Eric and Wendy Schmidt’s family foundation purchased the Mar y Cel property in Montecito with plans to protect the land as open space.
The 350-acre property is known for its sweeping coastal views and historic Tea Gardens, which were built by the Bothin family in the early 1900s.
The purchase closed Friday for what is the largest contiguous undeveloped property in Montecito, the Schmidts said in a statement.
“In keeping with their philanthropic focus on the environment, and in recognition of the value of Mar y Cel to the community and to the region, the Schmidts plan to protect these historic and important lands as open space, and will spend the coming months determining how best to do that,” the statement said.
The Schmidts’ foundation purchased the property from the estate of Dr. Keith Schofield and his wife, Kay Robinson Schofield, stewards of the property for the past 24 years.
Eric Schimdt is a former Google CEO and executive chairman, and Wendy Schmidt leads the Schmidt Family Foundation.
They created the foundation in 2006 “to address challenges facing communities around the world, working for clean renewable energy, healthy food systems, healthy oceans and the protection of human rights,” they said in a statement.
They also started the Schmidt Ocean Institute, which gives scientists free access to a research vessel as long as they make their findings publicly available, and the nonprofit Schmidt Sciences.
They own the Solana estate in Montecito, and Wendy Schmidt is a board member for Lotusland.
The Mar y Cal property, or “sea and sky,” is north of Westmont College.
“This is a rare opportunity for a buyer wanting either an exclusive family compound, a community of private world-class estates, or a variation of both,” the Coldwell Banker real estate brochure for the property states.
The Bothin family purchased the property in the early 1900s to use its water to irrigate the neighboring estate, Realtors noted.
“Instead of simply piping the water down the mountain, they created an eclectic folly of exotic plantings, reservoirs, and gravity-fed water features which cascaded musically down the hillside, culminating in a 200-seat amphitheater where the hosts were known to entertain their guests” with performances that were sometimes accompanied by synchronized swimmers in the nearby pool.
The Tea Gardens were designed by artist and landscape architect Lockwood de Forest.
“At its zenith, the property was filled with statuary, formal and exotic gardens and the famous water feature which was unique throughout the country,” Realtors said.
The property was abandoned for decades before more recent owners rediscovered some of the original features, they said.
Chris Harrington of Sotheby’s International Realty of Montecito represented the seller and the buyer for this purchase.
About 150 acres of the property are in a conservation easement with the Land Trust of Santa Barbara County, including access to the West Fork of the Cold Springs Trail.
In 2008, a group of local college students trespassed on the Tea Gardens property and started an illegal campfire.
The fire wasn’t properly extinguished and later reignited, causing the devastating Tea Fire, according to investigators. That wildfire burned 1,940 acres and destroyed 210 homes.