Will Smith’s ‘Fresh Prince’ mansion listed at $22.95m, could be demolished

While Will Smith may have quickly shifted from Philadelphia to Bel Air, the move is not as easy as it seems for everyone. His opulent home in 'The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air' is back on sale after a king-sized price cut. Earlier this year, a listing priced the mansion at $30 million which attracted a lot of visitors but zero buyers. Now, the abode is back on the market with a 25% price cut, at $22.95 million, according to a report by Realtor.com.However, what makes the listing even more interesting is that the nearly century-old home's heyday has passed and it would likely be torn down by its new purchaser. This is because it would require a massive amount of work and expenditure to revitalise instead of just building anew. If a buyer were inclined to hold onto the home’s history and keep it standing, its entire nearly 6,500 square feet of interior space would have to be gutted and rebuilt. The outside, so frequently seen in the 1990s pop culture landmark show, would need to support that work.While Smith's uncle and aunt owned the home in the popular sitcom, in reality, it has been owned by Farhad Rahban for nearly 50 years as part of his expansive real estate holdings in the Los Angeles area. He and his wife, Parvin Nourafchan Rahban, raised their two sons, Nicholas and Sasha, there. Sasha, in an interview with The California Post in January, said he was able to watch O.J. Simpson, who lived two blocks over, begin his slow Bronco ride down a Los Angeles highway in a still-notorious media spectacle before cops arrested him.Not ready to move in yetThe mansion still carries its Colonial Revival grace, including a two-story columned front portico framed by sprawling lawns and towering trees.The mansion still carries its Colonial Revival grace, including a two-story columned front portico framed by sprawling lawns and towering trees. It is advertised as having six bedrooms and seven bathrooms. While listing images don't show much of the interior, certain shots reveal beautiful mouldings, beamed ceilings, arched doorways and fireplaces. A curved bridal staircase connects the levels. Massive windows also flood the space with sunlight throughout the day.Upstairs, the primary suite has sitting areas, two bathrooms and a massive closet space. Outside, expansive stone terracing, a garden gazebo, a stone arbor and a pool house pavilion are enclosed by lush hedging. It all dates to the 1930s, and stands behind secure entry gates.“This is not merely a home; it is one of the finest land and lifestyle opportunities available on the Los Angeles market today,” the listing adds.“Capitalise on the expansive, flat corner footprint to build a (larger) world-class, multi-structure private estate compound,” the listing said of the land’s practical use. As it stands now, the home “is not in move-in shape,” said Christophe Choo, who has the listing with Coldwell Banker Realty.The property, though, “Is one of the finest locations in all of Los Angeles,” Choo said. Choo said he is already seeing interest since listing the property late last week, with a Beverly Hills couple “flying home early from their European vacation to see it,” and other viewings planned.A famed historyCurrently, the estate is a prime exterior for the Hulu/FX summer hit, “The Shards,” a dark erotic thriller set in 1981 in which a serial killer is hunting rich prep school kids.The home is extremely familiar to the millions of viewers who watched 'The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air' from 1990 to 1996. The series boasted an impressive 148 episodes and launched Will Smith into international stardom.Moreover, it comes with a slew of princely neighbours that are some of the most prominent names in sports, politics and Hollywood. LeBron James has a $23 million mansion in the neighbourhood, while actor and former California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has lived in a sprawling multi-acre Brentwood compound for decades. “Star Wars” and “Indiana Jones” hero Harrison Ford is the longtime owner of a private $12.6 million estate, and Oscar-winner and Goop founder Gwyneth Paltrow has a compound there.Until any decisions are made about the property, it has found a new cast of characters, but with a much less buoyant storyline. The estate is a prime exterior for the Hulu/FX summer hit, “The Shards,” a dark erotic thriller set in 1981 in which a serial killer is hunting rich prep school kids.The estate’s pool is featured as one of the male leads gets drunk by it, strips while walking over broken vodka bottle shards, plants a kiss on his costar’s lips, and then cannonballs into the water and is pulled out unconscious. The property is also where one of the female leads gets attacked, presumably by the serial killer.