‘Yarroma’ Softens Its Palette, Adds Ensuites, and Tries Again with $10m+ Hopes

‘Yarroma’, located at 12 Coppin Grove in Hawthorn’s uber prestigious St James Park Estate, has listed once again. This time, the c1871 James Conlan-designed mansion comes with a refreshed interior, a “new” master bedroom, and seemingly more subdued pricing expectations: $10m+, if Domain is to be trusted. The mansion’s new listing struck us for two reasons: 1) any home in the St James Park Estate holds a certain kind of staying power unrepeatable even in the most blue-blooded pockets of Toorak; and 2) when any home undergoes a base-level interior refurbishment after failing to sell, it signals to the Radical Terrace a certain kind of interior design demand en vogue at the top end of the market. And to begin with the latter, what is the market indicating? High Victorian is out; a minimalist (and white) homage to past is in. That, and bedrooms demand an ensuite if to be taken seriously; the master bedroom requires a bedroom-sized closet; and a butler’s pantry reigns over a laundry room. It’s all a very intuitive, albeit simple, renovation to bring Yarroma up to snuff in the modern age of real estate luxury. 

But perhaps the most important before and after lies in the floor plan:

Current floor plan above reveals a complete master suite, with a secondary bedroom converted into a closet, the subdivision of an unnecessarily large laundry room into a laundry room + butler’s pantry, and the opening up of the living room to the kitchen. Also note ever bedroom now contains an ensuite. 2010 floor plan is below.

And to all the NIMBYs out there, you may be familiar with this property for the recent scrutiny of the owner’s plans to develop an adjacent chunk of Yarra River-fronting land into luxury townhouses. The Radical Terrace sees both sides of the story. Firstly, the owner - Peter O’Brien, aquarium planner extraordinaire - tried in vain to sell the entire property as one chunk with bullish $18m+ expectations at various times over the last 2 years. The market did not respond in kind. So what’s a man supposed to do? His $10m idea for luxury townhouses is, in our opinion, no less obstructive to the Yarra River than the development of a mega mansion, which is no doubt the other option for the 3/4 acre piece of land.

That said, what we do respect is the single-family nature of the St James Park Estate. The 1870s subdivision of land was Melbourne’s first significant concentrated development of mansions and remains to this day the highest concentration of larger than life housing in the metropolitan area. The opening in 1860 of the then-named “Richmond Bridge Road” enabled the settlement of Hawthorn on the high ground of the Yarra by the city’s elite. The parcel lines were large enough to accomodate hefty mansions, but small enough not to face the piecemeal subdivision that whittled down many of Toorak’s most impressive multi-acre estates in the 20th century. There’s more juice to the story of the St James Park Estate, both in the past and present, but for now, here’s some historic map porn to enjoy:

An 1870s parcel map above. Yarroma is situated in parcel “54”. 

The oft-referenced MMBW map of 1890 showcases a partially developed St James Park Estate (above), and Yarroma zoomed in (below).

A map at the time of Federation shows a built-out, but still young, neigbhourhood.
 

A quick aside: seeing that the home was built in 1871, and presuming that the exterior has remained unchanged since construction, this may very well be the earliest use of the Hawthorn brick treatment that the Radical Terrace knows of. Can any reader help confirm or refute this claim?

The listing: Yarroma, 12 Coppin Grove, Hawthorn.

Click below for more before and after imagery and other listing photos!!

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Fast Flip in Hawthorn’s Grace Park Estate Wants $6.5m+

A Victorian home in Hawthorn’s Grace Park Estate is back on the market after undergoing an extensive renovation and extension by Dean Dugdale (whose lack of a web presence doesn’t help the Radical Terrace). The c1898 Victorian villa features an iconic (and desirable) Hawthorn brick. However, it didn’t always have that now-iconic coating. The home sold with a painted brick exterior in sorry (but in tact) condition in Aug 2010 for $3.5m. Now, listing agents Nick Elmore and Tom Aylward are hunting for a $6.5m+ buyer. The 4-bedroom, 4-bathroom home is situated at number 51 on Hawthorn Grove, a popular street with a consistent front of Victoria villas (save for the Stockbroker Tudor at 51A) on narrow blocks. The tight-packed nature of the road gives it an almost storybook appearance. 51 Hawthorn Grove sits on a 843sqm lot that stretches deep to rear lane garaging for four cars. The renovation saw the addition of a hulking mass of a second story and kitchen/great room at the backside of the property while maintaining the heritage significance of the front edifice (earning the home mullet house status). The original house footprint is maintained, save for a bulging (but damn cool; cheers for a clerestory!) master ensuite bathroom. On the downside? The modern extension seems fairly disjointed from the Victorian original and is a pretty standard looking flip. Check out the City of Boroondara’s take on the renovation when its development came through here. 

