In February 2017, a five-story home on Baltimore’s Inner Harbor waterfront sold for $5.65 million. The house was bought through a corporate entity called “Clear Coaster, LLC.”
From the moment the transaction closed, everyone wanted to know who would pay that much – a record price for the area – for a home in Baltimore? Perhaps a player on the Ravens or the Orioles? Or maybe Kevin Plank, the founder of Baltimore-based Under Armor sportswear company? Maybe Stringer Bell? The home in question spans 9,000 square feet, has six bedrooms, a home theater, elevator and sauna. Here is a video tour:
With a bit of digging, local sleuths figured out that Clear Toaster was managed by a man named David Bolno. Blono was a partner in an LA-based accounting/business management firm that represents wealthy entertainers. A little more digging uncovered that Bolno acted on behalf of another person named Evan Lowenstein.
Who was Evan Lowenstein? A little more digging revealed that in the late 1990s/early 2000s, Kevin was in a boy band called Evan and Jaron, whose song “Crazy for This Girl” hit #15 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 2000. Evan eventually gave up singing and became a manager. In February 2017, Evan had precisely one client: Kevin Spacey.
Now, it was all coming together.
In early 2017, Kevin was still a beloved actor starring on a massive Netflix show, “House of Cards.” A show that paid him $20 million a season as both the star and producer.
Why would Kevin Spacey need a $5.65 million home in Baltimore? Because “House of Cards,” which at this point was about to begin production on its fifth season, was filmed at a studio 30 minutes away in Joppa, Maryland.
As it would turn out, Kevin would only have around six months of peace and happiness in this home. In October of 2017, actor Anthony Rapp alleged that at a party in 1986, Spacey made sexual advances towards him. At the time, Rapp was 14. Spacey was 26. This allegation opened the proverbial floodgates. Fifteen other people came forward and made similar allegations against Spacey. His career and reputation were swiftly destroyed.
(Photo by Alexi Rosenfeld/Getty Images)
Netflix didn’t know what to do with Spacey. “House of Cards” pretty much single-handedly minted Netflix and original content streaming business. In the end, Netflix and the production company behind the show, Media Rights Capital (MRC), decided to end the series after a shortened sixth season. Spacey was removed from the show as both a star and executive producer. Netflix also canceled a biopic about Gore Vidal that he was supposed to star in and eventually cut ties altogether. As did Kevin’s agency, Creative Artists Agency. Kevin’s career was dead. And with it, his ability to earn $20 million a season from “House of Cards” and $5-10 million per major film role were also gone. And that wasn’t the worst of the financial pain to come.
In January 2019, Media Rights Capital sued Kevin. MRC’s lawsuit sought compensation FROM SPACEY PERSONALLY for the financial damages it incurred for having to scrap the entire sixth season after filming two episodes. Furthermore, MRC claimed in the scramble to right the ship, it only had enough time to produce eight episodes for the sixth season, five fewer than Netflix ordered. MRC lost millions in licensing fees by not being able to deliver a full season. In November 2021, a jury agreed with MRC and ordered Kevin to pay $31 million in damages. Kevin appealed, but in August 2022, the damages were upheld. This meant that Kevin had to pay MRC $31 million personally.
It’s possible Kevin Spacey could have cut that check at the absolute peak of his career when he had a net worth that we estimate once topped $50 million. But after spending God knows how much money on lawsuits and losing his ability to earn big paychecks, clearly something was off for Kevin’s finances.
This probably explains why, in mid-2022, Kevin reportedly stopped paying his $20,000 monthly mortgage on the Baltimore house. By February of 2023, the debt had apparently grown to $171,000, and a debt collector had sought permission to begin foreclosure proceedings. In July of 2023, the Home Owners Association filed a $43,400 lien against the property, apparently because he had not paid the $2,600 monthly HOA fee for approximately 16 months. In August of 2023, a judge granted a debt collection agency the right to sell the mansion. That foreclosure auction will take place on February 29.
It’s not clear if Kevin owns other real estate around the country that he can retreat to after this home is sold at auction. He has always bought properties through LLCs, just as he did in Baltimore, to obscure his identity. We do know that he previously owned a mansion in Los Angeles. In 1997, Kevin paid $2.135 million for a home in LA’s Los Feliz neighborhood. He sold this house in July 2017 for $11 million.
The opening bid for Kevin’s soon-to-be former Baltimore house is not known. I’m no Baltimore real estate expert, but I can’t imagine there are a lot of people interested in paying $5+ million for homes in downtown Baltimore. Especially ones that have the bad mojo of Kevin Spacey as the previous tenant. There’s one property currently listed for sale in all of Baltimore for over $4 million. It’s a condo not far from Kevin’s unit. The list price is $4.25 million and has been on the market for 236 days.
