Edwin L. Cox’s Historic Beverly Drive Estate Sells to Andy Beal

The late Edwin L. Cox Sr.’s acclaimed Highland Park estate recently sold to billionaire Andy Beal. 

The more-than-century-old home built in 1912 sits on about 7 acres along Turtle Creek at the intersection of Preston Road and Beverly Drive in the center of Highland Park. The mansion was designed by renowned architect Herbert Greene, who also designed the Neiman Marcus building and the Arts District Mansion, formerly known as the Belo Mansion.

The exact sale price wasn’t included in documents, but deed records filed with the county show Beal took a $41 million loan on the property.

Beal, a banker who was named Dallas’ wealthiest resident on Forbes’ recent rankings with a net worth of $9.9 billion. 

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Cox, the former oilman for whom SMU’s business school is named who died last year at 99, owned the Beverly Drive home since the ‘70s, the Dallas Morning News reported.

Before Cox owned it, though, it was the home of socialite Susie Rose Lloyd, who, according to lore, mistakenly received the town’s budget in the mail at her house and, thinking it was a bill, wrote a check for the entire amount. 

(READ: Eccentric Socialite Proves to be More Than Merely Legend) 

Beal declined to comment on his plans for the estate, but real estate agent Douglas Newby said he believes Beal had long had his eyes on the property.

“It’s really the only really magnificent Beaux-Arts style home in Dallas and that style is not just a style. There’s a whole Parisian school of architecture from the 19th century,” Newby said of the home. “My guess is (Beal) recognizes like the rest of Dallas just how splendid this home is…I think this house has really a good chance of being renovated and its life extended.”