Click below for more images and listing information.

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A Rare 1880s Victorian in the Otherwise 1920s Urquhart Estate of Hawthorn Lists With $3.5m+ Expectations

‘Hartland’, an imposing 5-bedroom Victorian Italianate mansion situated in an increasingly desirable pocket of Hawthorn, listed with $3.5m+ expectations this week. Although anecdotally considered part of the Urquhart Estate, Hartland actually predates that development by nearly 40 years. During the first 4 decades after Hartland’s construction, the property was adjacent to the vast Chinese Market Gardens that was not subdivided until 1919. This chunk of land - referred to as the Urquhart Estate - was the last large parcel of land to be subdivided in central Hawthorn. According to a 1991-1993 Hawthorn Heritage Study, “between 1920 and the late 1930s, amidst Victorian and Edwardian villas, [the Urquhart Estate] of 152 houses was erected in a variety of styles ranging from the Californian Bungalow, the Mediterranean, Tudor Revival to neo-Georgian. A number of these houses were State Bank or War Service homes.” In the below parcel map, the location of Hartland falls just two houses to the north of the development, thus explaining its 19th century origins. Initially, the Urquhart Estate attracted upwardly mobile young families priced out of the more desirable Grace Park Estate in Hawthorn. This trend continued through the 20th century. However, according to Melbourne property savant Mal James, this trend is shifting: “Urquhart estate has turned from the ugly cousin to a sought after Hawthorn precinct in less than 5 years.”

A 1919 parcel map of the Urquhart Estate

However, even though renovated homes in the Urquhart Estate have begun to catch traction and sell in the mid-$2mils, Hartland will command a far greater premium, representing the home’s larger size, earlier vintage, and its abounding period features. Most notably, the stunning woodwork around the sitting room fireplace is remarkably intact and the stained glass front door is eerily well-maintained. There is also a case for strong prices for Urquhart Estate-adjacent Victorian mansions. On neighbouring Goodall Street, #4 traded hands for $4.2m in Oct 2008 and #12 for $3.2m in Dec 2006; both are of similar size to Hartland at 11a Elmie Street. The property itself has only minimally changed its footprint since construction (as revealed by an 1895 MMBW map below), despite internal renovations. As the present floor plan indicates, the only changes to the footprint include the extension of a family room where a cramped kitchen and servant’s quarters once likely stood. 

An 1895 parcel map above, current parcel map below.

Furthermore, exceedingly large bedrooms and towering 14-foot ceilings cap off this offering. Last traded for $1.41m in Mar 2001, Hartland is perfectly liveable as is, yet there is still tremendous scope to refresh this home. Marshall White agents Marcus Chiminello and Stuart Evans have the listing that goes to auction on 25 August.

The listing: Hartland, 11a Elmie Street, Hawthorn

Edzell House Chops, Wants $8m+ For Yarra Frontage

Last November, it is the Radical Terrace’s understanding that ‘Edzell House’, a landmark 1891 Reed Smart & Tappin designed Queen Anne home at 76 (-86) St Georges Road sold for $11m. During Edzell House’s multi-year marketing campaign, plans for subdivision were flaunted. Most notably, MGS Architecture-designed plans for a riverfront abode with 5-bedrooms and a copper roof were revealed.

