From the outside, this may look like any other home in Rolling Hills, but once you step inside, you’ll see that it has five levels underground. That’s right, John Z. Blazevich, chief executive of shrimp importer Viva Food Group, had to keep his dream home in line with building codes, so there are five subterranean stories formed when he excavated down to bedrock, uncovering fossil fragments of whales and dolphins along the way. Continue reading for a video tour, more pictures, and additional information.
Fancy Rolling Hills has a one-story height limit on houses, so what’s a shrimp-importing superrich guy to do? Excavate down to the bedrock (“uncovering fossil fragments of whales and dolphins along the way,” according to the LA Times) and build five stories underground–it’s accessible by stairs and two elevators.
That’s the tale of Hacienda de la Paz and its owner, John Z. Blazevich, who’s the CEO of shrimp importer Viva Food Group. The house is nearly 50,000 square feet and sits on 7.27 acres; it was built over 17 years and overseen by Rafael Manzano Martos, a curator for King Juan Carlos of Spain (this is his only house in the Americas).
