He converted the property into an equestrian estate, though the rise of Buenos Aires Province Governor and strongman Juan Manuel de Rosas led to his exile in Chile for a number of years.

[3] Villate's death in 1913 made the 35-hectare (86-acre) property available to the government, though its conversion into a public park was considered for a number of years (it had been customary for Argentine Presidents to reside in their own home).

A coup in 1930 and the installation of General José Félix Uriburu gave the estate its first use as a presidential residence when the infirm dictator opted for the spot's breeze and tranquility during a 1931 heat wave.

President Juan Perón installed a screening room, and had the grounds embellished with an amphitheatre, tennis courts, reflecting pool, greenhouse, Ceiba speciosa trees, and other additions, though he later attracted controversy following the 1952 death of his wife, Evita, when he also converted former polo horse stables on the grounds into installations for the "Union of Secondary School Students" (UES) - a group of athletic, adolescent girls - to which the widower provided discreet access via a tunnel built in 1953.

[4] The site of frequent asados and other social gatherings, a concert organized by President Juan Carlos Onganía in 1969 led to a fire that caused the historic residence extensive damage, though it retained most of its original structure.

The residence hosted the Olivos Pact, a political agreement signed on November 14, 1993, between Menem and former President Raúl Alfonsín (head of the main opposition party, the centrist Radical Civic Union).

The pact secured support for the 1994 reform of the Argentine Constitution, which provided for the president's right to seek re-election, as well as for the popular election of the mayor of Buenos Aires, hitherto a presidentially-appointed post.