A modern five-bedroom home in Palo Alto, California, has hit the market for $44 million, marking the most expensive listing in the city. Built in 2005 by tech entrepreneur Asher Waldfogel and his wife, Helyn MacLean, the property blends contemporary design with nods to its Mediterranean-style neighborhood.
Architectural Vision and Design
The couple enlisted architect Steven Ehrlich to design a home that respected the area’s architectural traditions while incorporating modern aesthetics. Constructed with stucco, mahogany, and titanium zinc cladding, the residence features matching mahogany paneling and limestone both indoors and outdoors. The house is organized around a central staircase within a glass tower, with two wings connected by horizontal planes.
Key design elements include four distinct courtyards and a pool, along with a prominent 80-foot-long cast-in-place concrete wall that serves as a structural spine. “There’s a little bit of controlled chaos in what comes out of the form,” Waldfogel said, contrasting it with perfectly uniform surfaces. Ehrlich noted that taming concrete proved challenging, requiring multiple attempts before achieving the desired result.
Indoor-Outdoor Living and Location
The home spans 7,900 square feet of livable space on a roughly 0.4-acre lot. The couple purchased the site in 2000 for $7.1 million, demolishing a circa-1930s Spanish Colonial home to make way for their new build. Designed for indoor-outdoor living, the kitchen and family room open directly to the garden and pool area.
Located in Old Palo Alto, the property sits within a neighborhood known for its upscale homes and proximity to top-rated schools. Palo Alto remains an epicenter of venture capital and tech startups, with a median sale price of $3.5 million for the three months ending in August, reflecting a 5.8% year-over-year increase, according to real-estate brokerage Redfin.
Personal Ties and Future Plans
Waldfogel, an angel investor and co-founder of telecommunications-equipment company Redback Networks, and MacLean, a former fundraiser, are now looking to relocate closer to their adult daughter on the East Coast. While they own a home in Sun Valley, Idaho, their next move remains undecided. “Right now we’re just trying to emotionally let go and decide what to do next,” he said.
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