br>);<br>Destroying the building is taking some time, mainly because of its position atop the steep hill overlooking several homes that would be in the path of any rubble or debris crashing downward.<br>'We are unbuilding this house the same way it was built,' Paul Ventura, boss of Sahara Construction, told DailyMail.com last month.<br><br>'We have to be very careful — we can't just smash everything down. We have to be a lot more surgical than that.<br>'So instead of a wrecking ball, we're using hydraulic excavators with long arms with special attachments on them to take down the structure more methodically and safely,' he added.<br>Ventura stressed that the company is using 'multiple layers of safety' in the demolition project, including strengthening existing fencing and installing netting around the site that's strong enough to stop up to 20,000 pounds of debris from hurtling down the hill.<br>In addition to the steepness of the hill the four-story house sits on, Sahara has to deal with another problem: the parts of the giant house that Hadid built without approval from LA city planners.<br>The demolition engineers are using the original approved plans to dismantle the building, section by section.<br>But, Ventura added, 'Because the original builder (Hadid) did not build it according to the plans, a lot of the demolition work is exploratory.<br><br>We have to carefully take down the walls to the steel supporting beams to see what's there.<br> DailyMail.com got a peek inside the property earlier this year.<br><br>Pictured: The staircase that would have been elaborately decorated, but instead is now splintered and crumbling<br> Before: Hadid had shared his vision for the home during its construction on social media with photos of innovative designs and structural pieces<br> After: The half-constructed rooms are now waiting for saws to take down its concrete walls, pictured in February<br> Those rooms are now covered in dust, waiting to be torn apart (pictured in February)<br> Inside the once magnificent structure, in place of the opulence and extravagance that Hadid had intended, there are only ruins (pictured in February)<br> more videos <br><br>DM.later('bundle', function()<br>DM.molFeCarousel.init('#p-67', 'channelCarousel', <br>"activeClass" : "wocc",<br>"pageCount" : "3.0",<br>"pageSize" : 1,<br>"onPos": 0,<br>"updateStyleOnHover": true<br>);<br>);<br>'We're not sure what we're going to find when we, say, take down a wall or another part of the structure. Because a lot of the building is not on the plans.' <br>Sahara Construction invited DailyMail.com to the demolition site earlier this year for a first-hand look at how the operation to take apart the mansion was going. <br>Ripping down the stucco walls of the top floor revealed an interior that was supposed to be the very height of opulence and extravagance.<br>The centerpiece in the spectacular house was to be a huge entertainment area — with 15-foot ceilings and a 10-foot sculpted marble fireplace — that was to have been the scene of many glittering parties for the rich and famous.<br>With both the floor and walls lined with off-white marble, the vast space also boasted giant floor-to-ceiling windows that offered panoramic views over ritzy Bel-Air and even to the Pacific Ocean on clear days. <br>To one side of the massive room was a 12-foot-long bar, made from a single piece of marble, that swiveled to allow revelers entrance into an IMAX movie theater.<br><br>That was to have seated filmgoers in 70 red velvet chairs<br>With a nod to his [https://www.fool.com/search/solr.aspx?q=Middle%20Eastern Middle Eastern] background, Hadid included an elaborate Turkish bath, complete with ornate wood carvings, colorful colorful ceramic tiles, and walls covered in marble and mirrors.<br>'It was a magnificent house — quite beautiful,' he said. <br>' |
