Anyone who’s dreamed of a nice little piece of land in Marin County overlooking the bay may finally have the chance.
All it’ll take is $110 million — that’s the asking price — and a stomach for legal battles.
The land, called Easton Point, is a 100-acre chunk of open space on a hillside above fabled Paradise Drive in Tiburon. For four decades, owners, neighbors, lawyers and county officials have battled one another over plans to develop it.
It’s said to be the most expensive property ever offered in Marin County. On Friday, it goes on the market.
“This is an amazing opportunity for a qualified buyer,” said real estate agent Lydia Sarkissian, who is representing the Tiburon family that has owned the property for 50 years. “It’s an undulating hillside paradise with endless vistas, golden meadows and breathtaking ridgelines.”
A qualified buyer, she added, should ideally “be worth about $1 billion,” although she would consider showing Easton Point to people of slightly lesser means, but not much lesser.
Along with the breathtaking ridgelines, whoever buys Easton Point will doubtless be acquiring more than a few headaches. Plenty of nearby residents have strong feelings about what happens to it, said Tiburon Town Manager Greg Chanis. The land has been the subject of planning debates and litigation for decades.
The owners’ decision to put the property on the market this week comes three months after a federal judge ruled against them over their development plan.
Sarkissian acknowledged the tract’s litigious history, which will doubtless continue if a new owner persists in plans to subdivide the land.
“The family just wants to sell it and move on,” she said. “In Marin County, people complain about everything. Neighbors will complain if you want to put a new roof on your house.”
Although Easton Point lies just outside Tiburon city limits, the town and a local citizens group have united to challenge efforts to subdivide or develop the property. Chanis said Tiburon would like to see it remain empty, as is, without 42 houses on it.
“We recognize that it’s privately owned, but ideally we would like to see the land preserved as open space,” he said. “This has been on the town’s radar for decades, and the final status has yet to be determined. It’s the subject of active litigation.”
Sarkissian said the current owners would be very happy if a single buyer chose to build a single house on it. That would end the controversy, she surmised. She did point out that, for $110 million, no house is included. Easton Point is empty. Building a house would run an additional $50 million or so, Sarkissian said, because such a house would require “a 10-car garage and several swimming pools and a bocce court” to do the property justice.
Such a buyer, Sarkissian said, would probably be “one of those big high-tech guys” who, like the proverbial yacht buyers, do not need to ask the price, even one that runs nine figures.
At $110 million, the price is reasonable, Sarkissian said. Prospective buyers should call her right away, because a deal this good may not last long.
Would-be buyers must prove the ability to come up with $110 million before Sarkissian will drive them through the two locked gates and onto the property in her Range Rover, the obligatory transport of Marin real estate agents. In other words, no lookie-loos.
“The buyer of Easton Point will not just be well-to-do,” she said. “The buyer will possess wealth that’s beyond just being rich.”
Steve Rubenstein is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: srubenstein@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @SteveRubeSF
Article source: https://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/Want-100-acres-overlooking-San-Francisco-Bay-All-13334246.php
