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Inside the $80m trophy home set to test Melbourne’s record
The southern capital’s residential sales record could soon be topped, with the arrival of a contemporary Toorak trophy home that has a guide of $75 million to $82 million.
Bonnie CampbellLuxury property reporterMar 8, 2024 – 3.17pmListen to this article9 minWhen Melbourne-based architect Ilario Cortese was asked to design a luxury home for his Toorak client about a decade ago, he was handed two commodities rarely offered in house design: a blank canvas and an open chequebook.
The latter certainly came in handy when, midway through the build, the client opted to add another level to create a dedicated floor for the master suite to capitalise on 360-degree views across Melbourne.
Ultimate in contemporary turnkey luxury: the Macquarie Road home opens to an outdoor terrace with a 20-metre mosaic-tiled heated infinity pool.
The open-ended brief was also helpful when you consider that the master suite now incorporates a rooftop terrace with a glass-walled spa, his and her ensuite with an Italian mosaic feature wall, along with a 12-metre-long dressing room fitout to rival that of any high-end boutique.
“Our brief was basically the accommodation requirements, and the project developed as we went,” Cortese says “It’s incredibly elegant, and the finishes are sublime.”
The low-key vendor, according to property records, is former fashion executive Sue Lord. Mrs Lord lives at the Macquarie Road address with her husband, John,who chairs automation platform Neota.
Sue worked alongside Cortese, and his eponymous firm Ilario G Cortese Architects, over five years to create the four-storey, resort-style retreat located in the heart of Toorak.
“Sue never said no, she accepted all ideas, and wanted to see where they went, and, it was wonderful,” Cortese says of the evolving design.
AFR Weekend joined Cortese for a private tour of what could soon take the crown of Melbourne’s most expensive residential sale, given the property has just landed on Australia’s trophy market with a $75 million to $82 million price guide.
If it sells for the upper end of that range, it will break the record for the most expensive house sold in Melbourne, which stands at the $80,000,088 paid by crypto casino founder Ed Craven for a derelict mansion – which has since been demolished – on nearby St Georges Road in 2022.
AdvertisementCraven’s purchase – essentially for the block of land – is currently a hive of activity as excavators prepare the 7168-square-metre site for the Stake.com founder’s yet-to-be-built mega-compound.
Melbourne’s second-biggest sale was also clocked on St Georges Road in 2022 when MessageMedia founder Grant Rule paid $75 million for a Georgian Revival mansion on 7800 square metres, which was previously owned by late inventor Radovan Nanut and his wife Marguerite.
And while the phrase “Toorak mansion” conjures images of grand ivy-covered estates built around the turn of the century, the latest record-contending offering is more light-filled LA-luxe than Italianate manor.
Cortese says that although the large-scale interiors of the five-bedroom, eight-bathroom home appear simple and symmetrical, they were, in fact, the product of a very complex and lengthy design.
“People think because it’s simple, it’s easy,” he says. “But to make things simple takes a lot of thought and design work, and can be more complex than a period-style home.”
With automated doors ready to sync with a new owner’s smartphone, the property – which sits on a circa 3300-square-metre landholding – offers the ultimate in contemporary turnkey luxury. This, along with land value, underpins the hefty asking price.
The property’s internal footprint is more than 2200 square metres.
According to CoreLogic records, the landholding last traded 16 years ago for $13.25 million. Selling agent Mike Gibson, of Forbes Global Properties, says today’s price tag is based on a combination of the designer home’s replacement cost and land value.
“If you put the land and the buildings together, Ilario felt to replace the home today would be in the vicinity of $50 million, and quite comfortably there is $35 million to $40 million worth of land here,” Gibson says.
The prestige agent recently sold a similar-sized block around the corner to the family of Phoenix Lithium boss Nick Wakim for about $40 million, paid for land only, given the house is likely to be demolished.
AdvertisementIn contrast, the Macquarie Road construction completed five years ago is a ready-to-move-in offering that ticks every trophy box.
From the polished Terrazzo-floored garage for nine cars to the temperature-controlled wine cellar and tasting room, the basement level caters for a range of indoor activities.
