Carmel lands in the spotlight as a Monaco developer snaps up more village properties.

Developer Patrice Pastor of Monaco has acquired a hefty portfolio of properties in the tiny village of Carmel, beginning with the purchase of a home in 2015, growing to at least 16 properties totaling nearly $124 million. The latest purchase for $7.5 million, of the historic La Rambla building on Lincoln Street, prompted one Carmelite to tell SFGATE that residents were “terrified” by Pastor’s expanding Carmel real estate empire. News publications in New York and Europe picked up on the story.

Pastor is chairman of the family development company founded by his great-grandfather, J.B. Pastor & Fil. He’s also head of Pastor Real Estate, based in London. His family is reportedly worth billions, with control over vast real estate holdings in Monaco. In recent years he reportedly experienced a falling out with the ruler of Monaco, Prince Albert II, attracting press attention in Europe and internationally.

In Carmel Pastor operates under a few limited liability companies: Esperanza Carmel, Esperanza Carmel Commercial and Esperanza Carmel Residential. He started off buying three homes over three years, including two next door to each other on Scenic Road, purchased separately in 2016 and 2018.

His commercial purchases took off from there – between October 2018 and December 2020 he purchased multiple properties, including L’Auberge hotel, home to Aubergine Restaurant, and the building where Hog’s Breath Inn is located, once famously owned by Clint Eastwood. In 2023 he purchased three properties, the most prominent of which was the Mrs. Walker Clinton House on the ocean, designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, purchased for $22 million.

Company representative Christopher Mitchell did not respond to a request for comment. Pastor told the Daily Mail he couldn’t understand why locals would be worried. “We love the town, and we want to protect its unique history and character,” he said in a story published on Feb. 20.

Pastor has experienced some hard lessons in what Carmelites consider “village character.” It took three attempts with the Carmel Planning Commission to land on an acceptable design for his proposed multi-use Ulrika Plaza at the corner of Dolores Street and 5th Avenue. Last year he lost a bid to move a decorative wall in the way of another project near Dolores and 7th after the Carmel City Council deemed it historic.