Santa Monica Canyon, Los Angeles · Provenance Record

Villa Ruchello, 609 East Channel Road

$48,674,649 · recorded 2021

Santa Monica Canyon, CA

A 1932 Mediterranean compound of roughly 14,000 square feet across three structures on 3.35 acres of Santa Monica Canyon, sold for $48,674,649 in a transaction that closed April 19, 2021. Contemporary coverage described it as the highest residential price recorded across Santa Monica, Brentwood and Pacific Palisades at the time.

The seller was Vice Media co-founder Shane Smith, who had paid $23 million for the estate in 2015 and renovated it with designer Kerry Joyce. Santiago Arana of The Agency held the listing and Richard Ehrlich of Westside Estate Agency represented the buyer, who was not identified in press coverage.

Sale Price

$48,674,649

Record Date

April 19, 2021

Status

Closed

Property Type

Single-Family Compound, three structures

Listing Agent(s)

Santiago Arana

Listing Brokerage

The Agency

Buyer’s Agent(s)

Richard Ehrlich

Buyer’s Brokerage

Westside Estate Agency

Ownership Lineage

Every press-verified change of hands on record for this property, in order.

2015

Sold · $23,000,000

Shane Smith buys the Channel Road compound

Vice Media co-founder Shane Smith acquires the estate for $23 million and undertakes a renovation led by designer Kerry Joyce. The property carries thirteen bedrooms across a main house and two guest houses, a 74-foot pool, a pool house, a wine cellar, citrus groves, private wells and full generator systems.

Sources: Los Angeles Times, via Yahoo Finance, The Real Deal

February 2021

Listed · $49,995,000

The compound comes to market at just under $50 million

Smith lists the property with Santiago Arana of The Agency. Coverage at the time set the neighborhood’s prior high at roughly $33.85 million, recorded in 2018.

Sources: The Real Deal

April 19, 2021

Sold · $48,674,649

The estate closes at $48,674,649, an area record

The sale closes at $48,674,649, reported as the highest price recorded between Santa Monica, Brentwood and Pacific Palisades. Santiago Arana of The Agency represented Smith and Richard Ehrlich of Westside Estate Agency represented the buyer, whose identity was not disclosed.

Sources: Palisadian-Post, Los Angeles Times, via Yahoo Finance

Press Citations

Every fact on this page traces to one of these sources.

Los Angeles Times, via Yahoo Finance

Vice’s Shane Smith sells compound for $48.67 million, a Palisades record

The Los Angeles Times reported the $48.67 million sale of Shane Smith’s 14,000-square-foot Santa Monica Canyon compound, named Santiago Arana of The Agency for the seller and Richard Ehrlich of Westside Estate Agency for the buyer, and noted Smith’s $23 million purchase in 2015.

April 2021

Palisadian-Post

Shane Smith Compound Sale Breaks Home Price Record for Palisades

The Palisadian-Post reported the exact recorded price of $48,674,649 and the April 19, 2021 closing date for the 609 East Channel Road compound, and set out the area record it displaced.

April 2021

Cottages & Gardens

Vice’s Shane Smith Breaks Big Records with Santa Monica Home Sale

Reported the sale at roughly $48.6 million, named Shane and Tamyka Smith as sellers, credited the renovation to designer Kerry Joyce, and named both agents on the transaction.

April 2021

Santa Monica Mirror

Vice Media Co-Founder Sells Santa Monica Canyon Estate for Record Price

Confirmed the record-priced sale of the 1932 compound at 609 East Channel Road, describing the thirteen-bedroom estate across three structures on 3.35 acres.

May 2021

The Real Deal

Vice Media co-founder Shane Smith wants $50M for Santa Monica mansion

Covered the February 2021 listing of the Channel Road compound at just under $50 million and Smith’s 2015 purchase at $23 million.

February 2021

How This Record Was Verified

Method
Compiled from published editorial coverage of the listing and the closed sale, with the exact recorded price and closing date taken from the Palisadian-Post.
Open entries
The buyer was not identified in any press coverage and no buying entity is named here. Bathroom counts differ between outlets, at 12.5 and at 13, and outlets disagree on which prior sale held the area record, so neither is asserted. No press source names the architect of the 1932 house.
Sources
The Los Angeles Times via Yahoo Finance, the Palisadian-Post, Cottages & Gardens, the Santa Monica Mirror and The Real Deal, each linked in full above.
Corrections
Unconditional and not contingent on any commercial relationship. See Corrections Policy.