See 1914 estate linked to Bay Area banking and media families. Price: $13.5 million
Built in 1914, a stately Georgian Revival-style residence in the Bay Area that was home to titans in financing and newspapers has hit the market for $13.5 million.
The eight-bed, seven-bath estate — located at 233 West Santa Inez Avenue, in upscale Hillsborough — was built by Edward J. Tobin, whose San Francisco financing family founded Hibernia Bank. The Tobin Clark community in Hillsborough bears the family name.
Later, the mansion, spanning 9,856 square feet, was home to Randolph Hearst, heir to publisher William Randolph Hearst, who built Hearst Castle.
The home is now owned by businessman Adrian Bellamy and his wife Penny Bellamy. Adrian served as a director of companies such as the Gap and Williams-Sonoma, and as chairman of Gucci, according to information from Compass real estate firm, which carries the listing.
The couple bought the home in 1984, renovated the space and raised their four children there, according to a property fact sheet. The couple have hosted foundation dinners, cocktail parties, weddings, baby showers, graduation parties, birthday parties, and other events on the grand property.
Adrian Bellamy said in a statement that he fell in love with “the bones of the house ... the high ceilings, the external perspective, and the layout.”
“It was a very similar home to the one we loved and lived in South Africa, and it was big enough to fit our four children,” Penny Bellamy added. “The house was the sort of thing that Adrian likes. He likes projects and renewing things back to the way they once were.”
The estate features fine details and craftsmanship throughout a light-filled floor plan.
“A sense of balance and symmetry are hallmarks of this home’s design and it starts at the formal entrance hall,” according to the listing. “From the front door, your eye is immediately drawn across the large room and out to the gardens—tall French doors and transom windows let sunshine and shadows dance through the space.”
A graceful stairway leads to an upper level, where there’s a library and office. Past the foyer lies a grand living room that expands into a garden room. Multiple sets of tall French doors in each room in this wing of the house lead to neatly landscaped grounds.
Across from the living room is a dining salon, a fireplace, stunning chandeliers, and French doors that open to an expansive patio. There is also access from here to a family room with a theater-size television.
The modernized eat-in kitchen has a breakfast/sitting room for everyday meals.
A second stair leads to the second and third levels of the house, where there are multiple spacious bedrooms and a private master bedroom wing.
The third level features two bedrooms, a bath, office/den and a yoga and play space.
There is a private staff apartment with a bedroom, bath, and kitchen, and a wine cellar, a workshop and storage on the lower level.
Outside, the grounds in back feature an expansive patio with two large white pergolas that run the width of the home, beautiful gardens with walkways , an imported hand-carved stone fountain, rose beds, groves of redwoods, a sparkling pool and level lawn.
“I feel sad about selling because it’s been our home for so long, we haven’t ever lived anywhere else longer than we have lived here by a country mile,” Adrian Bellamy notes. “My hopes for the house going forward is that a family finds it and can make it their home. It is a happy, family home.”
Alicia Sanguinetti and Andrew Greenman of Compass are the listing agents.
Hillsborough was No. 18 on Forbes’ 2014 list of the wealthiest U.S. ZIP codes. The business publication calculated the median home price at $3.8 million.
Famous residents who have called the town their home include Bing Crosby; George Tupou V, king of Tonga; diet guru Jenny Craig; and former MLB players J.T. Snow, Rickey Henderson and Greg Maddux.
This story was originally published March 13, 2021 at 5:00 AM.
