Cannabis entrepreneur Ori Bytton is asking $38 million for a Los Angeles mansion with a custom smoking room.
Mr. Bytton, 36, hails from Israel and is the founder of the cannabis products company Natura Life Science. He acquired the Bel-Air site in 2014 for $1.775 million, records show, and said he intended to build a house there for himself and his family, starting construction in October 2018. The roughly 13,600-square-foot house was finished in the past few weeks, he said. The family never moved in, however, because they have relocated to the Sacramento area, where his company has constructed a large cannabis production campus.
Designed by the South Africa-based architecture studio SAOTA in partnership with local architect and developer David Maman, the house has six bedrooms, according to listing agents Tyrone McKillen of brokerage Official and Rayni and Branden Williams of the Beverly Hills Estates.
The interiors, designed by Antwerp-based Dieter Vander Velpen Architects, are defined by the use of natural materials, the agents said. The entryway features a dramatic floating walkway. Floor-to-ceiling glass doors lead to an ocean-view terrace, an outdoor kitchen, a pool and a hot tub. A roof deck has another large hot tub as well as a bar and dining area. The primary suite has an oversize soaking tub carved from a single block of silver travertine that cost upwards of $160,000, Mr. Bytton said. Between the bedrooms, there is an area that Ms. Williams described as a “pajama lounge,” designed for family movie nights.
A basement entertainment level contains a steam and massage room made from Patagonia Quartzite, a cedar sauna, a gym, a wine cellar and a home theater, as well as the smoking room, which is specifically ventilated.
Mr. Bytton said he likes to play poker with his friends and occasionally smoke a hookah, cannabis or a cigar. “They told me I was crazy to do this,” he said, because it was expensive to install the ventilation systems. He estimated the cost at around $100,000.
The property is one of about 20 L.A. homes by SAOTA, according to a spokesperson for the firm. A nearby house designed by SAOTA recently sold for $60 million, Mr. McKillen said.
Ms. Williams said Mr. Bytton’s property is priced to sell, which is a necessity in today’s market.
L.A. homes have been selling at significant discounts from the asking prices of the past few years. The number of luxury single-family home sales fell almost 52% in the fourth quarter of 2022 from the same period of 2021, according to a report by Douglas Elliman.
“If sellers don’t come out with a price-conscious number, buyers will just wait,” Ms. Williams said. “If sellers are showing signs of being realistic, then buyers will move.” (Full Story)