They wanted to rent this joint for $25,000 a month

Prospective buyers of the waterfront mansion on San Diego Bay at 2905 Nichols Street in the La Playa neighborhood of Point Loma are invited to be “welcomed like a warm embrace” when visiting.

Built in 1928, the property comprises two lots totaling approximately three quarters of an acre, with a 6900-square-foot main residence with garage, guest/maid quarters, and a detached bathhouse.

The main home was designed by architect William Templeton Johnson, noted for crafting the plans for La Jolla’s La Valencia Hotel and Balboa Park’s Museum of Art and Natural History Museum, as well as several other local landmarks.

The second-level master suite features dual his-and-hers bathrooms, as well as a private balcony with “ever changing views of a million points of light on the water,” from Shelter Island to the downtown skyline and Coronado.

The entire home has been “meticulously renovated” to offer “limitless entertaining pleasures,” including a water-view formal dining room as well as a separate “morning room” atrium set up for dining, family/game room, wine cellar, gourmet kitchen, and several outdoor entertaining areas.

Antique architectural details include hand-painted exposed beams in the living room, herringbone-patterned wood floors in the dining room, and a mahogany-paneled library/study.

Outside, the gated estate features “rolling lawns and pristine gardens” as well as a private tennis court and boat dock. A bathhouse is sited near the water’s edge.

“You will feel transported by the romance of this precious property,” promise listing materials, “life lived surrounded by beauty in every direction is a dream actualized.”

Due to the home’s historic status, it qualifies for reduced property taxes under the Mills Act, written by former local state assemblyman and historic preservationist James Mills to promote the maintenance and restoration of historically designated buildings. Assessed property taxes in 2014 were just over $11,000, though the home’s most recently published sale price of $6.3 million in 2011 would suggest an annual tax rate well north of $70,000.

Tax records show the property is owned by the Daly family of La Jolla, though it’s not in use as a personal residence.

The home has been offered for rent several times in recent years, with the previous owners asking as much as $25,000 per month in 2010. The price had been lowered to $10,000 a month for listings in 2013 and 2014, though there do not appear to have been any takers at the reduced rate.

Most recently, the estate was offered for sale in late September 2014. The asking price of $15,750,000 remains unchanged to date.