EXCLUSIVE: 'I intend to finish the house, not demolish it!' Billionaire father of Gigi and Bella Hadid vows to complete Bel Air mega-mansion despite order to tear down illegal third floor amid threats of foreclosure
- Mohamed Hadid told DailyMail.com he plans to make his Bel Air mansion 'safe for neighbors' but revealed: 'it's my intention to finish the house, not demolish it'
- A court hearing on Tuesday determined demolition work on home is due to begin February 1 as a condition of Hadid's probation
- Hadid, 70, has been in legal turmoil over illegal construction of the home which was only intended to be 14,000 sq ft
- The house currently stands at 30,000 sq ft and has an illegal third floor which he has been ordered to demolish
- A lawyer for the bank that loaned Hadid $18 million for construction revealed he has defaulted on his payments and is facing foreclosure
- Hadid has denied the claim saying: 'It's just a notice and I will sort things out with the bank and everything will be okay again'
Billionaire Mohamed Hadid has vowed to 'finish' his half-built Bel Air mega-mansion despite being ordered to demolish the third story of the property.
Speaking exclusively to DailyMail.com the defiant property developer said he needs to make the huge structure 'safe for neighbors,' but added: 'It's my intention to finish the house, not demolish it.'
This comes after it emerged in court Tuesday that demolition work on the 30,000 sq ft property - dubbed the 'Starship Enterprise' - is due to start in a matter of weeks.
LA city attorney Donna Wong revealed that demolition of the illicit third floor of Hadid's house - described by disgruntled neighbors as a 'gigantic monstrosity' - will begin February 1 as a condition of the probation Hadid is serving for illegal construction on the property.
The 70-year-old was also quick to deny another bombshell disclosure in the long-running court battle.
A lawyer for the bank that loaned Hadid $18 million to build his controversial house, told DailyMail.com that the developer hasn't been making payments on the loan and he's now facing foreclosure.
Monster house: Billionaire developer Mohamed Hadid has been ordered to demolish the illegal third floor of his unfinished Bel-Air mega-mansion on February 1
Original plans: The mansion was intended to be 14,000 sq ft and two stories high (pictured) but Hadid expanded the home to nearly double its size without the city's approval
Hadid, 70, who is the father of models Gigi (left) 23, and Bella Hadid (center) 22, says he plans to downsize the home to comply with building regulations, but reveals he has every intention to 'finish it
'Mr Hadid is in default on his loan and we have commenced foreclosure proceedings,' Robert Bisno, attorney for First Credit Bank, said outside LA Superior Court in Santa Monica.
'We are going to take the property back.'
But Hadid - father of supermodels Gigi and Bella Hadid - branded the claim 'totally false'.
'I am not in foreclosure - that is totally false,' he said.
'I have been paying the interest on this loan for seven years. Yes, the bank has filed a default notice but this is nothing. It's just a notice and I will sort things out with the bank and everything will be okay again.
'I will re-finance this loan and I am confident that I will be able to pay off the original loan in full. This is nothing new to me.'
Hadid told DailyMail.com that he had applied to LA city planners for new permits that would allow him to downsize and complete the house so that it complies with building regulations.
'Once we get those permits, I want to finish the house,' he added.
'On or before February 1, I plan to demolish part of the third story of the house.
'We will demolish what we need to and make it safe for the neighbors - but I will finish the house.'
Neighbors have been fighting for years for the demolition of the property because of all the alleged unapproved construction. The development of the home has also been an eyesore to nearby residents
Also in the photos are gargantuan concrete embankments - unapproved construction that's not on the original plans, say neighbors - which give the sprawling structure a stark, ugly appearance in this once picturesque setting
Completely visible in the pictures are two huge concrete levels built 'illegally' below the house's pool deck
Hadid's attorney Bruce Rudman doubled down on the denial of any foreclosure, telling DailyMail.com: 'The bank has recorded a "Notice or Default." My client just received the document in the last couple of days and has every intention of curing the asserted default. There will be no foreclosure.'
