Sierra Star Lake Tahoe - Exclusively Offered By Chase International

Commerce One Founder Lists Expansive Lakefront Tahoe Estate

Collector's Garage and Estate Offered at $49.9 Million Listing

INCLINE VILLAGE, Nev. (Sept. 6, 2011) - Tahoe's lakefront homes come with an array of unique amenities and features - distinctive architecture, aquamarine crystal waters, private shoreline enclaves, and on occasion, a 30-car collector's garage. At least that's one of the many perks to Incline Village's Sierra Star estate, which was recently listed by the Donovan Group of Chase International Real Estate on behalf of the owner and Commerce One co-founder Tom Gonzales for $49,900,000.

Sierra Star Lake Tahoe Estate Located on Lakeshore Drive, the 4.3-acre property was accumulated through land acquisitions over several years by Gonzales who began purchasing the property lot by lot in August 1999. He took down five homes in the process, left three standing, and then added the Carriage House, a 12,000-square-foot collector's garage with 2,500 square feet of living space above. Interested buyers can purchase the entire estate, which comes with four homes and 330 feet of shoreline, two private piers, two buoys, or buy any combination of the five parcels, including one lakefront vacant lot with private pier.

Gonzales worked closely with Gary Pulver, owner of Incline Village's Pulver Construction, in the design and construction of the prized Carriage House. The 30-car garage sits just inside the main gate of 1131 Lakeshore Drive, and was built specifically for his extensive collection of rare cars and motorcycles.

"I was 100 percent involved in the planning and execution of the Carriage House," Gonzales said. "It's pretty unique in that it is comprised of two levels including a 12 x 60 foot elevator. It serves as a collector's garage and is large enough to accommodate nine parked buses underground."

"Sierra Star Lake Tahoe is an amazing place to enjoy the lifestyle on Lake Tahoe's shoreline," said Kerry Donovan, of Chase International's Donovan Group, who is listing the five-parcel property.

Nestled in one of North America's greatest natural playgrounds, Gonzales has great appreciation in the estate grounds. The properties were pulled together with several walkways and trails to create a park-like setting with aspens, maples, pine trees, and a majestic 90,000-gallon man-made waterfall.

"The property has so many amazing aspects," Gonzales said. "It's beautiful beyond words, with lifts on both piers, a private beach - it's everything you want at Lake Tahoe."

While Sierra Star had previously been available as a private sale, there is a new price which has been adjusted by more than 15 percent. The estate can be sold to five different buyers for five different properties said Chase International listing agent Megan Warren who describes Sierra Star as an incredible opportunity to establish a family legacy in Lake Tahoe.

"There are three lakefront-properties (and one ready to build lot), but overall it's a magnificent piece of land including a beach bungalow on the pier - you just don't see that anymore," Warren said. "It's absolutely priceless as a family compound."

The individual parcels include the Park View House ($6.9 million), a 4,277-square-foot home with 29 feet of lake frontage and a private entrance from Pine Cone Circle. The Main House is located on one acre and boasts 10,695 square feet, seven bedrooms and eight-and-a-half bathrooms for $14.9 million. The Lakeview House is offered for $9.3 million and is situated on half an acre with 63 feet of lake frontage. A build-able lot with 100 feet of sandy beach and private pier is available for $9.9 million and the Carriage House with collector's garage is offered for $8.9 million.

"Sierra Star is a construct-your-own lakefront estate to fit your specific lifestyle," said Debbie Hansen, listing agent of Chase International. "You can see all the attention to detail the minute you step on to the property."

For more information about Sierra Star, contact Chase International's Donovan Group, luxury home and lakefront specialist (Kerry Donovan, Megan Warren and Debbie Hansen) at www.Inclinevillagelife.com, kdonovan@chaseinternational.com, or call 775-750-2190.

Headquartered in Lake Tahoe, Nevada since 1986, with eight offices in the region (Zephyr Cove, Glenbrook, Incline Village, Tahoe City, Squaw Valley, Truckee, South Lake Tahoe and Reno) and one in London, England, Chase International and its exclusive affiliations handles a large share of the country's property. A recognized leader in the world of real estate, Chase International continues to grow, having added 65 Realtors® to their ranks in the past twelve months.

