Late McClatchy Company scion’s California estate asks $3.5M

Late publishing exec William McClatchy’s former Riverside County, California, estate is on the market for $3.5 million. The two-home compound, at 401 Iris Lane, stands in Rancho Mirage — a longtime hotspot for celebrities in the Palm Springs area — on a private cul-de-sac.

The listing broker is Michael Bernal, of Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices California Properties.

McClatchy, who passed away in 2011 at age 86, was a scion of his family’s California-based publishing business, the McClatchy Company, founded in 1857 by his great-grandfather James McClatchy. Its holdings include 29 daily newspapers in 14 states, such as the Sacramento Bee in California, the News & Observer in North Carolina and the Miami Herald.

In 2020, after more than 10 years of losses, the company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. Later that year, New Jersey-based hedge fund Chatham Asset Management bought the publisher in a court-supervised auction for $312 million.

McClatchy himself purchased this now-listed estate for $1.9 million in 2007 and sold it for $1.7 million in 2010. He lived in the home until February 2010. The sellers bought the property directly from McClatchy that same year. 

The compound, which sits on 1½ acres, is near the Tamarisk Country Club, whose past members included Frank Sinatra, the Marx Brothers and President Gerald Ford.

The estate’s interiors were designed by Steve Chase. There’s a gate to enter the street and another to enter the property. Both homes were built in 1980. 

The main 4,005-square-foot house comes with four bedrooms and five bathrooms — while the second home, at 1,377 square feet, features two bedrooms and two baths. Both structures come with a fireplace and share an outdoor firepit in the backyard. They were designed to optimize proximity to the surrounding mountain ranges, Bernal said.

Most rooms boast floor-to-ceiling windows — plus doors to showcase the mountain views and maximize indoor-outdoor living. The main house boasts an oversize glass front door that leads to a natural light-filled foyer, which doubles as a gallery to display art — and leads to a formal dining area and great room.

The home features high ceilings, recessed lighting, ledger stone accents, built-in fireplaces and polished travertine floors — along with a chef’s kitchen.

Outside, there’s a pool, a spa, a statue garden and outdoor seating areas.

The second home comes with floor-to-ceiling windows, sliding glass doors and panoramic mountain views. There’s also a chef’s kitchen that opens to a private indoor patio and a living room with a built-in fireplace.

The property is also adjacent to the Annenberg Retreat at Sunnylands, the former home of billionaire philanthropist and US Ambassador to the UK, the late Walter Annenberg, and his wife, Lee.