'Paparazzi-Proof' Condo: Pure Privacy or Marketing Ploy?

Aug. 28, 2008 — -- They have telephoto lenses. They have the stamina for hours-long stakeouts. They have feet that move fast, and they aren't afraid to have them run over by Britney Spears.

They're Los Angeles paparazzi, and the "paparazzi-proof" condo going up in L.A.'s Westwood neighborhood, aimed at flash-bulb weary, wallet-heavy celebrities, hardly stands a chance against them.

The Carlyle Residences, a 24-story tower under construction on Wilshire Boulevard, boasts all the usual bells and whistles: 24-hour white glove concierge service, a fitness center powered by The Sports Club LA, a wine cellar worthy of a world-class vineyard, a private pool and a yoga lawn.

But forget that. Elad Properties is hoping to lure A-listers to the Carlyle by marketing its so-called anti-paparazzi features: 24/7 patrols by "Israeli-trained VIP" security guards and cameras; private elevators that zoom directly from the two-story lobby into sprawling apartments (God forbid a starlet run into her ex-beau's new flame in a common hallway); high hedges that shield the pool and lawn from shutterbugs on the street.

And: "The building is crescent-shaped intentionally [so that] the neighboring buildings don't really get a view into the units," said Erik Schneider, director of sales for the Carlyle. "We don't have any buildings behind us either. There are only low-rise residential communities, so really there's no access to look into a unit from another building.