Fast forward to today, and up appears a half-acre (1800sqm) block of land (without any council approved plans being advertised) listed through RT Edgar agent David Colbran for $8m+. It’s a big price, indeed. And even though this property scores an uber-prestigious St Georges address (a hyphenated one at that!), comps for this block of land likely sit on the less-salubrious Yarradale Road (where number 15 sold for $6.75m in Jun 2011 and sat on a river-fronting 3,160sqm block of land nearly twice the size of the featured property), Edzell Ave, and the other even, high-numbered homes of St Georges Road. Surprising to some, Yarra River frontage was notably less desirable at the time of subdivision of the great estates in the inter-war years (Edzell House was originally on 70 acres) due to the low-lying and dank location adjacent to the quasi-industrial and smelly Yarra River. Perhaps better comps for this chunk of land lie off Coppin Grove in Hawthorn where some of the larger river front estates remain undivided and sit at a higher elevation (12 Coppin Grove sold for $17m in Jul 2011 and is now looking to chop off 3,000sqm of the original 5,000sqm title for $7m+), #21 for $10.75m in 2002, and three other sales between $5 and $10m in the last five years). All in, the acquirers of 76 St Georges Road are likely very happy with themselves; seeing that if they score their desired asking price, they will - in effect - have purchased the Edzell Mansion for a paltry $3m. 

Check out the old renderings of a possible home at 82-86 St Georges Rd, courtesy of MGS Architects via 76 St Georges Road’s old listing site (that’s surprisingly still live to our good fortune):

The listing: 82-86 St Georges Road, Toorak

Tennis Tetris: Ranking Australia’s 10 Best Examples

The Radical Terrace surfed around Google Maps to find the most dense examples of tennis courts in Australian suburbs. Not surprisingly, hot spots for tennis courts include Sydney’s Upper North Shore and Melbourne’s Eastern Suburbs. And even though Portsea likes to (anecdotally) claim to have the “most tennis courts per capita” in the country, it looks like Hawthorn’s Scotch Hill precinct may pose a rivalry to Portsea’s prominence. 

**All photos are screen grabs from GoogleMaps**

Toorak’s Tussle of the ($30m) Towers Continues:

The question that’s puzzling all the parents waiting to pick up their beloveds from Melbourne Grammar and St Caths’ is which Toorak mansion on Towers Road will crush the Melbourne property record so rudely stolen by an apartment block house in - wait for it - HAWTHORN*! Next door neighbours 1 Towers Road and 3 Towers Road in Toorak remain on the market, both hoping to break the $30m mark that has yet to be bumped in Victoria. Both abodes come with fancy listing websites (#3 with its own vanity URL and logo), but our post today comes because we finally dug up some floor plans of #3 from an old article by The Age’s Simon Johanson.

3 Towers Road floor plan:

Not only do the two properties share a suburb, a price, a street name, and a fence (read: gigantic wall), they also share the same estate agency: Kay & Burton South Yarra. #1 is listed by both Michael Gibson and Ross Savas, #3 just by Savas. For what it’s worth, we at the Radical Terrace think #1 is the better of the two. But we also believe #3 will find more solid expat interest (read: cashed-up Chinese buyers).

The Listings:
1 Towers Road, Toorak
3 Towers Road, Toorak 

*Property obsessors take note: The Radical Terrace is maintaining that ‘Avon Court’ at 18-20 Shakespeare Grove in Hawthorn is Melbourne’s most expensive sale (circa $25m). We are not including the $26.5m sale of Ilyuka in Portsea, Victorian record-holder, as being in Melbourne.

$13m Sale in Hawthorn’s Scotch Hill

Remember when Jonathan Chancellor and this blog reported on a slump in Hawthorn prices? Well, out of nowhere - and contradicting us all - a $13m sale on Kooyongkoot Road in Hawthorn’s posh Scotch Hill neighbourhood is reported by Domain’s Simon Johanson. Apparently, the buyers are expatriates (meaning FIRB-approval was required), and as this blog knows overseas buyers will sometimes pay a premium for property for God knows why (read: Point Piper’s Craig-y-Mor).

Not much information was revealed about the house save for its location on Kooyongkoot Road and the fact that it sold for $3.45m in 2002. Now either the property experienced some serious renovation or our aforementioned “expat rule” holds true. Nonetheless, the Radical Terrace did some serious phishing around and, thanks to Google Maps, are pretty confident that the subject property is 21-23 Kooyongkoot Road. It’s a nice, albeit understated, terrace house fronted with iconic Hawthorn brick work, a large pool and tennis court well-situated on the 2nd/3rd best street in Hawthorn (after Shakespeare Grove/Coppin Grove). However, we’re still a bit bamboozled by the price, considering neighbouring properties of similar calibre have failed to sell for half the $13m price…

Title Battle: Deeds or Tattle?

