- The sprawling estate that once housed Promises Malibu, the treatment center whose clients included Britney Spears and Lindsay Lohan, is listed for $19.95M
- The oceanfront property boasts three homes, two pools and a tennis court
- A buyer must honor the lease currently held by another rehab using the site
Clients paid upwards of $40,000 per month to stay at the center, whose success inspired a rehab industry in Malibu that’s now worth tens of millions of dollars.
Promises is now closed and the property is rented by another rehab clinic – meaning a new owner would have to honor their lease before they could take control of the complex.
The sale of the property marks the latest instalment in its colorful history – and could also signal the end of its life as a rehab clinic for the rich and famous.
A rehab business currently leases the property and the new owner would need to allow that to expire before taking over. It’s not clear how long is left, but after that, they’d be free to use it as they please.
Sean Landon of Douglas Elliman, who holds the listing with Jennifer Johnson, told the LA Times that a tech millionaire or foreign buyer could snap up the property and transform it into a private oasis. Another possibility is that private investors take advantage of the current amenities to create an assisted-living facility there.
Landon said: ‘It’s a rare opportunity with three combined lots, so it has the feel of a compound. There’s a multitude of structures, but also a feeling of privacy.’
The three-acre compound’s properties include a total of 12 bedrooms and 10 bathrooms. It enjoys privacy thanks to its tree-lined perimeter and also boasts stunning views of the Pacific Ocean.
Rogg sold Promises in 2007 but maintained ownership of the land. The property has remained a rehab since.
The celebrity past of Promises is rich and Spears is the best known star to have gone there.
Spears checked in after she was hospitalized in 2008 after police that arrived at her house noted she appeared to be under the influence of an unidentified substance.
In January 2007 Lohan started rehab. First she was in Wonderland Center then Promises where she stayed for 45 days. Later came the Cirque Lodge Treatment Center in Sundance, Utah for a third stint at rehabilitation in the year, staying for three months until her discharge in October.
Affleck was treated at Promises in 2001 after battling with alcohol issues. He later said he’d been ‘partying too much and not having a lot of boundaries’, so he checked in to ‘clear my head’.
Robert Downey Jr, who also checked in, has been drug-free since July 2003, and has credited his wife with helping him overcome his drug and alcohol habits, along with his family, therapy, meditation, twelve-step recovery programs, yoga, and the practice of Wing Chun kung fu.
Other stars who attended the center include Charlie Sheen in 1998 and Dian Ross in 2002.
In 2019, DailyMail.com revealed the property, which is now the Cliffside Malibu center, had taken a new look after it was badly damaged by the Woolsey wildfires the previous year.
‘We provide treatment for drug and alcohol addiction and create a healthy and safe environment to treat clients and address underlying issues,’ Karen Rubenstein, the Clinical Program Director at Cliffside Malibu, told DailyMail.com at the time.
‘Strip away all the luxury that our facility provides – at the core of our clinical program is the connection our team has with clients in order to progress through treatment for long term success.’
Most rehab centers have small beds or bunk beds. At Cliffside there are private rooms with queen beds and nightstands. There are also private bathrooms with all the amenities, like a fancy hotel.
TVs are in the rooms and there is internet access.
There is even a rose garden: the beautiful Grandiflora Roses, Spanish Lavender and local wildflowers.
And there is a yoga studio as well as a massage facility.
The latest pictures of the property show it has been updated once again since 2019.