This article was published in The Charlotte Ledger e-newsletter on November 20, 2023. Find out more and sign up for free here.
New neighbor in Quail Hollow: Sonic Automotive CEO buys mansion of former Rep. Robert Pittenger for $7.6M; year’s most expensive home sale
by Tony Mecia
Former U.S. Rep. Robert Pittenger and his wife have sold their mansion on Quail Hollow Club’s golf course to a company controlled by Sonic Automotive CEO David Smith, according to real estate records filed on Friday.
The sales price of the 11,500 s.f. estate — which has 5 bedrooms, 6 full bathrooms and 3 half-baths — was $7.6M, which is one of the most expensive home sales in Mecklenburg County history and apparently the highest of this year.
The real estate listing by Sotheby’s International Realty — which includes dozens of photos and a drone video set to soothing music — called it a “prestigious mansion where custom-made everything is the essence” and said “this magnificent Old Westbury inspired chateau resonates with quality, volume and elegance.” It’s on the 14th fairway of Quail Hollow Club.
The sale of former Rep. Robert Pittenger’s mansion on the Quail Hollow golf course is apparently the most expensive sale in Mecklenburg County in 2023. (Photo from county property records)
The tranquility of the Pittenger chateau was an issue in a long-running property dispute between the Pittengers and next-door neighbor Doug Lebda, the CEO of LendingTree, and his wife, which The Ledger covered extensively in 2019 and 2020. The Pittengers alleged that construction of a large new Lebda house violated neighborhood restrictions and invaded their privacy. A judge sided with the Lebdas in December 2020.
Real estate records show that Smith’s company Foxcroft Equity purchased the home. Publicly available loan documents refer to the property on Baltusrol Lane as a “second home.” Property records show Smith last year bought a mansion on Eagle Glen, on the opposite side of the golf course, for $6.2M.
Pittenger is a Republican who represented Charlotte in Congress from 2013 to 2019.
The Charlotte Business Journal reported last month that the most expensive home sale in Mecklenburg in 2023 was a 10,000 s.f. house sold in April in Foxcroft for $7.5M. The all-time record appears to be a $9.2M sale of two parcels in Eastover in 2021.
Related Ledger articles:
“The real Quail Hollow drama takes place in two mansions” (May 6, 2019)
“Juicy new details in Lebda-Pittenger mansion fight” (Oct. 2, 2019)
“Pittenger says Lebda spied on his house with a drone” (June 24, 2020)
“Mecklenburg’s million-dollar house surge” (March 24, 2023)
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Executive editor: Tony Mecia; Managing editor: Cristina Bolling; Staff writer: Lindsey Banks; Business manager: Brie Chrisman, BC Creative