Historic Oakland home demolished

Behind an unassuming concrete wall on West Colonial Drive on Oakland’s west side stood a nearly 100-year-old mansion full of mystery and history. How many buildings were on the other side of the wall? Who lived there? What were their stories?

Depending on your age and how long you have resided in West Orange County, the historic concrete stucco, Mediterranean Revival-style home on West Colonial Drive in Oakland, with private access to Johns Lake, has been known as the Pratt Estate, the home of the Jell-O inventor, the Masterbrook Estate, Desert Bear, the bin Laden House or the English Estate.

Last month, the walls came down on the grand, 5,900-square-foot home — built in 1928 — as well as the horse stables, a four-car detached garage and a 3,000-square-foot carriage house. The current owner of the land is Brookstone Oakland LLC. Brookstone owns four parcels, according to the Orange County Property Appraiser’s website: 17748 W. Colonial Drive, 17912 W. Colonial Drive, 7 Orange Ave. and Orange Avenue.

Elise Hui, assistant manager for the town of Oakland, said Brookstone has not submitted proposed plans to the town.

A CENTURY OF STORIES

The Winter Garden Heritage Foundation, which documents and preserves the history of West Orange County, provided most of the information that is available on the property. A blogger named Leland Kent maintains abandonedsoutheast.com, a website dedicated to photographing properties and documenting stories across the southeast. He gained access to the home in 2016 and 2023 to capture images of the famous mansion and surrounding outbuildings.

The five-bedroom, five-bath manse and all of the other buildings have practically been hidden to all who drove east and west along Colonial.

Behind the wall was a vacation home built by the original owner, William Pratt, a chemist responsible for helping invent Jell-O. The second owner, Earl S. Tupper, founder of The Tupperware Company, purchased the property in the 1950s.

Perhaps the most notable owner was Khalil bin Laden, one of 53 siblings of al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, who bought the home as a wedding gift for his bride. The home cost $1.6 million and was known as Desert Bear.

Khalil bin Laden, his wife and their son abandoned the home and fled the country following the 9/11 terrorist attacks in 2001.

His company, Desert Bear, sold the estate five years later for $4 million to real estate scammer Aleem Hussain, who sold it to an investment company for $1.7 million. In 2012, John LeClaire purchased the estate with plans to turn the main house into an exquisite wedding venue. He, too, turned out to be responsible for scamming people, and the house and land again were sold.

The next owners, Gary and Dana English, spent $2 million on the estate in 2014 and shared their plans to restore the house. The family, hoping to raise enough money for an ambitious restoration project, unsuccessfully tried to sell 11 acres to LIV Development, which proposed an apartment and townhome project. Five years later, the couple filed for bankruptcy and the property went into foreclosure.

A development firm bought the estate for $7.7 million but has not yet revealed plans.

In 2020, the town approved an application from Oakland Capital Group LLC for a mixed-use project called Johns Lake Point PUD that proposed a 5,000-square-foot walk-in bank, 6,000-square-foot sit-down restaurant, 3,500-square-foot fast-food restaurant, 20,000 square feet of retail space, eight single-family homes and a 195-bed assisting living/independent living facility.

Brookstone Oakland must submit another proposal if it makes any changes to the currently approved mixed-use project plan.

IN ITS HEYDAY

The mansion boasted many grandiose features to reflect the lifestyles of its owners. The home had arched windows and doorways, a large state-of-the-art kitchen, plasterwork crests above two doorways, a foyer fountain, a wrought-iron railing on the curved staircase, full-tile master bathroom and intricate tile designs in the floor throughout, gold bathroom fixtures, a tall stone fireplace, open-rafter ceilings, gorgeous wood floors, several reception rooms, and terracotta-style floor tiles.

Its large back verandah and custom swimming pool offered a gorgeous view of the lake.

In the end, the home could not be saved, and last month, the developer had a wrecking crew on the property, taking down a piece of history with every grab of the large claw.