Remarkable Lair for Car Buffs or Creatives Near Hollywood Hits the Market for $5 Million

It isn’t every day you find a sleek designer apartment above an auto shop—but then again, this pristine live-work space in South Pasadena, CA, is not your everyday setup.

This home, redesigned as a creative studio space, is just waiting for the right buyer to put their own stamp on it. It’s on the market for $4,495,000.

In essence, the four-lot compound consists of a designer penthouse apartment with views from floor to ceiling via glass doors and windows, and a wraparound balcony. Downstairs, there’s a 1,600-square-foot workshop with 13-foot ceilings, a cement floor, and other bells and whistles, plus two offices, a reception area, a kitchenette, and bathrooms.

When that versatility is combined with a prime location within walking distance of shops, breweries, music venues, and restaurants, as well as short drives to the studios in Hollywood and the Burbank area, the property offers unlimited possibilities.

“The original owner was a car enthusiast who spent weekends in the garage with his buddies working on their cars in his giant workshop, which is still outfitted with 800 AMP service and an air compressor, with connections throughout the garage for a plug-and-play design,” says listing agent John Adamson, of Adamson Properties via Realifi. “From hot rods to beat-up trucks, he loved his car collection—and even more so, the community he built around it.”

Charmean Neithart of Charmean Neithart Interiors is the second and current owner. She purchased the 4,100-square-foot building on the 8,980-square-foot lot to be the headquarters of her interior design domain. With plenty of storage for furniture and design items, plus a living space ripe for a remodel, it seemed to meet all her needs.

She redesigned the upstairs apartment into a luxurious hideaway. The sweet suite, built above the business space, would meet the standards of the most discriminating resident or guest.

The 1,450-square-foot, modern Japanese-style studio apartment now features 360-degree balconies with scenic views of South Pasadena and the San Gabriel Mountains. The home is equipped with an elevator.

Although the apartment is considered a “studio,” the step-up primary bedroom area feels substantially separated. It includes a bath area with a unique double-sink design that has users facing each other. The bath also features tatami-style tile accent walls, solid fossil slab shower walls, and pebble stone flooring. There’s also a spacious walk-in closet.

Neithart installed bamboo wood floors throughout the main living area and added a wood-tile fireplace inlaid with petrified wood.

She also commissioned artist Rahil Taj to create a sculpted wood light fixture in the entry. The primary suite features a Japanese-inspired built-in desk, and the kitchen has handcrafted wood stools.

That kitchen is surprisingly spacious and offers a U-shaped island and built-in stainless-steel appliances.

Other amenities include a laundry room and conversation and dining spaces on the patios.

The sky’s the limit for the workspace below. The large room is equipped with two 400-amp electrical meters, five roll-up garages, polished concrete floors, and an air compressor system with multiple hookups.

It includes a reception area and two offices (one with a Murphy bed, kitchenette, and two bathrooms; the other with a shower).

It could be used for customizing specialty cars for movies and TV series. Or serve as a soundstage or mini studios for digital content creators.

“I have shown this space to actors, movie producers, music producers, architects, and people who were considering making it one giant single-family residence,” says Adamson. “There is also a five-car garage at the back of the property that would be perfect for developing apartments or brownstones for additional income.”