LUXURY HOMES

ALTHOUGH THE EXACT PRICE IS undisclosed, the real estate industry is abuzz over the recent sale of 6909 Vassar Avenue, the residence of Bea and T. Boone Pickens, to Terry Worrell or” Worrell Investments, Inc. Rumor has h that T. Boone came off his asking price or $8.9 million by several million. Even so, and though it’s early in die year, this residential sale is still likely to be the largest in 1996. The house, built in 1937 and extensively renovated in 1989, features six bedrooms, eight full baths, five half baths, and a luxurious master suite with his-and-her master baths. A hidden, electronic stairway connects the third story suite to a “lady’s closet” for convenient, out-of-season storage. And that’s just the main house. Also on the 2.3-acre estate are a security gatehouse with two rooms and a full bath, attached three-car garage and detached four-car garage, two apartment suites for staff (all with creek views}, and a spectacular swimming pool with a waterfall and gazebo. Another nifty detail is the 18th-century French ceiling in the receiving area, which came from Mexico and was stored for 60 years before finding its way to University Park. Needless to say, there weren’t a lot of serious lookers at this price, The house was sold by Becky Thweatt of Ellen Terry Realtors.

TWO ADJACENT PROPERTY OWN-ers in the Bluffview area, whose properties sit at the highest point in Near North Dallas, have put their houses on the market simultaneously. Philanthropist Nancy Ham-on has listed her house and approximately 3.48 acres at 4738 Shadywood Lane for sale at $1.75 million. Her neighbor Betty Hudson, chairman of the advisory board of the women’s board of the Dallas Opera, has listed her2.9-acre property and house at 4722 Shadywood Lane at $1,895 million. Dave Perry-Miller has the Hamon listing and Betty Leavell has the Hudson listing. Both Realtors are with Abio, Adleta & Poston.



THERE’S A NEW TREND IN THE sale and marketing of highest-end residential property: buying the house next door to increase the privacy of your own property In December, Cinemark owners LeRoy and Tandy Mitchell bought 9747 Audubon Place, off Inwood Road, from Ben Noble for $1 million to add to their prop-em’ next door. The house, originally listed at $1.95 million, was designed in die ’50s by Harwood K. Smith, the architect whose HKS firm later became known for its designs of many of Dallas’ modem, glass-skinned office buildings. The house on Audubon is even signed by the architect and certainly has a prominent place in Dallas architectural history. However, the 1.38 acres the house sits upon were more likely the stronger selling point. Dave Perry-Miller of Abio, Adleta & Poston Realtors had the listing and Patricia Stampley of Coldwell Banker Paula Stringer Realtors represented the Mitchells.



FILE THIS ONE IN THE “THOSE crazy kids” category. In 1991. Maureen and Robert W. Decherd (chairman and president of A.H. Belo Corporation, parent company of The Dallas Morning News) built a custom house at 9639 Hollow Way (north of Park Lane and west of the Tollway), and apparently had so much Inn that they want to do it all over again. They listed the property at $4.2 million, and sold it for $2.7 million in August 1994 to Roger Linquist, himself a major mover and shaker in the communications industry and founder of Pagemart, Inc. Then the Dech-erds built another multi-million dollar house in the same neighborhood-at 5520 Diane Drive. The Hollow Way sale ranks as the second-largest in 1994. Pam Mc-Cutchin of Abio, Adleta & Poston had the listing and Betty Leavell of the same firm represented the buyers.