1. A Real “Green Roof” in Tamarama on the Hunt for $2m

    Who doesn’t love a sustainable, aesthetically-pleasing green roof? Certainly not the owners of this Tamarama “penthouse” who transformed a 70sqm terrace into a grass-filled, view-dominated garden. Steven Chen and Cameron Porter of McGrath - Eastern Suburbs have the Fletcher Street listing that is noticeably lacking in interior photos. However, the floor plan is provided and indicates a surprisingly small 2-bedroom, 1-bathroom floor plate for such a top-end price. Then again, the two car prices are certainly a boon, as is the recent sale of a lower unit in the post-war block. Unit 3, also with two bedrooms, a striking view, but certainly no green roof, sold for $1.4m in July. 

    The listing: 1/52 Fletcher Street

  2. Luigi Rosselli-Designed Clifftop on Ben Buckler to Auction for $7m+

    A recently-built home on the cliff front on Hastings Parade designed by Luigi Rosselli (project architect being Simon Hassall) has listed with $7m+ expectations, according to Domain.com.au. The original intent of the home was far grander with development approval sought for a pool and a three-story home, however, according to the architect’s website, the project was ”scaled down from three stories to two to meet the changing expectations of the clients” due to the GFC. 

    Also according to the architects, the 4-bedroom, 2-bathroom home “demonstrates a particular attention to craft, an experimental attitude to materials and a design built to last in this extreme coastal environment. The custom corrugated concrete façade is carried through to the garage door and entry, presenting a strong identity in a street dominated by monolithic blocks of flats. This experimental attention to craft is also explored inside through the hand woven cane screen surrounding the stair that enlivens the large family room and kitchen.”

    The closest comp to 192 Hastings Parade is likely 178 Hastings Parade which sold for $8.2m in 2010. That home, which has a slightly larger footprint, larger parcel size by 100sqm, and a pool also claims architectural pedigree: the Melbourne-based Grant Amon Architects made a rare trip north for the design and build. 192 Hastings Parade joins another Raine & Horne listing on the clifftop: the unrenovated 172 Hastings Parade which is to auction on 29 November.

    The listing: 192 Hastings Parade, North Bondi

    Images courtesy of Luigi Rosselli (Edward Birch, photographer) and listing information. Click below for more images from the architect and the far less-inspiring listing images.

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  3. Radical Roundup: New & Notable This Week

    VIC

    • A two-storey weatherboard on Williamstown’s The Strand emerged on the market with modest mid-$2mil hopes. The Strand is Williamstown’s trophy street, not surprising seeing that its bayfront position offers some stunning views back to Melbourne’s CBD. The price record for the road was achieved back in May 2008 when 21 The Strand sold for $5.4m. Aside from that outlier, most homes trade between $2m and $4.5m, meaning that 27 The Strand is priced well (potentially a result of its shared driveway with a battle-ax development of townhouses at the property’s rear). Further up the road, 75 The Strand is looking for between $3m and $3.5m. Sweeney Estate Agents Peter Fox and Dean Stanley have the listing. 27 The Strand, Williamstown 

    • Notable for its shockingly expensive listing price, a 50 acre chunk of non-waterfront land in Balnarring on the Mornington Peninsula listed for $3.3m. Blane Paton of Paton Estate Agents has the listing at 1 Stanleys Road. If it gets that price, it will be the most expensive parcel of R-1 land sold in the suburb…it will also eclipse the price of any home sold in the suburb. 1 Stanleys Road, Balnarring

    • An over-the-top listing in Bellarine still lingers on the market. It’s a tough sell: only three acres in an area where vacation homes command far more acreage, interiors that belong in four-star Russian hotel, and a $5m+ price tag. Prices that high on the Peninsula usually only occur in Curlewis. Nonetheless, Kay & Burton Albert Park agent Alex Schiavo is trying his best. The listing: 70 Greenhills Road, Bellarine
    • A “never before lived in” home that is weirdly 5 years old listed in Toorak this week. Situated in a quirky - if not creepy - enclave of faux-Tuscan homes on the low-end of Grange Road called ‘Villagio’, the home sold as new construction for $2.325m in 2007. Now Marshall White agents Justin Krongold and John Manton seem to want only $1.75m+ for the property. Looks like we may have a Toorak loser on our hands. 8/75-81 Grange Rd, Toorak

    NSW

    • Situated on the iconic whitewashed escarpment behind Bondi Iceburgs, 14 Notts Ave listed with $7m+ hopes. It’s point-blank north-facing views and four-car garage redeem the fact the home only has two bedrooms. Bethwyn Richards and Jennifer Pooley of McGrath Eastern Suburbs have the listing. The home last sold for $2.85m in Dec 2000 (purchased from the Packer family, it seems) and for $2.1m before that in Oct 1998, both large prices for those days. If 14 Notts gets the price they want, they’ll still be shy of the $9m record for a Notts Ave property when Apt 3 and Number 8 Notts Ave sold in July 2006. 14 Notts Ave, Bondi Beach

