L.A. Ferrari Owner Builds Dream Garage, Whiny Neighbors Wake Him Up
Not long ago, a Los Angeles man built an award-winning bridge to his living room so he could keep his 1984 Ferrari 512 BBi within spitting distance of his couch. Now the city wants him to tear it down. Losers.Holger Schubert, 43, lives in Brentwood, California. His Ferrari also lives in Brentwood; he parks it in front of a glass wall with a view of the ocean. The room is connected to the street by way of a ten-foot-long, fifteen-foot high bridge, and that bridge has a hydraulic ramp at one end that lets him roll the car into the house using nothing but gravity. The garage, which Schubert calls "a space whose only purpose is to enjoy the car," won Architectural Digest's Design Driven contest in 2009, and it was once recognized by Maserati for being a piece of froofy-rich-guy building excellence.
Cool design or not, the Los Angeles Times is reporting that the whole thing may come to a screeching halt. Schubert's neighbors have complained about his bridge, alleging that, although the city approved its construction, it's a safety hazard that sets a precedent that "could degrade hillside neighborhoods throughout the city." As a result, city planners have withdrawn permission for the bridge, which just proves that A) California is the closest thing to a weeniefied, mob-rule police state that we've got, and B) Brentwood hates freedom the fuel-injected Berlinetta Boxer. (Down, Angelenos! Down!)
For reference, Schubert's garage, with ramp, cost $1.5 million to build. He demolished a three-car parking structure to make it happen.
Photo Credit: Ricardo DeAratanha/Los Angeles Times
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