SF Multifamily Mogul Thomas Coates Sells Ross Estate for $24M

Jackson Square Properties Chairman Thomas Coates has sold his Ross estate in an off-market $23.5-million deal, according to public records, marking by far the biggest residential sale thus far this year in Marin.

Coates — a big political donor — and wife Linda bought the 1-acre property at 9 Upper Ames Avenue in 2021 for $20 million, according to public records. Other than turning one bathroom into two shortly after they bought the approximately 6,750-square-foot home, they appear not to have made any major updates, according to permitting records. The couple also own an 11,300-square-foot home in Ross, as well as three adjacent waterfront properties in Stinson Beach, according to public records.

The buyer was 9 Upper Ames Avenue LLC, which has the same address as the Fremont Group, according to property and state records. The signature on the state filings is also the vice president of client services at the San Francisco-based private investment office for the Bechtel family. The family, whose patriarch Warren Bechtel started the engineering and construction firm in San Francisco back in 1898, is worth approximately $10 billion, according to Forbes.

The five-bedroom 2004-built home in Ross was one of the biggest sales of the year when it last sold in 2021 and was represented by The Agency’s Tracy McLaughlin, according to a round-up of the biggest sales of the year at that time. She was involved in the most recent transaction as well, she confirmed. She declined to say which side she represented or provide any comment, citing an NDA.

When it closed on Sept. 30, the Ross sale became by far the priciest in Marin this year, beating out the top Marin sale of 2023 and almost $10 million more than this year’s second-place sale, a waterfront home in Belvedere that belonged to India’s “King of Good Times” Vijay Mallya for decades. McLaughlin’s site shows that another ultra-high-end deal may be on the way: a Ross listing that was on for $20 million is now in contract.

Overall, home prices in the North Bay county have been down slightly this year to a median of $1.6 million in July, according to the county assessor’s office, though the number of sales was up nearly 15 percent from the prior year.

Jackson Square Properties owns apartment complexes with about 19,000 units in seven states, according to its website. Earlier this election cycle, Coates donated $500,000 to the mayoral campaign of Mark Farrell.