Fresh on the MLS is the longtime home of Jackie Joyner-Kersee on June 17, 2015 for $640K in the quiet and friendly neighborhood of Winnetka sometimes confused for Canoga Park in the media.
From the early 80's to early 90's, Joyner-Kersee was a bad ass in the long jump and heptathlon with 3 gold, 1 silver, and 2 bronze Olympic medals in addition to 5 gold World Championships and 1 gold in the Pan American games. She currently holds (at the time of this writing) the world record in heptathlon along with the top six all time best results in addition to holding the second best long jump time. Joyner-Kersee has been voted the greatest female athlete of the 20th century and all time by Sports Illustrated.
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| From the SFVblog vault |
Although she was born in East St. Louis, Illinois and graduated from the local high school, she graduated from UCLA earning several accolades and awards. Somehow she managed to find her way to the Canoga Park/Winnetka area through her then coach and husband, Bob Kersee. An
LA Times article mentions that they purchased a "Canoga Park home in 1988 but sold it in 1993 to move Joyner-Kersee's home base back to East St. Louis." Based on property records, that is not entirely true as the home featured in this post is still currently owned by Joyner-Kersee.
In terms of SFV connections, Bob graduated from CSUN with a masters and coached the track team including
Florence Griffith Joyner who was another decorated Olympic athlete and was the sister-in-law of Jackie through her brother
Al Joyner who was also an Olympic gold medalist in the triple jump.
Moving onto the house which measures 4 Beds/3 Baths on 2,425 sqft on a total lot size of 6,042 sqft built in 1988. I am not sure of the purchase price but I believe Joyner-Kersee purchased this home brand new in 1988. This area was previously known for the
Charles Weeks Colonies that managed to remain mostly undeveloped up until the 80's. Prior to 1988, its possible they were living elsewhere in Canoga Park/Winnetka or possibly in Van Nuys but I cannot confirm. The listing description states:
Spacious 4 bedrooms and 3 bathroom, 2 story home featuring: a big master bedroom with a private bathroom and 2 walk-in closets. Spanish tiled roof. Large kitchen with tile counter tops and floors. Real Hardwood floors in the upper bedrooms, hallways and family room. Marble floors in the entry and lower level bathroom. Berber carpets in the lower bedroom and living room. Also vaulted ceilings in the living room & dining room as well as the master bedroom. This home also features a wet bar, an all glass patio, 2 car garage and a laundry room. This massive home is great for a large family and won't stay on the market long. Property doe's need some repairs to plumbing and other general areas to be move in ready.
I am not sure how Joyner has been using this property over the years as an
LA Times article mentions that the Kersees would train from January to June in Canoga Park and return back to the home base in East St. Louis. So its also possible this was a rental home when her career ended.
In terms of the Kersee's current location, they live in a Ballwin, MO home (shown below) measuring 4 Beds/3.5 Baths on 3,234 sqft on a total lot size of 0.43 acres built in 1990 which was purchased brand new in September 1990 for $511,398. The Kersee's also own a 2,545 sqft plot of land in East St. Louis next to an "unusual building in Lincoln Park."
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| Image courtesy Bing Maps |
Hate to see a living legend leave the SFV especially in Winnetka so hopefully they are relocating within the SFV.
You can view more SFV Celeb R.E.
here.
