California’s Carmichael governor’s mansion for sale for $7.5M

The Carmichael governor’s mansion, a piece of California history built at the insistence of Ronald Reagan and designed by Nancy Reagan, is back on the market for the first time in more than 20 years.The eight-bedroom, 10-bathroom, 12,000-square-foot home was listed Friday with an initial asking price of $7.5 million. The U-shaped, midcentury modern home sits on seven acres. It’s equipped with two kitchens, hand-blown Belgian chandeliers, and a pool that can be accessed from the master bedroom. Dr. Janak Mehtani, a retired Sacramento-area psychiatrist, has owned the mansion since 2004 and gave KCRA 3 an exclusive tour of the home before putting it on the market.”We loved it,” Mehtani said while standing in the backyard that he renovated. Mehtani said the home allowed his large family to live together, which included his wife, five kids, mother, and mother-in-law. “We thoroughly enjoyed it.” Mehtani said. “I’m 75 years old. The kids don’t want to maintain it. I just want to move on.”Reagan’s touch The mansion is 11 miles from the California State Capitol and sits along the American River. While it’s referred to as a governor’s mansion, no California governor ever lived there. Gov. Ronald Reagan broke ground on the property in 1974 but the home was not complete until after he was elected president. Historic pieces marking that time period can be found around every corner, including a special 14-seater table, which Nancy Reagan insisted remain in the mansion. | Archive Video Below | Unused Carmichael mansion built for California Gov. Reagan goes up for sale in 1982The mansion also features a Western-style bar gifted to the Reagans by actor John Wayne. The bar was used in the 1940s film “Billy the Kid.” Mehtani, who said the bar played an influential role in his decision to purchase the home, noted there is a bullet hole in the front of it from the movie’s production.A time capsule buried by Reagan is also part of the property. The courtyard in the center of the home features a large fountain with a plaque that says the time capsule is to be opened July 4, 2076. It’s not clear what exactly is in the time capsule. Newspaper clippings provided by the California State Library say it contains Reagan’s “handwritten personal memorabilia” from when he was governor, a scroll with the names of those who donated to the construction of the mansion and “other artifacts of historical interest.” When asked if he worried a new owner might try to open it, Mehtani said he’d hoped they would keep it intact, saying, “I want to leave it as is, a surprise.”Brown had no problem saying good-bye When he was 36 years old, Gov. Jerry Brown was elected to replace Reagan and left to figure out what to do with the mansion. Brown refused to live there. In an interview with KCRA 3 days before Mehtani listed the home, Brown said he had no regrets. “I’d already gotten rid of Reagan’s limousine. I got rid of his jet plane and in fact I got rid of his Taj Mahal.” Brown said there were three main reasons behind his refusal. The first being that he was a bachelor at the time and felt it was too big. Second, he said it was easier to get an apartment and live closer to the Capitol. And third, it was built adjacent to a burial ground for indigenous people. Brown noted he was part of a lawsuit during the planning of the mansion’s construction, which accused the Reagan administration of not considering alternatives to the location. The lawsuit was dismissed. Mehtani told KCRA 3 that when he purchased the home, he was told to notify state officials if he ever came across remains, which he said he had not in the two decades he owned the home. In addition to those factors, Brown said it was too expensive to maintain. “I also calculated that to operate the house would be about a million dollars a year with the security, the transportation and all the rest,” Brown said. “Some of the legislators joked they encouraged Reagan to live out in Carmichael so they wouldn’t put his nose in their business.” “Because I didn’t live in it, I guess that gave it a stigma,” Brown said.George Deukmejian, the Republican governor who succeeded him, also refused to live in the home and ended up selling it. The earnings were placed in a state fund. When Brown returned to the governor’s office in 2011, he used the funds to refurbish and renovate the old governor’s mansion on the corner of H and 16th Streets in Sacramento. It is still owned by the state is used for official state events hosted by the governor.But Brown did spend time in the home. After Mehtani purchased the house, Mehtani said he met Brown when he was mayor of Oakland by happenstance at a wedding and invited him to visit. Brown suggested a fundraiser for his run for Attorney General, Mehtani said. “I remember telling him at the time, I don’t know that many Democratic donors, and he said, ‘That’s OK, I’ll bring my own'” Mehtani said. Mehtani ended up hosting a fundraiser for Brown when he ran for California Attorney General. Mehtani said he remembers raising $100,000. Brown said the home was drafty and hard to heat, but also noted, “it’s a good party house.”I’m surprised somebody lived there for so long,” he said. “It’s an interesting place, Carmichael is very much built up, it’s pretty well situated, I wish the owner well.” Curiosity from other California governors Arnold Schwarzenegger did not visit the house, but his family did, Mehtani said. Previous KCRA 3 broadcasts from 2004 reported Schwarzenegger was considering purchasing the home. “The realtor kept telling me, ‘if you don’t buy it and don’t make a decision quickly, Mr. Schwarzenegger, he will terminate you'” Mehtani said, laughing.| RELATED | See our report on an open house in July 2004 below. Gov. Gavin Newsom also expressed interest in the property in 2019, Mehtani said. “Mr. Newsom had his secretary call my office and ask if the house was for sale or consider selling it back to the state of California,” Mehtani said. “But by that time, I was already in a contract to lease it out.” See more coverage of top California stories here | Download our app | Subscribe to our morning newsletter | Find us on YouTube here and subscribe to our channel

CARMICHAEL, Calif. —

The Carmichael governor’s mansion, a piece of California history built at the insistence of Ronald Reagan and designed by Nancy Reagan, is back on the market for the first time in more than 20 years.

