Second Homes: Jayman co-founder’s fantasy home
Alberta real estate mogul raves about Palm Desert luxury home
Just as top chefs have a discerning eye for restaurants, award-winning builders don’t take property purchases lightly.
And real estate mogul Jay Westman is no exception.
Westman co-founded Jayman MasterBuilt. With their main home in Calgary and another in Kelowna, Westman and his wife, Karen, extended their collection of houses to an exclusive estate development south of the border. The couple landed in sunny Palm Desert, Calif., with an 8,200-square-foot home in a luxury community called Bighorn Properties.
“Our home had us as soon as we walked through the front door,” says Westman of the soaring four-bedroom plan with wide-open spaces and 25-foot ceilings. “The sense of arrival took my breath away.”
Westman’s home boasts what he calls a desert contemporary design. “The architecture is totally different from anything I have seen around the world,” Westman says of features that include stylish rounded windows with wood treatment and a four-barrel ceiling.
Like any master builder, Westman took a breathtaking home and made it better. His add-ons to the home include an expansive, triple-car garage — a high-end home to Westman’s high-end cars, which include a Ferrari and an Aston Martin. The garage features a black, lacquer ceiling with a glass refrigerator next to a Scotch and smoker’s bar.
Every movie buff dreams of having a theatre at home. Well, the Westmans did just that, with a cinema boasting an expansive curved 3-D screen and 4-D chairs that add an extra element to the moviegoing experience.
“If you’re doing the James Bond thing and watching a speeding car go around the corner, the chair is vibrating,” Westman says. “It adds a whole new dimension.”
It’s also a new dimension in the bathroom, where a screen in the mirror plays the same movie currently on the big screen — which means there’s no need to hit the pause button. Part of the movie-going experience is the snacks, which wasn’t lost on the Westmans, who included a fully stocked concession stand in their luxury home cinema.
Like Jay, the residents at Bighorn are accomplished in the business world, and include leaders of major corporations, including department store and fast-food restaurant chains that span the U.S. The community has 550 home sites, 421 of which are completed. The homes range from 2,500 to 32,000 square feet, and average between $1.8 million and $12.9 million US — and a few are much pricier than that.
“This is their Disneyland,” says marketing director, Theresa Maggio. “They come here to relax and rejuvenate.”
But beyond their fantasy home, which the Westmans live in about 100 days out of the year, a number of qualities made the couple take notice of Bighorn — including the area, itself. Their first trip to Palm Desert was about five years ago and from the start, Jay Westman was impressed.
“The airport is an open-area airport, like Hawaii, except it’s only two hours and 45 minutes away by WestJet,” he says.
The first thing Jay and Karen noticed in Palm Desert was its sprawling mountain range and land covered in lush green grass and palm trees. Another perk is that although Palm Springs is much smaller compared to other sunbelt centres such as Phoenix, Ariz., it comes with shopping amenities that Westman compares to Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills.
“It has art galleries and incredible restaurants — all the big brand names for shopping are on it,” he says. “That’s just a mere few minutes away from the community of Bighorn.”
When the Westmans toured communities in the Palm Desert, they were struck by the exclusivity of Bighorn. As Westman says, “I couldn’t get in. They wouldn’t let me in the gates without an appointment there. Even though I listed off two or three people that I knew were living there, there was no getting in the gate.”
Apart from “business golf,” Westman doesn’t have the fiery passion for the sport others in the community may have, although he appreciates its history.
“They have photos of Tiger Woods, Jack Nicklaus and all the famous golfers who have played there.”
The Mountain Course was designed by Arthur Hills, while the Canyons course was designed by Tom Fazio. Both are 18 holes. The golf culture at Bighorn extends past the greens, Westman says. He and others in the community zip from place to place within the project on golf carts, many of which are customized.
The Westmans aren’t the only Canadians at the property.
Maggio says residents of Calgary and Vancouver count as the third-highest demographic of those whose primary residences are outside southern California.
While Westman believes Bighorn has pretty much everything one could ask for, he saw the need for a children’s playground, so he challenged the other Canadians to put up enough money to fund the addition to the property.
“I’m actually quite proud of that,” he says.
Together, the Canadian residents put together $80,000 to pay for the play centre that includes a kids’ putting green.
The property includes a marketplace with groceries and a Starbucks next to a large dog park. It also has a large health and wellness centre with a fitness centre, fullservice salon and spa with a number of service options including body treatments and facials.
The community also has seven dining options, including Canyons Steak House and The Pour House. Westman says Canyons, which offers a formal dining experience, has a “beautiful ambience,” with a central, round-stone fireplace with a high-pitched ceiling and stunning views.
“It views down the entire valley because Bighorn probably sits at its highest point,” he says. The Pour House is a more casual dining option, which Westman calls “always full and always fun.”