After Split From Imagine Dragons Frontman, Aja Volkman Buys Idiosyncratic LA Retreat

Up until recently, Aja Volkman and her longtime husband Dan Reynolds shared a Malibu beach house that formerly belonged to Goldie Hawn and Kurt Russell. Though they still own that property, the rocker couple recently split for a second time after more than 10 years of marriage, and the Imagine Dragons frontman settled into midcentury modern digs of his own in Los Feliz.

Volkman has now followed suit, having doled out $3.9 million for a one-of-a-kind property in the hip northeast L.A. neighborhood of Highland Park, just south of Eagle Rock and Pasadena. First listed over the summer for nearly $5.3 million, the price was reduced before going to the singer/songwriter in early December at a substantial discount.

The seller was Hollywood cinematographer Alain Betrancourt, who purchased the 0.63-acre parcel for $300,000 back in 1998, and then spent years restoring, expanding and crafting a multi-building compound/artist retreat. Described in the listing as “something out of a Whitman poem,” the bucolic property is accessible via dual gated driveways, and consists of the main residence and several other structures — for a total of 11 bedrooms and six baths in almost 5,000 square feet of living space.

As for the main home, it comes complete with a mix of hardwood and cement floors, clerestory windows and skylights; and, according to the listing, its flexible interiors could be converted into communal living quarters and studio spaces with a commercial-grade kitchen. In its current iteration, the front door opens into a custom-designed kitchen spotlighted by stainless countertops, an eat-in island and a two-way fireplace.

Separate wings can be found on either side of the kitchen — one with an ensuite bedroom, a couple of offices and a bonus room, and the other with its own entrance, four bedrooms, two baths, a living/dining area and kitchen with breakfast nook; and elsewhere is an upper-level studio space with a kitchen and bath, along with a basement-level wine cellar.

Outdoors, the leafy grounds are laced with fruit trees, an herb garden and meandering pathways, as well as an al fresco dining and lounging area warmed by a cozy river rock fireplace. There’s also a tiny home and workshop, plus a treehouse sporting a wood deck up top and an outdoor soaking tub down below.