A pair of brokers adopted a practical approach as they look to sell a 16.5-acre property in Los Angeles’ Box Canyon that was once the site of a religious cult with a violent past. It's a listing challenge that provides lessons on how to deal with a residential property with a troubled history.

When they recently listed the property, brokers Holly Hatch and Chris Johnson of Coldwell Banker Realty decided to be open with visitors about the problematic time for the site. It's a challenge, as a story by the New York Post this spring showed. Hatch told CoStar News that she and Johnson don't shy away from talking about the property's past, but they don't emphasize it, either.

The West Hills, California, property was once the home of a religious cult with about 100 members led by Krishna Venta and the site of an apparent 1958 suicide bombing that killed Venta and several followers. A decade after Venta's death, Charles Manson spent time at the property with the surviving followers before settling at Spahn Ranch, 4 miles up the road, where he embarked on several high-profile killings.

"Most people know, and they're not shocked" when they hear about the property's past, Hatch said. "We explain it but we don't go into the gory details. We've never had anyone get freaked out about it. Also, there are all these remnants from the cult." He added that "we try to spin it in a positive way."

Among the remnants are Venta's sayings, which are carved into the stonework at several buildings on the property.

The brokers branded the property “Xanadu” with a marketing video set to music from the 1980 movie of the same name that starred Olivia Newton John. The video aims to show the property’s diverse potential, with scenes of people dancing, playing music on a stage, rock climbing and practicing yoga.

That's because Hatch and Johnson think the "hidden gem" property comprising more than 4,000 square feet across several buildings about a 45-minute drive from downtown L.A. has "boundless potential." The list price for the property is $4.8 million, according to a listing on CoStar Group's Homes.com and Southern California's MLS website, reduced from $6.2 million.

“It has very open zoning, so it can be a lot of different things,” Hatch told CoStar News.

Most of the small buildings have been rented out individually as houses in the ensuing decades, except for the lodge on the edge of Box Canyon Road that the group used for prayer gatherings.

The brokers are also marketing the property for residential use and as a potential horse farm. The ranch-style property features seven bedrooms and seven bathrooms. The dwellings have seen only minor renovations over the decades since Venta's group inhabited the property.

Back in the 1950s, Venta called the place Fountain of the World. Each building had a distinct purpose, Hatch said, including men’s and women’s quarters, a children’s nursery and a laundry.

The architecture has a whimsical character, with elaborate stonework forming foundations and walkways and a moat in front of the lodge.

Other notable features include a narrow internal road flanked by tall cedar trees that links the frontage on Box Canyon Road with a dwelling at the rear of the property.

The property also has caves and a concealed waterfall, according to the property listing.

“It’s such a cool property, kind of the last frontier of Los Angeles,” Hatch said.

About That Listing explores how brokers market distinctive properties. Let us know about your unusual listing at news@costar.com.