The eight-bedroom, 10-bathroom, 12,000-square-foot home was listed Friday with an initial asking price of $7.5 million. The U-shaped, midcentury modern home sits on seven acres. It’s equipped with two kitchens, hand-blown Belgian chandeliers, and a pool that can be accessed from the master bedroom.

Dr. Janak Mehtani, a retired Sacramento-area psychiatrist, has owned the mansion since 2004 and gave KCRA 3 an exclusive tour of the home before putting it on the market.

“We loved it,” Mehtani said while standing in the backyard that he renovated. Mehtani said the home allowed his large family to live together, which included his wife, five kids, mother, and mother-in-law.

“We thoroughly enjoyed it.” Mehtani said. “I’m 75 years old. The kids don’t want to maintain it. I just want to move on.”

Reagan’s touch

The mansion is 11 miles from the California State Capitol and sits along the American River. While it’s referred to as a governor’s mansion, no California governor ever lived there. Gov. Ronald Reagan broke ground on the property in 1974 but the home was not complete until after he was elected president.

Historic pieces marking that time period can be found around every corner, including a special 14-seater table, which Nancy Reagan insisted remain in the mansion.

| Archive Video Below | Unused Carmichael mansion built for California Gov. Reagan goes up for sale in 1982

The mansion also features a Western-style bar gifted to the Reagans by actor John Wayne. The bar was used in the 1940s film “Billy the Kid.” Mehtani, who said the bar played an influential role in his decision to purchase the home, noted there is a bullet hole in the front of it from the movie’s production.

A time capsule buried by Reagan is also part of the property. The courtyard in the center of the home features a large fountain with a plaque that says the time capsule is to be opened July 4, 2076. It’s not clear what exactly is in the time capsule. Newspaper clippings provided by the California State Library say it contains Reagan’s “handwritten personal memorabilia” from when he was governor, a scroll with the names of those who donated to the construction of the mansion and “other artifacts of historical interest.”

When asked if he worried a new owner might try to open it, Mehtani said he’d hoped they would keep it intact, saying, “I want to leave it as is, a surprise.”

Brown had no problem saying good-bye

When he was 36 years old, Gov. Jerry Brown was elected to replace Reagan and left to figure out what to do with the mansion. Brown refused to live there.

In an interview with KCRA 3 days before Mehtani listed the home, Brown said he had no regrets. “I’d already gotten rid of Reagan’s limousine. I got rid of his jet plane and in fact I got rid of his Taj Mahal.”

Brown said there were three main reasons behind his refusal. The first being that he was a bachelor at the time and felt it was too big. Second, he said it was easier to get an apartment and live closer to the Capitol. And third, it was built adjacent to a burial ground for indigenous people.

Brown noted he was part of a lawsuit during the planning of the mansion’s construction, which accused the Reagan administration of not considering alternatives to the location. The lawsuit was dismissed. Mehtani told KCRA 3 that when he purchased the home, he was told to notify state officials if he ever came across remains, which he said he had not in the two decades he owned the home.

In addition to those factors, Brown said it was too expensive to maintain.

“I also calculated that to operate the house would be about a million dollars a year with the security, the transportation and all the rest,” Brown said. “Some of the legislators joked they encouraged Reagan to live out in Carmichael so they wouldn’t put his nose in their business.”

“Because I didn’t live in it, I guess that gave it a stigma,” Brown said.

George Deukmejian, the Republican governor who succeeded him, also refused to live in the home and ended up selling it. The earnings were placed in a state fund. When Brown returned to the governor’s office in 2011, he used the funds to refurbish and renovate the old governor’s mansion on the corner of H and 16th Streets in Sacramento. It is still owned by the state is used for official state events hosted by the governor.

But Brown did spend time in the home.

After Mehtani purchased the house, Mehtani said he met Brown when he was mayor of Oakland by happenstance at a wedding and invited him to visit. Brown suggested a fundraiser for his run for Attorney General, Mehtani said.

“I remember telling him at the time, I don’t know that many Democratic donors, and he said, ‘That’s OK, I’ll bring my own'” Mehtani said. Mehtani ended up hosting a fundraiser for Brown when he ran for California Attorney General. Mehtani said he remembers raising $100,000.

Brown said the home was drafty and hard to heat, but also noted, “it’s a good party house.

“I’m surprised somebody lived there for so long,” he said. “It’s an interesting place, Carmichael is very much built up, it’s pretty well situated, I wish the owner well.”

Curiosity from other California governors

Arnold Schwarzenegger did not visit the house, but his family did, Mehtani said. Previous KCRA 3 broadcasts from 2004 reported Schwarzenegger was considering purchasing the home.

“The realtor kept telling me, ‘if you don’t buy it and don’t make a decision quickly, Mr. Schwarzenegger, he will terminate you'” Mehtani said, laughing.

| RELATED | See our report on an open house in July 2004 below.

Gov. Gavin Newsom also expressed interest in the property in 2019, Mehtani said.

“Mr. Newsom had his secretary call my office and ask if the house was for sale or consider selling it back to the state of California,” Mehtani said. “But by that time, I was already in a contract to lease it out.”

See more coverage of top California stories here | Download our app | Subscribe to our morning newsletter | Find us on YouTube here and subscribe to our channel