Once again, Chancellor and his team at Tattle takes the crown. It was close though, namely because Margie over at Title Deeds broke news of the sale of The Radical Terrace’s favourite home north of the Bridge - the twice-featured Mandolong House - in Mosman. Setting a non-waterfront record for the suburb (but far off the non-waterfront record in Sydney; that honour goes to the $32.4m Craig-y-Mor sale in Point Piper), 17 Mandolong Street clocked in at $18m selling through Brendan Warner, whom Margie quickly points out is responsible for three other $10m+ sales in the suburb. The Radical Terrace thinks it may see where Margie’s tips are coming from…and we like it! Margie also represented the Eastern Suburbs with news of Nicole Hunter’s Olola Avenue house in Vaucluse selling around the $11.9m mark. Seeing that Hunter purchased the home for $8.5m in 2002 and hope to fetch $15m+ for the abode today, we can only guess she’s a bit disappointed with the massively discounted sale. 

But Title Tattle didn’t fail to impress; most noteworthy was their subtle notice of a depression in Hawthorn prestige prices, noting the ~$8m sale of a Scotch Hill “original” that previously sold for $9m in 2007. The home was featured on The Radical Terrace last month. Chancellor’s Tattle continued on their Victorian property binge reporting on the sale of Mt Martha’s rather odd ‘Glynt Manor’, the even more peculiar mansard-roofed Coburg mansion ‘Kalimna’ (that we featured last week), and the tough-to-sell Newport weatherboard of Scott Pendlebury. However, what really gave Title Tattle this week’s edge was a much-appreciated Radical Terrace shout-out and a LIST! You know we love lists, and even better: a list of 2011’s most expensive suburbs. Chuck in a tale of ‘Swifts’ property drama in Darling Point (this time it’s a noise complaint; the mansion is a sponge of drama), and you’ve got yourself a winner with Title Tattle.

The Scorecard: Deeds: 4 // Tattle: 11

A Scotch Hill Original

Believe it or not, there once was a time when Hawthorn was considered by the Melbourne establishment to be akin to what Melburnians consider Templestowe to be like now: garish faux-mansions in an out-of-the-way location. In the first decades of the 20th century, shortly after Scotch College moved to their at-that-time-urban-fringe locale, the only society-worthy homes in Hawthorn were those that dotted along the Yarra River. Melbourne money had been firmly established for a solid generation (since their migration from East Melbourne and St Kilda Road in the 1870s) and Hawthorn wasn’t much to look at. Quite different from today when Hawthorn is home to some of Melbourne’s wealthiest dentists and mid-tier lawyers (not to mention home to some of the best examples of Federation mansions). When the area now referred to as “Scotch Hill” was parcelled up and sold off, one road received generous tree plantings and slightly larger blocks: Kooyongkoot. Today, Kooyongkoot is the address of Hawthorn (at least the Scotch Hill precinct), and is a nice counterpart to another road of several lives: Monmouth Road in Canterbury. 

33 Kooyongkoot sits on an extremely large 2800sqm lot (over a half-acre) with an understated “English-styled” 1930s dwelling on it; one of the original homes of Kooyongkoot. The home’s aesthetic is no surprise; even though the English Tudor style was then en vogue, to utilize brick so extensively, the original homeowners were likely emulating the older homes of the more established suburbs. But back to the house. Without wasting even more words, I’ll leave it to Mal James, one of the most colourful (and knowledgable) characters in Melbourne real estate, who rated the home a 752 on his unique home rating scale:

“This is all about the street address and block size as overall the home is very serviceable but not befitting (without a major refurb or rebuild) of the block size and street quality. Southern garden to side has some class. Some minor overlooking - being planted out currently. Interesting staircase at entrance. Lacking quality upstairs due to lower ceilings. One the THE Scotch Hill addresses. Rated as Land Only or a major rebuild - did not rate home as that would lower the score significantly. This is a trophy address and on the crest of the hill.”

We most definitely agree. Agents Tim Picken and Scott Patterson of Kay Burton Hawthorn are hoping for $6m+. They’ll likely get that and a bit more.

The listing: 33 Kooyongkoot, Hawthorn

Bonus! 1945 image of the virgin property. No tennis court! Insignificant neighbours! Tiny trees!