    • Bondi Beach’s top-end sell-off continues, this time with yet another apartment in “The Bondi” at 152 Campbell Parade. The north-facing Apartment 702 is looking for the mid-$6mils. Next door neighbour Apt 701 achieved a sale of $6.75m in 2009 and Apt 802 directly upstairs nabbed $9m in Feb 2010 (it had a sizeable terrace, it should be noted). D’Leanne Lewis of Laing + Simmons Double Bay has the listing and she’s insisting on calling it “The Sub-Penthouse.” 702/152 Campbell Parade

    SA

    • A 2007-built limestone-clad Gilberton mansion ‘reminiscent of some of the most majestic homes in England and Europe’ listed this week with $4m+ hopes. Listing agents Marina Ormsby and Peter Veitch Toop & Toop Real Estate are keeping the exact address confidential, but they couldn’t help but leak the home’s prestigious position on Edwin Terrace, often considered South Australia’s best street. The 950sqm home comes with a lift, self-described “grandiose” rooms, and a “fastidiously” landscaped yard. Bring your valium, that sounds stressful! The listing: 9A ‘Confidential’ Edwin Terrace, Gilberton

    WA

    • A 9-year old (although, really, it looks far older) McMansion in South Perth has re-listed on the market this week after unsuccessfully spending 7 months on the market with an $8.25m ask last year. Listing agent Pamela Wilkinson of Acton South is trying her luck with similar pricing hopes: Domain reveals indicative $8.5m+ hopes. The home is situated on Hopetoun Street, one house back from the River, and has some dead-on north-facing views of the city. Beyond that, it’s your typical Perth abode. Check out the interior photos to see what we mean. And for the record, the home (or parcel of land?) last sold for $1.2m in May 2001. 15 Hopetoun St, South Perth

  4. Further video of the surf club renovation.

  5. North Bondi Surf Life Saving Club Gets a Refresh

    Finally. Durbach Block Jaggers does a nice job redeeming the current tragedy that is known as the North Bondi Surf Life Saving Club. 

    Okay, further captions necessary: it looks good when it rains!

    Other further caption: Old, overweight men enjoy the surf club too!

    And the “cutting edge” journalism from SMH.

  6. Long-in-the-Making Bondi Beach Penthouse for $4m+

    Back in 2008, a nondescript 1950s apartment block on the backpacker-filled Francis Street in Bondi Beach sold for $4.4m. Several years before the sale, in 2003, Candalepas Architects were employed by the former owner to design a $1.7m conversion to six luxury apartments. Now flash forward 4 years from the sale and the fancy DA-approved plans and you finally have a finished product that actually looks pretty damn cool. 

    The three bedroom, two-level apartment gets some impressive (and rare) north-facing coastline views. And the two car spaces is not something to be overlooked in value. According the architects: “The building is comprised of six apartments over three levels and replaces a three storey free standing brick apartment block of five self contained units. Sitting on a 530 square metre site in Bondi, the land has an 8.5 metre fall from the rear (south) boundary to the street (north) boundary. The building is surrounded on two sides and the rear by three and four storey rendered apartment buildings. The forms achieved in the scoop of the penthouse apartment echo a series of waves in concrete and capture the light across a full spectrum during the changing day and seasons.”

    Some seriously fancy verbage there. But at $4m+ is it worth it? Did we mention the apartment measures in at a paltry 188 sqm? That’s a price/sqm on par with the best developments on Notts Ave, Campbell Parade, and the Ben Buckler peninsula, not Francis Street. Also, aside from the cast concrete construction and the clerestories, some of the interiors look pretty skimpy (cheap windows, blah carpeting in the bedrooms). What say you, Radical Terrace readers?

    Jason Pantzer of goodyerDonnelley has the listing: 6/8 Francis Street, Bondi Beach

  7. Radical Compact Bondi Abode (for Rent?)

    Katon Redgen Mathieson Architects are back at it with this south Bondi Beach stunner located directly above Icebergs. This Calacatta marble-filled jewelbox is a standout for its exceptionally high construction value; the tiny 120 sq metre site (sandwiched inside an apartment block) was purchased for a whopping $3.52m in Jan 2006 (land value alone). Construction costs totalled an even more impressive $3.2m (built by Cerno). The design of the home faced formidable challenges, most notably the fact that only it’s north-facing view accessed sunlight. However, creative skylighting, light and minimally-designed interiors, and a stellar floor plan compensate and allow for an airy feeling to filter to all the floors. So, what’s the owner of 12 Notts Avenue doing with his/her $6.75m home? Trying to rent it through multiple agents at different prices, that’s what! We found no fewer than three different estate agents trying to rent out the beach house at oddly varying prices. Jeffrey Lamens is trying for $5,000 p/w, Nikki Hamilton at Farquharsons Executive Rentals is seeking $3,750 p/w, and Cameron Porter at McGrath is on the hunt for $3,000-$3,750 p/w. Peculiar!