A decades-old, black-and-white print advertisement, complete with a vintage-scrolly font reads “Casa Blanca, Near Majestic Camelback Mountain – A Desert Paradise Where Summer Spends the Winter”.
The Casa Blanca in question—an iconic Moroccan-inspired construction in Arizona’s Paradise Valley —pre-dates the Oscar-winning, Morocco-set Casablanca (1944) by some stretch. Built in the 1920s by architect R.T. (Bob) Evans, the script for this Casa Blanca meanders through a fascinating past and present.
Originally a private home, it was converted in the 1940s into a corporate retreat, mainly used by the Borg-Warner automotive company. The 1950s ushered in a new guise—as a hotel for stylish guests to see and be seen in for the next few decades. Eventually the entire property was divided up into private residences designed by Arizona architect George Christensen, with phased renovations starting in the 1980s.
Two years ago, Phoenix-based Haute House Design and Interior’s Jessica Ellingford and Jasmine Gray purchased one of the enclave’s townhomes with full intention to renovate, remodel and sell. This 2,125 square foot fully redesigned home is now on the market and creating quite a stir, listed for $3.25 million by agents Jennifer Burgess and Siena Koppelman of RETSY. “Buyers’ agents have consistently told us that in all their years of selling homes in the Casa Blanca development, no one has taken a remodel to the level of this listing,” says Burgess.
Quite the compliment, considering some of the area’s most discriminating designers and prestige realtors have chosen to call the community home, she says. “This is a real credit to Haute’s thoughtfully planned design,” Burgess adds. “Jasmine and Jessica really pay attention to existing structure when they incorporate their own design elements-they make it a passion project to honor the architecture.” That results in what she describes as “a finished project that doesn’t have what we call in the real estate business an identity crisis.”
The design duo hired architect Lab Design Collaborative to gut outdated areas like the galley kitchen, open up closed-off spaces and maintain the integrity of the Moroccan-Mediterranean style as created by the gated community’s original architect.
In the case of Casa Blanca, the original gate, with its “White City” whitewashed walls and domes, is somewhat of a landmark in Paradise Valley, proudly marking the entry into this storied property. Approaching the grounds, you notice rose and cactus gardens lovingly tended by professional landscapers, three heated swimming pools, plus tennis and pickleball courts—amenities you’d expect at a resort. All set against the dramatic tableau of Camelback Mountain.
Throughout the townhome, or riad as these types of homes are referred to in Marrakesh, the Moroccan-style décor is thoughtful without being theme-y. A Mediterranean color palette mixes tones of unbleached linen, warm sand, sun-weathered terracotta, sesame and a Moroccan tea biscuit known as ghriba. A lime wash on ceilings and textured walls creates a soft, relaxing cocoon. “The trick is finding a true artist to do the application,” says Gray. “The paint can’t be rolled on, it must be applied by a long bristle brush. It’s like a painting—the imperfection is perfection.”
Materials were discerningly sourced—hand-selected limestone from Moroccan quarries for the bathrooms, Taj Mahal quartzite counter tops for the kitchen and laundry, and traditional Zellige hand-cut mosaic tiles in the showers. Then there are the striking creamy wooden elements. “We love white oak and used that in the floors, cabinets, handrails and closets—it has such a warm texture,” notes Ellingford. Palecek lighting fixtures add texture in natural materials like seagrass and rattan—fitting for the atmospheric intentions of the designers.
Outside in the private courtyard, save for the exterior walls, the entire space was reimagined. A whitewashed built-in seating nook and outdoor kitchen with its cascading Bougainvillea inspires curling up with a verre beldi of mint tea. A flagstone pathway involved Gray and Ellingford going through “crate by crate to choose every stone we were happy with, and where to place each one. It was a process.”
And the fountain, essential to any Moroccan riad and often considered the center of the home, “is our favorite piece in the house—it’s a 100-year-old antique from a company in California that brings them in from Indonesia. They are watering troughs converted into fountains.”
Another imported detail that feels right at home in this “Desert Paradise” ready to turn the page into its next fascinating vignette.
5101 N Casa Blanca Drive #223—a turnkey property in Paradise Valley, Arizona—is on the market for $3.25 million with RETSY’s Siena Koppelman and Jennifer Burgess. RETSY is a member of Forbes Global Properties, an invitation-only network of top-tier brokerages and the exclusive real estate partner of Forbes.
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