Derelict Mansions with “Unbridled Potential”

As Monica Kovacic over at the House Hunter may agree, derelict mansions offer an imaginative window into the domestic lives of generations past. While many mansions past their prime are demolished, many more are preserved as apartment house conversions (Babworth Estate in Darling Point being a very good example) or as single-family refurbishments. Here are some notable NSW and Victorian homes on the market in need of some serious TLC.

Sitting on an acre of not-quite-the-best-but-not-that-bad Wahroonga land, the 1904 James Peddle mansion ‘Mount View’ (102 Grosvenor Street, Wahroonga) has listed with hopes in the high-$2m to right around the $3m mark. Adrian Ursino of Avera Property has the listing. The buyer will likely do a subdivision play, as the home has little value as a refurbished mansion in this pocket of Wahroonga.

Down to Canterbury in the heart of Melbourne’s equivalent of the Upper North Shore: the 109 Tram Line and Mont Albert Road. Situated on View Street, the more historically-savvy and aesthetically-appealing alternative to the McMansions of Monomeath St. Cameron Edgoose and Peter Mitchell of Marshall White have the listing and want a reasonable $1.7m+. The exterior (pictured above) is in solid shape, the interiors on the other hand…

The listing: 19 View St, Canterbury VIC

Back to New South Wales, we find the dilapidated mansion ‘Rothesay’ (24 Pearson St Balmain East) on the Balmain peninsula. The mansion is entirely uninhabitable, but sits on a generous parcel of land in a pocket of Balmain East that would lead the buyer to pull an apartment renovation play here. The “Gothic Revival” abode is listed through Michael Glynn of McGrath-Inner West and wants $1.85m+. Pictured below.

And finally we head to one of the hipper spots of inner Melbourne: Greville Street in Prahran. 26-28 Greville St is listed through Lachlan Castran of Castran Gilbert and is looking for offers above the $2m mark. Due to its location on a well-trafficked retail corridor, it’s most definitely a multi-family play here. Pictured below.

Monica Kovacic over at The House Hunter is fast becoming one of the Radical Terrace’s favourite people. Her recently launched blog features her own photographic journeys through some of Australia’s significant residential architecture. In a recent post, she explores the newly renovated 27 Marne Street (same street as several past Radical Terrace highlights). Kovacic posted some truly radical pictures. Further research into the house reveals the architects behind the renovation, Carr Design Group, did not work in vain. Their Marne Street masterpiece was deservedly picked up by Australian Design Review and ArchDaily. Originally constructed in the 1920s, Carr oversaw the integration of what was formerly two duplexes, the historical reinvention of the interiors, and a modern extension.