A room with an X-Golf simulator is located opposite a gym with steam room and aerial yoga fitting, which in turn connects to an art studio (or massage room) with framed views to the Paul Bangay-designed gardens.
Next to the gym is an eight-seat cinema that features a bar, commercial-grade acoustics and a projector imported from France, along with two basement-level bathrooms finished in expertly book-matched black marble.
On the ground floor, smartphone-controlled doors open a vast sitting room, with a soaring seven-metre-high ceiling. This opens to an outdoor terrace with a 20-metre mosaic-tiled heated infinity pool (chlorine-free, obviously) and a Canary palm tree-framed tennis court.
Connected to the sitting room is the formal dining area, located below a suspended feature ceiling finished in platinum leaf, complete with a hand-blown Murano glass chandelier.
Also on the ground floor is the designer chef’s kitchen with butler’s pantry. The stove with ducted exhaust is located in a separate alcove that can be sealed behind glass doors to ensure cooking fumes don’t overpower the rest of the kitchen.
The basement level features a wine room, cinema, gym, golf simulator and parking for nine cars.
There are also two studies, a library (which could add to the five-bedroom count if required) and an artwork-concealed TV in a casual sitting area, and two more designer marble bathrooms that illuminate upon entry.
Up another level via the marble staircase with bespoke nickel balustrade (or eight-person lift) are four large bedrooms all with ensuite bathrooms, while atop sits the aforementioned entire-floor master suite.
AdvertisementCortese, who worked with interior design firm SJB, says warmth and liveability were injected into the vast spaces through shifts in the colour palette and finishes like textured wallpapers, silk carpets, mosaic tiles and glistening plaster walls.
“Most plaster is put up in sheets, but here the walls are hand-trowelled,” Cortese says. “They put the plaster on with the trowel, in a slurry mix of plaster and marble dust, smoothed with a steel trowel which gives more of a polished finish.”
In addition to the luxury finishes, the property features strong sustainability credentials including 330,000 litres of sub-tennis court water storage, extensive rooftop solar, as well as geothermal cooling via sub-foundation water pipes.
“It doesn’t run itself, but the vendors have done everything they possibly can to run it as efficiently as possible,” Cortese says.
The Toorak estate also features smart home technology and a high-level security system and was named “best international project” at the KNX awards for lighting and building in Frankfurt in 2016.
The property’s location on Macquarie Road is in theheart of certified billionaire territory, with the neighbourhood postbag filled with mail addressed to surnames including Fox, Smorgon, Myer, Pratt,Gandel and Lew.
And while the upper end of the circa $80 million guide would set a new Melbourne house price record, there are other Toorak homes, unlikely to come on the market any time soon (or ever) understood to be worth even more.
These include properties such as former Essendon boss Paul Little‘s Coonac estate, the Fox family’s Eulinya compound, John Gandel’s Bedford, or the Myer family’s Cranlana compound on Clendon Road – most of which are said to be worth above $100 million.
In terms of finding the next $80 million buyer, Forbes’ Mike Gibson says there is a strong appetite for an as-new property built for 21st-century luxury living.
“In terms of homes that are five years old, which we don’t see very often, this would be the finest home in Toorak,” Gibson says, adding that the property is up there with the best he sees globally. “The detail in it is as good as I’ve seen, anywhere.”
AdvertisementThe prestige agent says that while an existing pool of deep-pocketed parties are already circling, the rarity of the offering could convert a passive watcher into an active buyer.
“We’ve had a couple of parties through it already, and there’s no question there is a sector of the market which will lap this up very quickly,” Gibson says.
“The buyer who sees this might not necessarily be looking, this home could create a buyer, it’s so unique. Someone might say ‘gee whiz, I might go and take a look at that,’ who haven’t had any intention of moving, but this is a one-off opportunity.”
In terms of selling a circa $80 million home, Gibson says there is a high degree of vetting to deter unqualified trophy oglers or those looking for design inspiration.
“We make inquiries to ensure the people coming through are genuine, and can afford to own it.”
The luxury real estate agent isn’t ruling out any buyer profile, local or foreign, launching the Toorak estate internationally through Forbes Global Properties
