In 1928, Bel-Air founder Alphonzo Bell built this Los Angeles mansion; bought for $5.5 million in 2010, it underwent a five-year restoration and is now asking $32.5 million
A nearly 100-year-old mansion in Los Angeles, built in 1928 for Alphonzo Bell, the oil businessman who helped create Bel-Air, is now on the market for $32.5 million. The Spanish-style home was bought by Michael Wexler for $5.5 million in 2010 and has since undergone a yearslong restoration.According to Mansion Global, Bell commissioned the house after moving from the oil business into real estate development. He helped create the Bel-Air neighbourhood and Bel-Air Country Club. Architect and planner Mark Daniels, who worked on the master plan for Bel-Air, designed the mansion.The property later became home to other notable residents, including Queen Noor of Jordan and film producer Steven Reuther. Reuther, who executive produced films including “Dirty Dancing” and “Face/Off”, added a theatre and editing suite to the property.Wexler, the founder and CEO of Maple Leaf Capital, bought the home in July 2010 while relocating to Los Angeles. He said he was attracted to its history and the character of the property. “At almost 100 years old, there’s a lot of palpable history as you walk through the home, mature landscaping that was also probably put in 100 years ago, and it has that old-world Hollywood Regency feel, which is really special,” he said.
A restoration focused on the original style
Wexler lived in the house for about 10 years before starting the renovation. He hired an architect in October 2019 and began the permitting process in early 2020. Work finally started in September 2021, and the renovation was completed in August 2026.The aim was to restore the property to a building standard associated with the 1920s. Wexler brought in local artisans to work on features including the flooring, cabinetry, tiles and marble. The fireplace in the formal living room, for example, was carved from a single slab of marble.“People say, ‘Oh, it’s not done that way anymore.’ Well, there are some people who can do it that way, but they are hard to find and rare to find,” Wexler said.Interior designers Kendra Sosothikul and Paula Press of Studio Berosso followed the same approach. They worked to retain the character of the original house while adding modern comforts.“We wanted to do the same steps that someone would take when the house was built originally, partnering with the artisans so all the quality and detailing would be what you would’ve found then,” Sosothikul said.The original foyer, including its lighting fixtures, was kept intact. It also became a reference point for the designers as they worked on the rest of the interiors. Details such as pillowed edges on the stone were used to reflect design features associated with the period.
The formal living room fireplace was carved from a marble slab.
Seven bedrooms and a new top floor
The renovation did not only restore the existing parts of the mansion. The top floor was expanded by 500 square feet to create two additional bedrooms. The house now measures 10,600 square feet and has seven bedrooms.The property sits on 0.8 acres on a hillside. Its features include a primary suite with dressing quarters designed to resemble a boutique, a gym that occupies the site of the original indoor pool, a wine cellar with hand-laid mosaic flooring and several terraces and patios.There is also an outdoor swimming pool. The theatre added by Reuther remains part of the home, along with the editing suite. Its powder room has Gucci wallpaper, while Missoni carpet adds another modern detail to the theatre.The renovation also included changes to some rooms. A fireplace was removed from the dining room to make space for a wall of windows.Chris Soffer, who is sharing the listing with Trenton Armitage, Rayni Williams and Branden Williams, said the restoration was intended to preserve the home’s original character rather than turn it into a completely modern property.“A lot times when people renovate houses, in turns into making it as modern and functional as it could possibly be, but this feels more like a continuation of a feeling and a style that was just coming into fruition when L.A. was becoming its own,” Soffer said.
26 redwood sequoias planted on the grounds
Wexler also had 26 redwood sequoias planted at the base of the 0.8-acre grounds. The trees are not expected to become mature enough to have a major landscaping impact for several decades. Wexler said the landscaper warned him that he might not be alive to see them reach that stage.“They will take 40 to 50 years before they’re mature enough to be relevant for landscaping,” Wexler said. “The landscaper said, ‘You’re not going to be alive when those come up,’…but somebody in 50 or 100 years is going to have the shade of those trees and appreciate that somebody, once upon a time, had a vision for the future.”
