Former St. John Knits Exec’s Newport Mansion Sold for $30M

The $30 million sale of former St. John Knits president Michael Gray’s Newport Beach estate marks one of Orange County’s priciest deals so far this year.

Gray and his wife, Lori Gray, sold their 8,800-square-foot estate at 309 Via Lido Soud to Lloyd Smith, according to property records filed with Orange County.

Pacific Sotheby’s International Realty’s Sean Stanfield and Ryan Tarr represented the buyer and seller, according to listing sites.

The buyer was Lloyd Smith, records show, tied to Corona-based LDI Mechanical, a heating and air conditioning company for commercial and multifamily projects, LDI’s website shows.

Gray, whose family founded the Irvine-based luxury knitwear firm St. John, had at one time served as president of the fashion label now owned by Lanvin Group. Gray is also founder of baked goods company Sweet Life Enterprises.

The Grays first listed their Via Lido Soud home in May 2022 for $47.5 million, which would have been one of the largest home sales ever in Orange County history, The Real Deal reported at the time of the property’s market debut.

The home was built especially for the Grays in 2018 and has four bedrooms and six bathrooms. It boasts 105 feet of Newport Harbor frontage with a private dock that can be reworked to house a vessel as large as 100 feet. There’s also an infinity pool, six-car garage and terrace lounge with heated floors.

Newport Beach’s Lido Isle had a median listing price of $6.1 million in June with asking prices ranging from $3.9 million to $22.5 million, according to Realtor.com.

Among the broader Newport Beach market’s sales this year was South Florida spec developer Todd Glaser’s purchase of 1411 East Bay Drive.The home, built in 1946, sold for $9 million.

Elsewhere, in the spring, it was reported a 13,000-square-foot mansion at 7 Clear Water hit the market for $250,000 a month. The listing was removed last week, according to Zillow.