Fresh bid to sell St Kilda's historic final waterfront terrace
As towers sprout, heralding a new era, a 168-year-old house has held its ground on Melbourne's iconic waterfront.
A fresh bid to sell the landmark 1 Alfred Square, St Kilda, is underway. The hold-out house, untouched and magnificently preserved as the suburb has modernised around it, is a handsome reminder of old Melbourne.
Encompassed by apartment towers, the terrace, built in 1855, is one of only two standalone properties facing a significant beachfront square in St Kilda.
It is one of the last chances to live in a freestanding house this close to one of Australia's best-known and vibrant waterfronts, and is newly relisted by Marshall White's Ben Manolitsas, Oliver Bruce and Lachlan Dennehy.
Listing: see more images here of the property
The home, with ornate fireplaces, an arched hallway, wood wall panels and old-world flourishes, has an auction guide of of $2.1 million to $2.3 million. Earlier this year, before a change of agency, it carried upwards of $2.7 million price hopes.
The auction is scheduled for December 2 at 9.30am.
Alfred Square is well known in the bayside for its jaw-dropping position, and when standing on the handsome iron-lace verandah, the new owner can watch music lovers stream into the Palais Theatre and boats bobbing on the bay.
Property Listings
The Esplanade, nearby, is home to some of the state's most salubrious real estate - and expensive, when measured by square metre - facing the water and swaying palms in an impressive stretch, all the way along to the Port Melbourne's Station Pier.
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"Substantial sitting and dining rooms with open fireplaces encompass the home's hallmark properties before culminating in the sun-drenched family and kitchen domain at the rear, designed for private entertaining around a central courtyard," the listing for 1 Alfred Square says.
"A recent refurbishment makes a stylish statement in the kitchen with quality appliances and stone-look countertops, whilst bi-fold doors allow for seamless entertaining, opening to the north-facing deck with a built-in BBQ and pizza oven."
The floorplan hugs an entertainer's courtyard. Kicking on at The Espy is optional with a set up like this.
Space is at a premium in bustling, inner-city St Kilda, and the terrace has the bonus of another entry point through a second courtyard, as well as a bluestone cellar and storage.
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The latest apartment tower in the area is the luxury, star-studded Saint Moritz, by developer Tim Gurner, where the late cricket great Shane Warne owned an apartment. It was sold by his family after his sudden death.
This part of St Kilda, near the wide grin of historic Luna Park, surrounded by restaurants, bars, pubs and theatres, has attracted many new developments over the decades.
The postcode's median house price is $1,426,000, according to the latest Domain data.
The suburb, one of the oldest in Melbourne, has changed a lot but some aspects, including its status as a haven and a strong community for artists and beatniks, has been retained and cherished.
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The list of bands and musicians who have stormed the stage at the Palais includes The Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan, Leonard Cohen, Roy Orbison, John Farnham and Ed Sheeran.
Nine's The Block has been part of the suburb's evolution, renovating a former hostel on Grey Street in 2019. The decrepit Oslo was transformed into five substantial family homes, in a row.
Mitch Edwards and Mark McKie's winning property, 38A Grey Street, which was purchased on the final episode by IT entrepreneur Danny Wallis, is back on the market.
Listing: see more images here of the property
Designed in a Palm Springs style, the four-bedroom home has price hopes of $3.2 million to $3.5 million through agency Whitefox.
The listing references its reality TV origins, describing the home as a "tri-level masterpiece" and a "St Kilda icon reimagined for a new era of indulgence".
There are multiple indoor and outdoor living zones. However, the crème de la crème is the central courtyard with its barbecue kitchen and retro green tilework.
A void presents as a work of art, with the master suite wrapping entirely around the courtyard.
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Marshall White is entering November on the back of a so-called Super October. The agency, which handles listings across 72 suburbs, including Melbourne's bayside, inner east, and the holiday playground of the Mornington Peninsula, had more than $500 million worth of properties in those areas prepped to go under the hammer in October.
The influx will have sated starved buyers who have been picking through a low level of homes for sale this year, market wide.