With 250 professional Realtors® boasting an array of industry certifications and the highest volume per sales agent in the area, Chase International successfully represents homes at all price levels. For more information about Chase International, visit www.ChaseInternational.com

Sierra Star In The News

Lake Tahoe Real Estate Sees Rise In Million Dollar Home Sales

CBS Sacramento

Home sales are on the rise across California, and the number of homes sold across the state jumped 2.7 percent in January over the same time a year ago.

$49.9 Million Lake Tahoe Compound Being Offered as Individual Parcels

Juliet Chung - The Wall Street Journal online, August 19, 2011

A 4.35-acre Lake Tahoe, Nev., compound is being offered for sale as separate lots. It was previously listed as a single property for $49.9 million, the second-most expensive listing in the area.

Owner Tom Gonzales, who co-founded Silicon Valley software company Commerce One, first listed the Incline Village estate, known as "Sierra Star," in 2007 for $65 million. The largest parcel measures 1½ acres and has the main, 10,500-square-foot home and 150 feet of frontage on Lake Tahoe. Another lakefront parcel is undeveloped but has a pier; two other parcels with lake frontage have 4,500-square-foot homes. The last parcel has a 12,000-square-foot collector's garage and a 2,500-square-foot home above. The asking prices for the five lots total $49.9 million.

Mr. Gonzales, 55, spent five years assembling the property and building or renovating the buildings. He planned to use the compound, where he lives now, for his family's primary residence but says he now wants to downsize and spend more time in Florida. (He also is trying to sell a home in Fort Lauderdale for $19.9 million.) Commerce One, a San Francisco business-to-business software company, filed for bankruptcy in 2004; Mr. Gonzales is in the land-development business these days.

"This is where people come to relax and play with their toys," says listing broker Kerry Donovan of Chase International, who adds that activity in the $10 million range has recently outpaced that in the $20 million range. Susan Rindley of Sotheby's International Realty represents Mr. Gonzales.

Read the rest of this article at WSJ.com

Real Estate: Small group owns nearly 40 percent of Incline Village's lakefront property

Yun Long - The Wall Street Journal online, Sep. 16, 2011

Of the 105 Incline Village lots that border Lake Tahoe, 40, or nearly 40 percent of available property, are controlled by just 15 owners.

Billionaires and millionaires have flocked to Lake Tahoe to build estates for decades. But the recession has presented additional opportunities for those who long to build a private, mega-compound at the lake.

"If you find the location that you love and that you are really drawn to, you might or might not have the opportunity to expand on that land," said Kerry Donovan, a Chase International broker. "Many want to expand their privacy, and more people want more acreage -- not less."

Most Lake Tahoe parcels already have buildings on them. Some luxury homebuyers tear down existing structures and build an estate that suits their taste.

"It's a lot easier to start from scratch sometimes," Donovan said.

Those with the means have long been acquiring Lake Tahoe property to build compounds and dream homes. In 1987, businessman Warren Trepp bought seven homes and then proceeded to razed them to build a 8,000-square foot residence. Junk-bond king Michael Milken, casino mogul Steven Wynn and many from Silicon Valley such as PeopleSoft Inc. chief David Duffield and Oracle CEO Larry Ellison followed.
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Million Dollar Rooms 106

Peek inside the world's most amazing Million Dollar Rooms! From HGTV.com

Sierra Star is featured on HGTV.com in an article titled "Million Dollar Rooms 106". Watch the video to see a tour of the upper garage, car elevator and lower underground garage.

Click here to see the HGTV article, and watch the video.

World's most over-the-top garage cost $6 million, has a hydraulic elevator

By Jeremy Korzeniewski RSS feed, Posted Apr 11th 2012 7:29PM, autoblog.com

There's nothing at all wrong with spending a large sum of money on a nice garage. After all, you need a good, safe place to keep your two- and four-wheeled belongings, right? And, assuming you've got the disposable income and lots of toys, we suppose even a multi-million-dollar garage is within the boundaries of acceptability... even if that's 25 times the average cost of a new home in America.

...click to read the rest of this article on Autoblog.com