Car Collector Magnus Walker Lists Downtown L.A. Live-Work Building for About $20 Million
A 26,000-square-foot live-work warehouse building in downtown Los Angeles, owned for almost 25 years by bon vivant former fashion designer and inveterate car collector Magnus Walker—one of the largest collectors of Porsches in the world—has zoomed onto the market with an asking price of around $20 million.
Walker initially housed his Serious Clothing company in the building—the brand was popular in the L.A. music scene and worn by everyone from Gwen Stefani to Alice Cooper and Madonna—but later converted it to a live-work space through an adaptive reuse program. It wasn’t long after acquiring the property that Walker fell into the film location business, and Walker told Robb Report that “Filming was a happy accident. We saw the opportunity to build something into a pretty lucrative film location business for the next 10-12 years.” Since then, the building has been the site of numerous films, commercials and videos for Kevin Costner, Mary J. Blige and The Eagles.
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The two-story brick building, which dates to 1903, occupies three parcels over two lots with multiple street frontages and a heavy-duty gate that opens to a courtyard parking area with room for up to a dozen cars. Indeed, Walker has filled the courtyard with a gleaming selection of his vast collection, including a vintage Rolls Royce and a couple of ‘70s-era Corvettes.
Raw and industrial, the cavernous and rambling interior spaces have exposed brick walls, patinated wood floors, a functioning freight elevator, soaring ceilings punctuated by skylights, and enormous south-facing casement windows that fill the upper level with sunlight.
A massive roll-up door allows cars to be driven right into the building. In one section of the ground floor, a brilliant blue Pininfarina Battista is on display, while another area serves as a garage and workshop where Walker, famous for never selling a Porsche once it comes into his possession, keeps more than a dozen collectible versions of his favorite automotive brand.
Making for an easy commute to his workshop and studio on the ground floor, the 11,200-square-foot upper level served as Walker’s bohemian residence, which he described as “a mini Hearst Castle/English stately home mixed with midcentury modernism and 60/70s furniture pieces.”
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In addition to an enclosed courtyard garden enveloped in lush greenery, flaming bougainvillea and fragrant night-blooming jasmine, the building’s prairie-sized rooftop offers 360-degree vistas over the city, including an up-close view of the downtown skyline.
The number of bedrooms and bathrooms found throughout the massive structure is available by request via Tori Horowitz and Rinat Greenberg of Canyonhaus at Compass as well as through Geoff Anenberg at Normal Properties.
Click here for more photos of Magnus Walker’s live/work building.
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