When the Walnut Place Estate — the former Crespi Estate — sold at auction last year, it went for a record $36.2 million, and to a familiar buyer — Dallas developer Mehrdad Moayedi. Word came this week that Moayedi has finished up some renovations, and has put it back on the market for a cool $38.5 million.
The Dallas Business Journal has details of the listing, which is not on MLS. Allie Beth Allman and Kyle Crews have the listing for the 28,000-square-foot, 10-bedroom, 12-bath mansion that was once listed for a whopping $135 million.
The mansion was home to former Dallas Stars and Texas Rangers owner Tom Hicks, before he sold to Andy Beal, who then put it up for auction with Concierge Auctions, which led to Moayedi’s opportunity to snap up the property.
When Moayedi bought the home, Candy had details.
“As expected, the new owner, Mehrdad Moayedi, CEO of Centurion American Development Group, plans to develop the 25.5 acre property surrounding the original Crespi estate,” Candy wrote. “Italian-born Dallas cotton trader Pio Crespi built the Italianate estate and Maurice Fatio was the original architect. The house was totally rebuilt and substantially and cautiously enlarged over a period of years by Tom and Cinda Hicks, starting in 2000. Sources tell me that plans were drawn and presented to potential bidders showing how the property could be subdivided.”
“Mehrdad says he will leave ten acres for the main house, the Crespi estate, with five houses (likely by Centurian Development), erected along Walnut Hill Lane,” she continued. “The area is zoned for one-acre minimum lots. Tom Hicks had actually purchased and demolished homes fronting Walnut Hill Lane to enlarge his estate.”
At the time, Moayedi said he would name the area Crespi Estates, and the main estate house would be on 10 acres, if he went that route. But he also hinted at the time he might keep the mansion.
“Mehrdad could recoup a hefty portion of his purchase price of $36.2 million if he can get twenty homes on the property, but the terrain may not cooperate: there are creeks and ponds, and the deepest part of the estate may need to connect for egress with another Dallas street, say, hmm, Daria Place,” Candy said.
The DBJ’s Bill Hethcock indicates that Moayedi hewed fairly closely to that plan, since the estate now sits on 14 acres, with new luxury home sites planned for the remaining 10 acres.
Candy wrote about her tour through the home when it was first listed in 2015. Hethcock said that Moayedi renovated the main house and reworked the grounds, and put in a new entry, landscaping and winding drive. The mansion estate still includes a 3,300-square-foot guest house and a 4,800-square-foot pool house.
We’ll have more about the listing soon.
