American dream: Vietnamese immigrant lists Atlanta's White House lookalike for sale

Tucked in the Oak Grove area along Briarcliff Road, the property is a private, White House–inspired replica built in 2001 by developer Fred Milani.

Thuy Ai Kathy Lam's mansion in Atlanta. Photo by Facebook/Peter Pham

He even sent designers to Washington, D.C., to study the original, resulting in a roughly 16,500-square-foot main residence that mirrors key elements of the executive mansion's look and feel. Inside, there's an Oval Office–style study, a guest suite inspired by the Lincoln Bedroom and a series of formal entertaining spaces that channel Neoclassical grandeur, CBS News reported.

While the home has never been an official or public White House property, it has long been a local curiosity and a backdrop for film shoots, family gatherings and special events, especially after it changed hands in the wake of the 2008 housing crisis.

For current owner Thuy Ai Kathy Lam, the mansion also tells a very different story: her own. Lam immigrated from postwar Vietnam to the U.S. in 1995 with little money and eventually built a successful salon and beauty-school business in Atlanta. As a young newcomer, she remembers driving past the replica White House and thinking she would be lucky just to tour it someday, Fox Atlanta reported.

Nearly two decades later, after her then-husband jokingly suggested buying the house, Lam took the idea seriously, contacted the owner and closed the deal in 2013. She moved in with her family and came to see the estate as a symbol of her American dream. Now that her children are in college, she says it is time to pass the property on to someone new.

The Oval Office–style study inside Thuy Ai Kathy Lam's mansion in Atlanta. Photo by Facebook/Peter Pham

Listed by Serhant agents Tuy Dewey Luong, Annie Tran and Tiffany Powell, the estate spans nearly three manicured acres and includes two full residences with more than 20,000 square feet of living space combined. The main house offers six bedrooms and 11 bathrooms; the guesthouse, nicknamed the "West Wing", adds another seven bedrooms and six bathrooms, giving the property capacity for large gatherings while maintaining privacy.

A dramatic foyer with muraled ceilings, a sweeping staircase and a custom chandelier sets the tone as soon as visitors step inside, supported by a discreet home elevator. Outside, the grounds feature manicured gardens, an oversized pool and jacuzzi, and a fully equipped pool house with an outdoor kitchen designed for hosting.

If it sells anywhere near its $35 million asking price, the Atlanta "White House" would shatter the region’s previous residential records, around $18 million.