Real Estate

$5.3M rotating California home hits the market. Take a look inside

The 5,100 sq. feet second floor can rotate in either direction as many times as anyone would want at varying speeds

NBC Universal, Inc.

Ever wanted to live in a home where all the rooms had spectacular views of San Diego? Well, now you can. The only rotating home in San Diego County has just hit the market for the first time and its price will leave you spinning. 

The home, located in La Mesa near Mount Helix, has gone on the market for $5.3 million. It features four bedrooms, three and a half baths and 43 solar panels. On the first floor, you have a fixed living space with a work bench area, a recreation room/granny flat that has a full bath and full kitchenette, and a private 25,000-square-foot lot that has 11 fruit trees.

The 5,100-square-foot second floor can rotate in either direction as many times as anyone would want at varying speeds. 

The rotating home offers an approximate 200-degree view from the Pacific Ocean to downtown San Diego, the Coronado Bridge to Cowels Mountain, Mt. Palomar and the Cuyamaca Mountains. 

When homeowner and builder, Al Johnstone was interviewed for Ken Kramer’s About San Diego, a segment on NBC 7, Johnstone said when he and his wife bought the plot of land they decided to build a round home back in 2004.

“I said to Janet [my wife], we could rotate it and then she said, ‘yes,’ and then I had to figure out how to do it,” Al said. 

Underneath the house is a mechanism that allows the whole house to turn as fast as two rotations an hour. Al told NBC 7 that the only maintenance the home needs is every five years when you need to lube the bearings. Nothing needs to unwind and there are no holding tanks, everything is connected to standard utilities like any other home, except that they rotate with the home. 

What about parking?

Well, the home comes with a two-car garage with a turn table to rotate cars 180 degrees. 

Photo of the garage that has a turn table to rotate cars 180 degrees.
Melvina Selfani, realtor

The home comes equipped with smart home technology, top-of-the-line appliances, fire and earthquake protection and security systems.

For more details on the house, click here.

Take a full peek at the house below:

PHOTOS: $5.3M rotating La Mesa Home hits the market

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