Bob Mertz grew up near Franklin D....

Bob Mertz grew up near Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New York home and always loved its Georgian Colonial architecture. As a child, he vowed to build a house in the same style someday.

And eventually he did. After eight years of searching, Mertz found what he considered the perfect spot in La Canada Flintridge. He bought a lot there in 1996, broke ground in 2002 and just put on the final touches.

Conceived and designed by Mertz but executed by architect Jay Johnson, the mansion was inspired by Springwood, FDR’s estate in Hyde Park, N.Y.

About the owner: It’s taken a decade after buying the lot for Mertz, who’s in the entertainment industry and owns a recording studio, to complete the house. Now, “I’m looking to build another one,” said Mertz, who was bitten by the building bug while he was working on the mansion. In that time, he also has built a French-style estate less than half a mile away.

Asking price: $5.9 million

Size: There are five bedrooms and eight bathrooms in 8,700-plus square feet on 20,750 square feet of land.

Features: Custom woodwork, inlaid hardwood flooring, inlaid marble, granite and other natural stone and finishes, a grand entrance hall with a 20-foot ceiling, a library with mahogany doors, a family room, a dining room, a master retreat, a billiard room with a fireplace, a home theater and a bar, a pool, a spa, a built-in barbecue and a meandering path that leads to a bridge across a man-made pond.

Where: La Canada Flintridge

Listing agents: Phyllis Harb, (818) 790-7325, and Rita Johnson, (818) 243-7355, at Dickson Podley Realtors, La Canada Flintridge.

[email protected]

To submit a candidate for

Home of the Week, please send color interior and exterior photos on a CD and a detailed description of the house, including what makes the property unusual, to Ruth Ryon, Real Estate Section, Los

Angeles Times, 202 W. 1st St.,

Los Angeles, CA 90012.

Questions may be sent to [email protected].