A palatial Dallas estate built during the Great Depression is on the market for $64 million, with its price tag ranking as the most expensive home listing in the Lone Star State.
But for all its grandeur, it also has disarming charm, the listing agents say.
"It's so spacious and lovely, but very livable," said Diane Duvall of Briggs Freeman Sotheby's International Realty, in an interview.
The listing is the highest in Texas for a home, according to Duvall and Homes.com data. A ranch property with a one-bedroom home on it near Austin, Texas, is listed at $110 million but is classified as land.
The 10-bedroom, French-style home has more than 27,000 square feet in the main house and also features a 3,300-square-foot guest house and a 4,800-square-foot entertainment pavilion with a 19-seat theater, according to the listing on Homes.com. The grounds include a waterfall, trails and a creek.
"You don't feel like you're in Dallas," said Pogir Pogir, also of Briggs Freeman and the co-listing agent with Duvall.
The Dallas metropolitan area, with a population of 8.1 million, is the fastest-growing region in the nation, according to the most recent figures from the U.S. Census Bureau. The area consistently attracts well-heeled entrepreneurs, investors, celebrities and athletes, and any of those are potential buyers, Pogir said.
A house with luxury amenities
The property has 17 bathrooms, including half baths, according to the listing. The master suite is more than 3,000 square feet and includes a terrace.
A grand salon is ideal for hosting parties and other large events, the agents say. Other amenities include: a sensory-deprivation float tank, a steam room, greenhouses and a heliport.
The seller, a trust, is the fifth owner of the home and listed it for sale in 2023 at $60 million, a price tag that included three adjacent lots totaling nearly four acres. The following year, the price was lowered to $47 million but did not include the lots.
Pogir and Duvall acquired the listing last week. In their presentation to the seller, the agents said they recommended again including the adjacent land to make the offering a total of 15.687 acres. They believe the buyer would insist on knowing that nothing could be built there.
"We felt very strongly that the buyer would want to have that control," Duvall said.
Count Pio Crespi, an Italian cotton baron, built the home in 1938. Designed by Swiss architect Maurice Fatio, it later hosted U.S. presidents and such dignitaries as Coco Chanel and the Duke and Duchess of Windsor, according to the listing.
Previous owner made major upgrades
Billionaire investor Tom Hicks owned the estate from 1997 to 2017, embarking on a massive and much-needed renovation project to enlarge the main house and make it more luxurious, the agents said. Hicks is the former owner of the Dallas Stars NHL team and the Texas Rangers Major League Baseball team.
As part of a renovation that spanned three years and included more than 250 workers, Hicks had a 19th century Italian library made of walnut and burl wood moved into the home from Europe and reconstructed from scratch, according to Pogir.
Crespi built the estate with limestone from an Indiana quarry. Decades later, Hicks reopened the quarry to use the same stone in adding the guest house and pavilion, Pogir said. All three structures total about 44,000.
Pogir and Duvall say it's impossible to estimate how long a luxury sale might take. They are marketing the listing through Sotheby's international network of high-net-worth individuals.
While it's not uncommon for some consumers to buy houses sight unseen, Pogir said it's important for the buyer of the Crespi estate to have a lengthy tour to see the details and finishes in person.
"That way they get an understanding of what they're purchasing," he said. "It's something very special."