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An oceanfront estate in San Clemente on the market for $55 million. (File photo by Mark Rightmire, Orange County Register/SCNG)
An oceanfront estate in San Clemente on the market for $55 million. (File photo by Mark Rightmire, Orange County Register/SCNG)
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A two-story Mediterranean-style estate, just two doors down from President Richard Nixon’s Western White House, is on the market for $55 million.

The property sold in September 2021 for $33.9 million, making it San Clemente’s most expensive home ever sold — a record it could now beat.

Completed in 2007, the nearly 13,000-square-foot residence comprises a main house and a casita, with an upstairs office connected by a covered breezeway. Together, they offer seven bedrooms and 11 bathrooms.

The estate sits on a flat 2.6-acre bluff-top behind dual gates in Cotton Point Estates, and backs up to 455 feet of beachfront overlooking the famous Trestles surf break.

A 50-foot pool anchors the backyard.

Records show the seller is Christopher R. Redlich Jr., former chairman of Marine Terminals Corp. According to the Wall Street Journal, which first reported the home listing, Redlich made about $11 million in upgrades to what was his primary residence.

He installed an elevator and a smart-home system, replaced the former sports court with an orchard, and added a cypress tree mosaic to the pool floor.

Mature cypresses are a feature of the landscape surrounding the home.

Inside the main house, there is an open-plan living area designed for indoor-outdoor living.

An interior balcony overlooks the great room, which boasts a soaring wood-beamed ceiling and stone walls. The once-dark kitchen has been transformed by light cabinets with marbled countertops.

Elsewhere, the large primary suite has a sitting room, a spa-inspired bathroom and a private terrace.

A courtyard, expansive lawns and a nine-car garage round out the offerings.

Sean Stanfield of Pacific Sotheby’s International Realty holds the listing.

Situated on what was once part of the Nixon compound, the house set the stage for a star-studded Kelly Slater Foundation benefit in April 2008. It featured performances by Slater, Ben Harper and Pearl Jam’s Eddie Vedder.

The property was then owned by Martin Colombatto, a former executive at Broadcom Corp.

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