(Bloomberg) -- A beachfront mansion in Malibu, California, which was custom designed as a family sanctuary for the late women’s rights activist Peg Yorkin, is hitting the market for $29.85 million.
The seven-bed, eight-bath property, perched above La Costa Beach on a rare 90-foot (27-meter) waterfront lot, was Yorkin’s retreat and a gathering place for her family. Yorkin, who passed away last year at age 96, spent decades fighting for women’s issues, most notably through her advocacy for the availability of mifepristone, often referred to as the morning-after pill.
She was one of the founders of Feminist Majority Foundation, which was started in 1987, and campaigned for women’s reproductive rights and equality. Her advocacy work remains especially resonant as debates over abortion access intensified in the wake of the Supreme Court’s overturning of Roe v. Wade in 2022, becoming a focal point in this year’s election campaign.
Chris Cortazzo, a Compass Inc. agent who’s listing the property with Jay Rubenstein, highlighted the home’s timeless architecture, huge spaces for entertaining and its relatively close proximity to Los Angeles. “It checks a lot of the boxes,” he said.
Malibu’s allure for Hollywood celebrities, tech moguls and high-net-worth individuals makes it one of the country’s priciest real estate markets. In September, only two Malibu Beach properties traded hands, with a median sale price of $21.75 million, according to brokerage Douglas Elliman Real Estate.
Cortazzo noted that potential buyers include San Francisco tech elites, Texans seeking summer retreats, and Los Angeles residents looking to avoid that city’s higher transfer-tax rates. “We’re a magnet,” Cortazzo said.
While home sales typically slow down during the year-end holiday season, the rising stock market, falling interest rates and general post-election bullishness signal this is a good time to list a property in Malibu, Cortazzo said.
Renowned for its surf breaks and balmy weather, Malibu is also exposed to wildfires, including a wind-whipped blaze that charred more than 30 acres and scorched three homes near Pepperdine University last week, and temporarily closed part of the Pacific Coast Highway in the area.
Yorkin began spending time in Malibu in the 1970s with her two children and then-husband, Bud Yorkin, a co-producer with Norman Lear of such television series as All in the Family, Sanford and Son and Maude. Neighbors included actors Lloyd Bridges and Ryan O’Neal and music titans Henry Mancini and Berry Gordy, according to her children. Peg Yorkin worked as a theatrical producer and became a philanthropist for women’s rights after her divorce in the 1980s.
Architect Buzz Yudell designed Yorkin’s Malibu home, completed in 1999, as a sun-splashed getaway for her children and grandchildren. The kitchen spills onto a living room and a dining room with a massive table where the family made a tradition of gathering for holidays and annual events, such as the Fourth of July and Academy Awards watch parties. Floor-to-ceiling sliding glass doors open onto the Pacific Ocean-facing outdoor deck with more lounging and dining space and a massive fireplace.
Yorkin spent much of her time in her home office with a view that feels “like being in a ship,” said her son David Yorkin, a music industry entrepreneur. “All you see is water or sky.”
Yorkin’s children are selling the property because they haven’t been able to enjoy it since her passing.
“It’s sort of like she was the house,” according to her daughter Nicole Yorkin, a television writer and producer. “It’s one of the last pieces of our mother we’re having to let go.”
(Updates with comment from Cortazzo in seventh paragraph.)
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