Neighbors suing Hadid in the hope of having his controversial house in ritzy Bel Air torn down will no doubt be disappointed with the property magnate's defiant stance.
They were equally disappointed that Judge Craig Karlan rejected their motion to release the files from an investigation into alleged bribery of a city building inspector relating to the construction of Hadid's house.
The inspector is suspected of 'looking the other way' while illegal work was done on the property.
But the neighbors were 'encouraged' that the judge did release the names of five building inspectors and photographs of improvements made to one of their homes which purportedly were paid by the alleged bribes.
The neighbors are also 'cautiously happy' when the demolition of the un-permitted third floor of Hadid's house was announced.
'I say cautiously happy because I don't trust Hadid - he's a cheat,' Joe Horacek - who lives next door to Hadid told DailyMail.com.
'We want to see this demolition work start but we also want it to be done safely and carefully supervised because the hill where the house stands is in a very dangerous and precarious condition, especially since the recent rains we've had. You get a landslide and that whole place is coming down the hill.
'If Hadid is left unsupervised to do his supposed demolition work, anything could happen.
'He has a history of cheating and not complying. Once, just days after he received one of his 'stop-work' orders from the city, he sent in a crew and put in a driveway. The guy is not to be trusted - he's famous for ignoring city orders.'
After demolishing the original house, Hadid began work on his monster project which, as the pictures show, soon came to dominate the site and surrounding area
To support their lawsuit against Hadid, the neighbors commissioned these new photographs and video - showing the 'illegal' additions to the home including several rooms, stories, and theater
Another neighbor, John Bedrosian, told DailyMail.com that the upcoming demolition work 'is a step in the right direction,' adding: 'But we want to see it done properly and safely.'
The neighbors' lawyer, George Soneff, told Tuesday's court hearing that Hadid's mansion is a 'dangerous, massive, illegal structure….a disaster sitting above,' his clients' homes.
Hadid's attorney, Bruce Rudman, countered: 'There is absolutely no evidence of danger to the properties below.'
There were 13 lawyers in court Tuesday for the complicated case - representing Hadid, the neighbors, the bank, the LA City Attorney and the Department of Building and Safety.
Judge Karlan noted that 'millions off dollars in litigation fees' would likely be spent before it's resolved, 'So we want to do this right.'
He scheduled a status conference for February 15 and set a tentative date for the case to go to trial in March 2020.
Horacek and his wife Bibi, along with neighbors Bedrosian and wife Judith, brought their lawsuit against Hadid in an effort to force him to tear down his giant property which they say is not only an eyesore, but also poses a threat to their homes.
Neighbor Joe Horacek, whose home is located below the giant home, said the building 'is so much bigger than it's supposed to be' and is 'a very real danger to our community and should be demolished'
'We believe, based on reports we've had done by geological and civil engineers, that this building is so much bigger than it's supposed to be with much of it built without permits or inspections, that it's a very real danger to our community and should be demolished,' Horacek told DailyMail.com.
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To support their suit, the neighbors commissioned stunning photographs - taken by drone and featured exclusively in DailyMail.com - which illustrate just how colossal Hadid's house is.
'It's a gigantic monstrosity,' declared Horacek of the home on Strada Vecchia Road in Bel Air which he said was supposed to be 14,000 square feet, 36 ft high with two stories and a basement when plans for its construction were approved by the city some seven years ago.
'But now it's at least 30,000 square feet - Hadid himself has bragged that it's 40,000. It's 70-80 feet high and it's five or six stories, we don't know which since we've never been allowed in.'
Hadid has denied any bribery claims, telling the Los Angeles Times: 'I would never ever, ever pay an inspector. Not a dime. And nobody has ever approached me.'
He has also previously vowed not to tear down his massive project.
'Demolish this house? Never!' he told Town and Country. 'This house will last forever. Bel Air will fall before this will.'
