Beverly Hills Tennis Court Teardowns: Big Lots, Bigger Potential
Why flat land in 90210 is gold, and what buyers should know before chasing the dream estate.
If you're shopping for a tennis court property in Beverly Hills, you're not just buying land — you're buying leverage. In a market where the land is often more valuable than the home sitting on it, flat, 30,000+ sq ft lots are rare and increasingly coveted. While new builds in the Flats routinely ask $25–35M, there’s a quiet opportunity hiding behind the hedges of some older estates: teardowns.
Take the former home of Jackie Collins (📍clarifying note: the author is deceased and not the current seller), now offered at $14,850,000. The property sits on over 30,000 sq ft — with a full-size tennis court — on the lower 600 block of North Beverly Drive. While it’s still a premium address, the price likely reflects its busy through-street location (a common path between Coldwater Canyon and the Beverly Hills shopping district), and the need for substantial renovation or rebuild.
Based on current zoning estimates, a lot of this size may support a newly built home of approximately 13,500 sq ft, plus additional space for garage or guest house, pending city approval.
⚠️ Buyers must verify all development potential with the City of Beverly Hills. Planning rules, overlays, and setbacks vary by parcel and are subject to change.
Comparable sales tell a story:
📍620 N Beverly – 35K lot, sold for $27M
📍813 Alpine – 22K lot, sold for $24M
📍622 Elm – ~16.5K lot, closed at $19.9M
📍619 Arden – 34K double lot, off-market deal at $35M
So why is the Collins property priced so much lower? Could be a combination of factors: traffic flow, renovation need, or zoning constraints. If it’s designated as a historic property or falls under Beverly Hills Architectural Review, your options may be limited — buyers should always consult the city planning department (start at beverlyhills.org) and do their own due diligence.
But if you can build? The land could support a substantial new construction estate with an ADU or guest house — depending on set-back, height, and FAR (floor-area-ratio) requirements as of April 9, 2025.
Some seasoned buyers say never buy new in Beverly Hills — you’ll pay top dollar for someone else’s taste. Rebuilding from scratch, on the right lot, can save you millions and give you exactly what you want. Just know: land like this doesn’t come around often, and when it does, it rarely has a tennis court already on site.
