Gigi and Bella Hadid's Dad Has Been Sentenced to Community Service for Building a Mansion That's Too Big

published 27 July 2017

Los Angeles real estate developer Mohamed Hadid has been sentenced to community service and must pay fines and create a plan to stabilize an eroding hillside in Bel-Air after pleading no contest to criminal charges associated with his building a "mammoth mansion" there.

Hadid, father of Gigi and Bella, was building a 30,000-square-foot home on a 1.2-acre lot. Despite the city of Los Angeles's demand that construction be halted three years ago, the Los Angeles Times reports that "construction continued illegally on the massive house, defying the city order."

A large mansion in the final stages of construction as seen from the air. — The 30,000 square foot house includes a 70-seat IMAX theater.

Knicknamed the "Starship Enterprise," the megamansion was allegedly "bigger and taller than city rules allowed," with "bedrooms, decks, and a [70-seat] IMAX theater that the city said were never approved, according to court documents filed by prosecutors."

At a hearing on Thursday, L.A. County Superior Court Judge Eric Harmon sentenced Hadid to three years of probation and ordered the developer to pay more than $3,000 in fines, complete 200 hours of community service, and repay the city $14,000 to cover building department costs. In addition, Hadid must also hire an engineer to craft a plan to stabilize the hillside on which the house sits, which neighbors say has "been dangerously destabilized."

Local resident Steve Twining, president emeritus of the Bel Air-Beverly Crest Neighborhood Council, told the Times Hadid's sentence is "atrocious" and said the developer "should be in jail" because "he violated the city's ordinances over and over again."

But Hadid's lawyer is focused on preserving the mansion.

"We're interested in one thing and one thing only… bringing this building into compliance," Hadid's attorney Robert Shapiro told reporters. "I can assure you that when this building is complete, it will be one of the most beautiful homes in Bel-Air, if not the country."