The Hollywood Reporter - 21.08.2019

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THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER 46 AUGUST 21, 2019

PROPERTIES: JASON SPETH (3). EASTWOOD: DAVE BENETT/GETTY IMAGES.

Real Estate

Clint Eastwood’s Carmel Haven

The onetime mayor of the eccentric California community ‘couldn’t afford any mistakes’ with his 90-home

development that protects the region’s wildlife and natural beauty: ‘It’s really come out the way I wanted’

By Peter Kiefer

T

o save the land that he

cherished, Clint Eastwood

knew he had to build some

houses — not too many, but just

enough. The result is Tehama, a

one-of-a-kind community in the

hills above Carmel-by-the-Sea on

California’s Central Coast. This

summer marks the listing of the

final batch of Tehama lots, which

when sold will cement Eastwood’s

singular legacy in the region.

“We thought someone might

take the land and turn it

into a much more congested

area or just not take care

of it,” says Eastwood. “I

thought, someday people

are going to want some pri-

vacy and they’ll get tired of living

crammed in next to each other.

And that’s really it.”

A total of 90 lots are planned

within Tehama, which unfolds

across 2,000 acres of rolling

hills above Monterey Bay (60 lots

have been bought and 30 homes

have been built — including

Eastwood’s). The ratio of homes

to acreage leaves 85 percent of the

land untouched — an expanse of

pristine wilderness where resi-

dents can cohabitate with deer,

fox, turkey and quail. “[Clint’s]

goal was to create enough devel-

opment and economic value that

it would become self-sustaining

and people would take care of it,”

says Alan Williams, Eastwood’s

longtime friend and Tehama’s

other mastermind.

Williams linked up with

Eastwood in the ’80s during the

Oscar winner’s two-year term

as mayor of Carmel. Eastwood

had just purchased the historic

Mission Ranch to save the animal

sanctuary from demolition by

condo developers, and he hired

Williams as a consultant (Mission

Ranch is now a thriving hotel

and restaurant).

Eastwood notes some paral-

lels between filmmaking and

land-use management: “It’s like

directing a film in the sense that

you place things where

you want them to be and

then you pray — a lot. You

pray that you made the

right decisions and that it

comes out looking how you

intended it. I’m pretty confi-

dent in my decisions, but [with

Tehama] I couldn’t afford to make

any mistakes.”

Tehama isn’t offering turn-

key homes but rather land (on a

mix of open meadows, hillsides

and forested areas); seven of

the final 30 lots are for sale and

range in price from $1.5 million

to $6.3 million. Buyers can then

set about building their homes

within community guidelines

(“There is a lot of freedom as

long as the design is respectful

of the site,” says Williams). Each

lot guarantees total privacy, and

residents enjoy access to facili-

ties at the Tehama Golf Course,

including a pool, gym and a res-

taurant (golf club memberships

are not included).

Carmel’s real estate market

has been steadily climbing the

past several years, although the

median selling price so far this

year — $1.76 million — is down

3 percent from 2018. Compass’

Rick Ojeda, who has the listings

in Tehama, says comparing the

property to other parts of Carmel

is like comparing the celebrity-

packed enclave of Beverly Park to

Bel Air. “Don’t get me wrong —

they’re both great,” he says. “But

one is of a different caliber.”

Eastwood, who is shooting The

Ballad of Richard Jewell in Atlanta,

was introduced to Carmel while

filming his directorial debut,

1971’s Play Misty for Me; he named

his production company Malpaso,

after a local creek. The town of

3,900 is not without its throw-

back eccentricities. There are no

street addresses, parking meters

or chain restaurants allowed, and

to wear heels higher than two

inches requires a special permit.

Other than Eastwood, the area

around Monterey hasn’t drawn a

huge number of A-listers, at least

not as owners. But for him, the

region, Tehama in particular, is

an antidote to urban life. “It’s got

elbow room, and you don’t pass

thousands of people on the road.

Traffic actually feels like a shock

when you go back to a major city,”

says Eastwood. “It’s not totally

rural, like being way back in the

mountains. So it’s a great choice

because you have everything close

by. It’s really come out the way I

wanted it to.”

1 Among the homes built so far

on Eastwood’s Tehama property

is this seven-bedroom listing.

2 The 30 houses completed

(out of 90 lots) are a mix of

modern, Spanish and ranch-style.

2

Many of the Tehama lots feature sweeping Pacific Ocean and hillside views; all are zoned for full residential privacy.

Eastwood

1

San

Francisco

San Jose

Big Sur

by-the-SeaCarmel-

Tehama

Golf Club

Santa Cruz

Monterey

Bay

San

Mateo

$18.5M