Radical Warehouse Conversion with Bonus Terrace in Surry Hills for $3.5m+

A verifiably cool warehouse conversion in Surry Hills just hit the market with $3.5+ expectations. The property sits on a 240sqm block of land and features an open and airy warehouse fronting 11-13 Phelps Street coupled with a renovated terrace (or former electrical substation?) with frontage at 54 Arthur Street (that now also hosts a unique garage) to form a mini-compound that would make Dennis Hopper a happy man in heaven. From what the Radical Terrace can infer, the owners acquired the commercial warehouse to the Stamp Factory and Gallery in April 1991 for $270k. Whether or not this purchase was inclusive of the terrace/substation at 54 Arthur St is beyond us. What we do know from the agent’s description is that architects Mark Hurcum (now of Mark Hurcum Design Practice) and Nick Turner (now of Turner Studio) led the renovation efforts back in 1991 when they were but young bucks who had not yet made their architectural mark. It’s a revealing conversion for the architects, as its maintained its relevancy and high design these last two decades and still shows itself off as contemporary high design. 

Warehouse conversions almost uniformly command Surry Hills’ priciest pads, due in part to their size. And within the Surry Hills market, the most desirable precinct is the quiet maze of streets between Crown and South Dowling Streets, a location which this featured property scores. A solid, albeit far larger, comp is the Radical Terrace-featured 5 Bennett Place conversion that scored $5.71m when it sold in February of this year. And will 11-13 Phelps Street score its $3.5m+ ambitions? The Radical Terrace thinks it highly likely. The flexible space, hyper-valuable car space, large and light-filled bedrooms with ensuites, plentiful outdoor space add value. But at the end of the day, it’s the live/work potential that brings this property to the forefront of the Surry Hills listings going into the summer season. 

Richards Elliot agents Jerry Toller and Simon Hohnen have the listing: 11-13 Phelps Street, Surry Hills

The terrace-turned-garage.

Commercial Conversions on the Balmain Peninsula

66 Evans St, Rozelle, today (above) and pre-renovation in 2000 (below)

The rise, fall, and revitalisation of the corner shop - or milk bar, if you’re from Victoria - should surprise few inner suburban residents of Australian capital cities. Throughout the 1970s and 1980s, it was not uncommon for once well-patronized corner shops to close their doors in the face of competition from more cost-effective grocery stores in shopping centres (the proliferation of two-car households further enabled families to shop beyond that which was walking distance). Small scale commercial real estate faced a similar fate - the local solicitor that once maintained an office “just off the tram line” was soon found in a mid-rise in St Leonards, Bondi Junction, or Strathfield. Many of these corner shops morphed into use as art galleries, architecture firms, cafes, and even residences. (Fun aside: perhaps the most concentrated examples of commercial buildings turned into residences can be found along the former North Bondi (via Paddington and Bellevue Hill) tram line, roughly now the 389 bus route.) The Balmain Peninsula, due to its irregular topography, maintained more than its fair share of these corner shops since accessing the “main drag” of Darling Street was an inconvenient uphill walk for many residents in the densely populated suburb. That’s why today, in addition to residential conversions, one can find many pubs on quiet residential streets several blocks removed from Darling Street. Today, we focus our attention on two commercial conversions. 

Listed this week, 66 Evans St in Rozelle (all pictures above) is found on the more desirable side of the suburb (north of Victoria Rd, adjacent to Balmain). The double-wide transformation took place sometime in the past 12 years (the Radical Terrace found the above circa-2000 picture of 66 Evans in the Leichhardt Council’s heritage archives). The architect’s behind the renovation maintained the visual aesthetic of its former commercial life on the exterior, while adding a level to enable a 5-bedroom, 5-bathroom abode suitable for large-scale family living. The business-in-the-front, party-in-the-back renovation earns it “mullet house” honours. Monique Dower and Olivia Wilson of Belle Property Balmain are expecting over $2.2m for the home. The closest comp for 66 Evans is likely the also-listed 122 Beattie St, seen below. That said, single-fronted next door neighbour 64 Evans sold for $1.145 in Nov 2009.

The listing: 66 Evans Street, Rozelle

Moving a few blocks north (but crossing the valuable Rozelle-Balmain boundary line), we find 122 Beattie Street. Originally the Sydney City Mission built in 1909, the 453sqm home sits on a large 570sqm block of land with a sizeable 126sqm workshop at the rear of the lot. The interiors have been transformed to resemble a contemporary warehouse conversion. Since the property’s original listing last year, Monique Dower and Olivia Wilson of Belle Property Balmain (the same two agents for the home above) have been dropped, as has the price, from $3.2m+ expectations to “$2.3m+ expectations”. Quite the price cut! Back in December, Monica Kovacic at The House Hunter took a tour and wrote a description that’s worth having a quick read. Now the home is listed through McGrath agents Chris Chung and Cindy Kennedy. 

The biggest downside of the home is the lack of parking in a notoriously car parking-unfriendly neigbhourhood. A $200k car lift addition was proposed by the owners and submitted to the Leichhardt Council in 2009 and fully rejected in early 2010. The owners are likely further disappointed, as the revised expectations are over $600k lower than the $2.95m they spent in April 2007 for the property. OUCH!

The listing: 122 Beattie St, Balmain

Radical Warehouse Conversion & Kitchen Counter for High $4 Mils!

Everything was looking good in this Camperdown warehouse conversion until we saw the price expectations from McGrath agent Brett Talbot. The 4-bedroom, 550sqm home is situated directly across the street from Camperdown Park (score!), is zoned “Light Industrial” (semi-score?), and is priced in the high $4mils (according to where it sits on Domain.com.au and Realestate.com.au). Yikes! Maybe if the home was transported to Surry Hills that price would be justified, but it’s a mighty high price for the Inner West. Nonetheless, we dig it, and think it’s a buy in the $3mils; even up to the $4mil mark. And that kitchen counter? Well, let’s just say it’s pure brilliance. The rest of the home seems to be fit-out to a high spec as well. The bedroom:bathroom ratio and the Japanese hot tub give the bachelor’s pad bonus points. The Radical Terrace has tried in vain to track down any information about the architect or previous sales data. Side question: however do you access the advertised three car spaces? The floor plan offers no hints.

The official listing: 31 Australia Street, Camperdown

Want 1/3 of a Surry Hills Apartment Block? 

3 Esther Street, one of Surry Hills’ earliest warehouse conversions, which has been solely residential since subdivision in 1997, has seen two apartments listed in the past few weeks. The 6 apartments in the block have flipped hands a few times, but it’s rare to see two listed at the same time (potentially by the same owner?). Both apartments are listed by Shannan Whitney and William Phillips of Bresic Whitney; the duo seems to be the official go-to for any warehouse loft sale. But we digress, the two apartments are pretty damn decent, albeit nothing spectacular. Unit 6, which is hoping for $800k+, has “soaring 6m ceilings”, living spaces downstairs and sleeping upstairs, and a renovated bathroom. The smaller Unit 2 is seeking $600k+, has two bedrooms and one bathroom on a single level. It last traded for a suspiciously cheap $330k in April 2009.

As far as comps go, Unit 4 (which appears to be the same layout as Unit 6), sold for $765k in March 2011, and Unit 5 also sold for $950k in Feb 2010 and features a highly desirable parking spot, a liability for the two units featured here. Bourke Street Bakery patrons tend to steal off all the good spots!