A new owner has big plans for the Dallas Preston Hollow mansion once owned by businessman Tom Hicks.
Only a privileged few have passed through the gates of the property on Hollow Way Road north of Walnut Hill Lane near the Dallas North Tollway.
Now, developer Mehrdad Moayedi has just closed on the Crespi Estate — once listed at more than $100 million — for a bargain price of $36.2 million.
"And, as you can see, it's a pretty stately house," Moayedi said on an exclusive tour for NBC 5.
The Crespi Estate has 28,996-square feet of living space with 10 bedrooms, 12 full bathrooms, five half bathrooms, 11 fireplaces and two wet bars. It includes a 3,000-square foot guest house and large pool house with a movie theater in the basement.
The original house was built in 1938 for Italian Count Pio Crespi when he came to North Texas to oversee his family's cotton empire. Over the years, it has been improved and expanded.
Hicks added a large ballroom on the first floor of the main house, with a large master bedroom suite above. The suite has two enormous his-and-hers closets.
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A creek runs through the back of the property, and a neighbor beyond the rear wall is former President George W. Bush.
"We're proud, obviously, of having President Bush as a neighbor," Moayedi said. "It's a big deal for us."
Moayedi completed a $220 million, three-year renovation of the Dallas Statler Hotel last year. His firm is involved with a River Walk development in Flower Mound and recently purchased the Mesquite Rodeo. He plans to transform the Mesquite Arena into a year-round entertainment venue for events and concerts with a mixed-use restaurant and residential development beside it.
Moayedi is also buying the Dawson State Jail building on Commerce Street with plans to make it a homeless shelter. His company, Centurion American Development, has other large residential projects underway around North Texas. It has completed many in the past.
But Moayedi does not plan to live in the Crespi Estate.
"It's kind of big," he said. "That would be my last option."
The developer saw the 26 acres of mostly vacant land at the site as a tremendous opportunity in Preston Hollow.
He plans to update and flip the main house, along with the guest house, pool house and 11 acres of land around it for an asking price of around $29 million.
Then, he plans to divide the remaining land into five large lots with gated access for new mansions.
"We're going to have five of the most premier builders in Dallas all come and kind of showcase their talents in the houses," he said.
He expects competition from high-end vendors to equip and decorate the homes for a top of the line tour of homes to benefit charity.
"These things usually get 60, 70-thousand people going through them, because it's nonprofit," Moayedi said.
Soon, visitors may receive a temporary welcome through the Crespi Estate gates on Hollow Way Road.
Large as that estate is, two other homes are larger in Dallas County, according to the Central Appraisal District.
Developer Harlan Crow's home on Preston Road in Highland Park is listed at 34,255-square feet, the largest in Dallas County records.
The appraisal district records the Strait Lane home of billionaire Richard Malouf at 29,216-square feet, but out-buildings bring the property up to 32,500-square feet in county records. It was listed for sale last year at 37,000-square feet, which would edge out Crow for the top spot, with an asking price of $32 million, according to the Dallas Business Journal.
A new Crespi Estate owner would have remaining land available on the site to compete for the county's largest square footage should they wish to do so.
