Hooray for Hollywood: The Pacman is next door

A LONGWAY FROM GENSAN People flock to this Beverly Hills house and take selfies. The grand estate with the spiral staircase is the latest acquisition of boxing legend Manny Pacquiao, who snapped up the Beverly Hills mansion that used to belong to rapper Diddy back when he and Jennifer Lopez were still together. Pacquiao said he liked the property, with its semicircular pool (right photo) and “quiet location.” It has seven bedrooms aside from themaster’s suite. AQUILES Z. ZONIO/INQUIRER MINDANAO

LOS ANGELES—In his Forbes Park mansion in Makati City, world boxing champ Manny Pacquiao had the Philippines’ richest families for neighbors; in his new home in Beverly Hills, he will be within shouting distance of the world’s rich and famous, including A-listers and Hollywood celebrities like singer-songwriter Gwen Stefani and movie star Hilary Duff.

The house next door used to belong to pop performer Britney Spears, said the boxer’s close friend and real estate agent Nick Enciso, who had sealed the deal on Pacquiao’s 930-square-meter (10,000-square-foot) mansion in the gated community known as The Summit.

The Summit, so called because of its elevation, is located in the Beverly Hills Post Office area and has a 24-hour security and car patrol. It also comes with the coveted Beverly Hills 90210 zip code.

This section of Los Angeles adjacent to Beverly Hills on the north has long been known as a celebrity-filled neighborhood, Enciso said of Century 21 Classic Estates, which specializes in high-end properties.

Home prices in The Summit generally start at $3 million and can go as high as $14 million, depending on the building’s condition, lot features, the view and square footage, Enciso said.

CAR-CHOKED Several cars, including a Cadillac Escalade (right), crowd the cobblestoned driveway of the Manny Pacquiao estate in Beverly Hills. AQUILES Z. ZONIO/INQUIRER MINDANAO

Asking price: $12.5M

Pacquiao’s soon-to-be home has one of the biggest lot areas and interior footage in the neighborhood. Its asking price was $12.5 million.

There are about 80 luxury homes in the modest-sized gated community made up of only six streets, Enciso said. The homes feature an eclectic mix of architectural styles, including Mediterranean, colonial, traditional, Tudor and contemporary.

The escrow process, which takes place between the time when the seller accepts the purchase offer and the buyer gets the keys to the new house, will start very soon, according to Enciso.

“If everything goes smoothly, Pacquiao would be able to move in within a month, just before his May 2 megafight with Floyd Mayweather Jr. in Las Vegas,” he added.

Enciso said the two-story Pacquiao mansion, which used to be owned by record producer and entrepreneur Sean John Combs, also known as Diddy, was the third property that the boxer visited and considered for purchase in the Beverly Hills area.

“Manny knew it was what he wanted as soon as he entered the mansion,” recalled the real estate agent. It was supposed to be a surprise gift to his wife, Sarangani Vice Gov. Jinkee Pacquiao, and their children.

Pacquiao’s neighbors, Gwen Stefani, husband Gavin Rossdale and their three children live in a six-bedroom, 836-square-meter (9,001-square-foot) mansion, which the singer purchased in 2006 for $13.25 million, according to public records.

The house was purchased from hospitality mogul Sam Nazarian, who bought it in 2004 for $12.5 million from Diddy’s former girlfriend, Jennifer Lopez.

Originally posted as of 4:48 PM | Wednesday, March 18, 2015

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