Featured Image Credit: Alamy
Topics: Celebrity, Los Angeles
Hannah Smith
A multi-million dollar unfinished mega-mansion built by Mohamed Hadid, the father of supermodels Gigi and Bella Hadid, is being torn down after a years-long battle with neighbours.
New photos show demolition crews at work on the site of the unfinished Bel Air mansion, which Hadid had once hoped to sell for $100 million.
After buying the land in 2011 for $2 million, Hadid set to work building the extravagant hillside home, which he described as 'a rare opportunity to build a world class estate featuring views of the city and surrounding canyon'.
But he was soon facing complaints from residents after it was revealed that the home's planned dimensions were more than double the size permitted by Los Angeles building regulations.
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Neighbours filed legal action saying they feared the property could collapse, with Hadid's architect expressing his own fears that the construction 'will slide down the hill and kill someone'.
Now, images published by the Daily Mail reveal that tarpaulin sheets and netting have been installed around the property to prevent rubble from the demolition from falling into neighbouring properties, as diggers and cherry pickers are seen at work on site.
Demolition began last month after developers Sahara Construction paid $8.5 million to take the site off the hands of Hadid, who had claimed he was unable to pay the $5 million it would cost to knock the property down.
The California Supreme Court had previously upheld an order given by Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Craig D. Karlan for the property to be demolished, labelling the building a 'clear and present' danger to the public.
The verdict came three years after Hadid was sentenced to 200 hours community service, fined $3,000 and ordered to pay the city costs of $14,000 for illegally building the home.
At a court hearing in 2019, Hadid said that he was facing $60 million in losses from the property, approximately half of which was his own money, with the rest in loans. His company, 901 Strada Ltd, filed for bankruptcy just days after the demolition order was issued.
"I've moved on with my life – that's all behind me now,'"Hadid, 73, said following the sale. "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."
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