De Gaulle to France: buy this place

The Life: A four-storey French mansion formerly occupied by heiress Corina Kavanagh is up for sale in Buenos Aires for US$15 million.

This French-style chateau can be yours for $15 million. Courtesy Sotheby's

Set in the affluent suburb of Martínez in Buenos Aires is a French-style chateau that was the weekend and summer getaway of the heiress Corina Kavanagh.

The four-storey mansion comes with a price tag of US$15 million (Dh55m), and is listed on Sotheby's website.

Ms Kavanagh is more famously associated with a 1936 Art Deco and modernist hybrid style residential skyscraper called the Kavanagh Building, now a national monument, in the Argentine capital. For many years, the heiress lived on the 14th floor apartment, the only one to cover an entire floor of the building.

Constructed in 1943, the Martínez property follows French classical architectural design. While the interior covers 22,000 square feet, the plot of land is spread over 193,836 square feet.

In November 1948, Don Eduardo Lejzor Elja Berenbau bought the property. He in turn rented the property to the French government and it was used as the residence for the French ambassador in Argentina.

During a visit to the country, General Charles De Gaulle stayed in the residence, and authorised the French government to buy it from Berenbau's descendants, according to the Sotheby's website.

The mansion has a sandstone façade, and the interiors are fitted with bronze trimmings and hardwood oak floors besides a marble floor entrance hall. Two powder rooms come with a cloakroom. The reception area is separated into three rooms that have two fireplaces and sliding windows offering wide views of a park and a river.

The park can be entered from the dining room. A marble staircase leads to the distribution hall on the first floor. The master suite comes with a marble-laden bathroom, a dressing room and an office. The guest area has three more en-suites.

Service quarters make up the second floor. A spacious apartment for the butler, several bedrooms, a kitchen, a laundry room and storage rooms complete this floor.