THE BARON
OF
BLACKHAWK
How do you make a mega-mansion? Ask the Behrings Contra Costa
Oakland Tribune, Jul 14, 2006 by Ben Semmes, STAFF WRITER
BLACKHAWK -- Looking west from Ken and Pat Behring's living room window, Blackhawk's two golf courses and country club are visible. To the north looms Mount Diablo.
"The views are spectacular," said Diane Gilfether, a Realtor with the Blackhawk Real Estate Co. "They did an incredibly tasteful job on it."
Perched on one of the highest points in Blackhawk and designed to resemble Frank Lloyd Wright's "Fallingwater" with an Asian flair, the Behring estate approaches 30,000 square feet under roof when servants' quarters and its two garages are included.
Until the mid-1980s, several years after the Blackhawk community broke ground and the first homes started to appear, the Behrings lived in smaller lodgings down the hill.
In 1985 construction began on what would become the largest private home in Contra Costa County. It took just over two years to build.
The Behrings risked losing their claim for size when plans for PeopleSoft founder David Duffield's 72,000-square-foot mansion in Alamo were made public last year. But Duffield's future neighbors blanched at the possibility of having a structure almost 20,000 square feet larger than the White House in their backyards. The project was subsequently scaled back to less than 20,000 square feet.
Driving up to the Behring estate today, you must pass through three gates -- the one at the entrance of Blackhawk, a second to enter an elite subsection of the development that the mega-mansion shares with about a dozen other homes, and a third in front of the home itself.
Walking toward the estate's front door, visitors pass a large fountain and 6,000 square feet of elaborate gardens landscaped by Kimio Kimura, a San Francisco-based architect who earned his master's degree from the University of California, Berkeley, and designed the Japanese Gardens in Hayward. Trimmed coastal redwoods complement the front yard's goldfish and carp pond to give the estate a decidedly Asian flavor. A swimming pool in the front yard is hidden amid the pond and trees.
The Asian motif continues inside with teakwood ceilings, a cascading water feature in the main hall, walls made of slate -- selected personally by Behring from quarries in Idaho and Utah -- and a number of oriental antiquities.
"To be able to do something like that is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity," said Bill DeBene, of DeBene Builders, the Danville- based company that served as the general contractor for the project. "There were never any budget numbers (Mr. Behring) was concerned about."
The ballroom, the estate's largest room at about 8,000 square feet, serves as the location for parties and fund-raisers. In addition, the room is used as a revolving showcase for Behring's classic car collection. On a recent afternoon, more than half a dozen cars were on display, including a 1964 Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud III convertible.
The estate has six staff members, including caretaker Gina Donovan, who met the Behrings when they had a home in Seattle. With the estate's 17 bathrooms, four guest rooms, tennis courts and a 10,000-bottle wine cellar, there is clearly no shortage of work to be done.
The Behrings' Blackhawk neighbors are wealthy, and most are well- educated. Median household income for the Blackhawk-Camino Tassajara area was $154,598 in 2000, according to Census data.
Surrounded by eminent doctors, lawyers, newscasters and business people, Behring has also led his colleagues and friends to the gated community.
Steve Beinke, a work colleague from Behring's days as a land developer in Florida, lives down the street. Charli Butterfield, the pilot of the DC-9 jet that Behring used for his travels as owner of the Seattle Seahawks, lives in Blackhawk as well. She now serves as
Behring's travel coordinator.
The price the estate would fetch today can only be guessed at.
"A number of my colleagues and I have wondered," said Gilfether, who sold a 13,000-square-foot home down the road recently for about $7.5 million.
Dahlin, who designed the home, said in an e-mail that he couldn't predict what the home would sell for in the current market.
"It is about 30,000 square feet, and I would tell a client today it would cost at least $800 per square foot" for a total well over $20 million, he wrote. "It would take a very special buyer."
Ben Semmes can be reached at (925) 416-4723 or bsemmes@angnewspapers.com.
c2006 ANG Newspapers. Cannot be used or repurposed without prior written permission.Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning Company. All rights Reserved.
ATTENTION:
I did not right this story at all, this is a story that I researched and drove around and viewed for myself. Mr. Behrings Estate is Fabulous. Google Earths shot is the best shot that I could get, without showing any detail or violating anyones privacy.
The main point that I am trying to convey here is.
It must be nice and extremely SERENE to come home to a place as magnificent as this place. Only in America.
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