Mega-Mansion With 22-Car Auto Gallery and Basketball Court Is a Spectacular Dud

Mega-masions aimed to be $100+ million resort-style compounds that would offer all the eccentric features a billionaire might look for in a home, as well as self-sufficient capabilities that would then make said billionaire never want to leave the premises. They featured sprawling estates and park-like gardens and everything from nightclubs and private cinemas to jaw-dropping auto galleries and artworks.

Like its name clearly says, a mega-mansion is "mega" in every possible way, with state-of-the-art technology, only the rarest materials used in the construction and the finishes, and ample space to sleep the extended family and host hundreds-strong parties. Water features of all kinds, custom garages, and surprising and even hidden features all work together to create an environment without equal in terms of luxury and comfort.

The Unica is one such mega-mansion. Built in East Gate Bel Air in California by a pair of entrepreneurs, it was completed in 2017-2018 and has been trying to secure an owner since way before that. Today, the Unica goes by the Somma Estate name, and in a more recent twist in its seemingly never-ending saga, it has yet to secure a buyer.

The property was first offered for sale at $100 million before seeing a considerable drop to $78 million in the fall of 2020 and eventually dropping to just $59 million in 2023. Earlier this month, on March 21, the property went up at auction, with the starting price set at only $30 million. As of the time of writing, no word yet on whether the auction was a success, but the listing alone goes to show just how badly the market has turned.

It's through no fault of the property, of course. The Somma Estate remains an impressive, if too overly opulent piece of real estate that literally offers every amenity you could think of – and even some you had no idea you might want from a family home.

Relevant to our interests remains the 22-car auto gallery, which has also been described as a custom garage in the media and by the listing as a blank canvas with incredible potential.

The video tour below is timed to show the garage: a vast, cavernous space with mood light and heating, EV charging ports, and the outstanding potential of being absolutely whatever you'd want it to be, provided you still had enough cash left after you paid for the mansion.

Though it can theoretically fit 22 cars with room left to wiggle, the space can easily be rendered suitable for a much larger capacity. Think 40 to 60 cars, if you use elevators. Think also something a bit more spectacular than a basic display, by means of a turntable or a special showcase area where only the most valuable collectibles would be allowed to sit.

Even if stripped of all its other features, the Somma Estate would be a dream home for a well-heeled car collector since it would provide storage for some, if not all, of his valuable cars.

The mansion itself measures 41,000 square feet (3,809 square meters) of living space, including eight bedrooms and 21 bathrooms. One entire level is dedicated to entertaining and holds a regulation 3-point line basketball court, a 1,200-bottle wine cellar with an attached tasting room, a vast wellness area, and a 36-person cinema room with its own concessionary stand. What's going to the movies without freshly popped salted popcorn, right?

The Somma Estate has some features in pairs because, as one saying goes, everything is better in twos. Two 45-foot (13.7-meter) swimming pools and two professional kitchens are here to argue the case. But there are also eight bars, Circadian Rhythm lights, The Wall Samsung TV, a security room, separate maids' quarters, cabanas by the pool, a hair and makeup room, and a fully-equipped gym.

In keeping with its stated goal, the Somma Estate presents itself more like a resort under the guise of a family home.

All this sounds incredible on paper, and it's even more so in moving pictures, as you can see in the video below. The property started with a $2 million plot of land and grew to become a billionaire's dream home, one that combined privacy with luxury and unprecedented entertaining options. "No expense was spared to deliver this legacy property to the most discriminating buyer," the listing for the mega-mansion read at one point.

That much is obvious by just looking at the enormous compound. But with that discriminating buyer never showing up, wasn't it just money down the (lavish) drain and wasted potential?