Luxury market springs to life!

Luxury market gains momentum with more grand homes hitting the market.

Hotelier Peter Ryan and his wife, Toni, have listed their Rosemont Avenue, Woollahra, house for September 4 auction. It’s the first luxury offering set for spring.

More than $9 million is expected by its McGrath estate agents Hamish Robertson and Ben Collier.

The four-bedroom, 1910-era house was renovated in 2004. Its colonnaded entrance comes with a staircase, tallowwood floors, high ceilings and wide-fronted windows.

Its listing coincides with the near-completion of their new Wolseley Road, Point Piper, harbour-front house.

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Under the Hammer – Channel 7

The secrets of the property market are unlocked in UNDER THE HAMMER, Channel Seven’s new documentary series that takes viewers beyond the front gate and into the wild world of real estate.

Featuring J.C Street Real Estate!

Click to Watch!!

Apartment Living: Yarra River

This development offers a rare opportunity to buy a freehold home on the Yarra River waterfront. With stages 1 and 2 of this low-rise riverside village already sold (48 homes), stages 3 and 4, with 17 homes each, are about to be offered. Each stage will have five riverfront homes, seven terrace homes and five home offices fronting onto Lorimer Street.

Riverside homes have stunning views of the river and the city from the living areas and the master bedroom as well as a spacious deck with built-in barbecue. Each riverside home has a unique gate onto the waterfront designed by Melbourne sculptor Greg Johns.

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Penthouse a bargain at $7m

 

Oversupply of luxury apartments drives prices down.

Price cracks have emerged in the luxury apartment market allowing the newly appointed tourism chief Geoff Dixon to pick up a $7.75 million penthouse bargain in The Rocks.

It last sold for $10 million in 2007 and $8.5 million in 2003.

The two-storey Hickson Road property bought this week by Mr Dixon and his wife, Dawn, comes with postcard views of the Opera House and Harbour Bridge.

It was marketed internationally from August to set it apart from the 65 units priced at $5 million or higher on Domain.com.au. Some have been for sale for three years.

Mr Dixon, the former head of Qantas who was appointed chairman of Tourism Australia this week, has their Balmoral residence listed for sale at $9 million. He paid $7.75 million for it in 2006.

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Wheely, Wheely Angry

The City of Melbourne has had a windfall in new rates up to the value of $1.95 million with the addition of several new corporate spaces in the Docklands area. However, traders at Harbourtown Shopping Centre object to the amount of their new rates – which has resulted in a $900,000 odd reduction of the rates for the 2009/2010 figures.

The traders at Harbourtown feel that with the lack of success and partial demolition of the Southern Star Observation Wheel, their trading conditions have been affected adversely. The City of Melbourne will reconsider the rates paid by the traders of Harbourtown once the Observation Wheel is up and running again.

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North Melbourne Represents!

Now that Federal Member for Melbourne Lindsay Tanner has decided to retire from his long-standing Melbourne seat, one of our own locals has stood up to the challenge of representing this diverse electoral seat.

Cath Bowtell is described as a former ACTU heavyweight, Cath has also been a resident of much-loved North Melbourne for 22 years. In her role at the ACTU, Cath’s role focussed on advocating for better working conditions, and addressing the imbalance between home and worklife.

She will now be contesting the impending federal election in Lindsay Tanner’s place as the new Federal Member for Melbourne. Public perception is such that Melbourne’s leftist politics are disgruntled with the Labor Government’s inability to address climate change and similar ‘green issues’. Bowtell will need to address these issues and others such as gay marriage and internet usage policy in her coming campaign.

It will be interesting to see how one of ‘our locals’ goes in this upcoming contest to win over the hearts of Melbourne – again.

Highrise Primary School soon to join our community?

The request from locals for a primary school has been louder and louder of late. But will it happen in 3008?

According to the ABC website, a high-rise public school, common in big cities such as New York, might be constructed in Melbourne’s Docklands which is celebrating its 10th anniversary. Yesterday a meeting was held with Planning Minister Justin Madden, attended by Bronwyn Pike and the local community and media.

The Victorian Government has commissioned its planning body, VicUrban, to conduct a 12-month feasibility study for a primary school, in the highly urbanised Docklands precinct

Education Minister Bronwyn Pike said that the densely urbanised planning of Docklands will necessitate a creative outlook on the way the primary school is designed.

“When you have got a small footprint and you want space then go up, rather than spreading wide,” she said. This would mean that perhaps a primary school in Docklands wouldn’t have an oval, or very much outdoor area.

“So I think we will be looking at the best practices around the world in cities (like New York), and seeing what it is that Melbourne can create.”

“Do we need to have a stand-alone set of sports facilities and other things that we would normally put if you had a new school out in the outer areas of Melbourne?” she asked.

Luckily, the City of Melbourne has a rich diversity of places outdoors such as aquatic centres that any high-rise school could hopefully have access to.

Happy birthday Docklands, you gorgeous old girl you!

On Your Bike!

Get ready for Melbourne’s newest green addition – Melbourne Bike Share!

5 new bikeshare stations were installed at the Docklands in the past month, bringing the total amount of stations installed around Melbourne to 50, with over 600 bikes in ‘circulation’ (pardon our pun!).

Run by the RACV, Melbourne Bike Share’s mission is to build a safer, greener and fairer transport system for Victorians. Bike sharing is a philosophy embraces by many capital cities around the world, and is a sustainable and healthy form of transport.

To join up, visit the corporate site and purchase an annual subscription – you will then receive a rather funky Melbourne Bike Share key which you use to unlock your chosen glorious riding machine. The first half hour of every ride is free – which is fabulous when you consider how small Melbourne’s CBD really is.

The only rub? You need to bring your own bike helmet, or you can buy one through the Melbourne Bike Share Website.

You can find the Docklands bike stations at Merchant Street, Bourke Street, NewQuay and Yarra’s Edge.

So come on – on your bike!

An Update on Serrata and the Docklands Community

Inset: Graphic design of proposed Serrata Interiors by Vivas LendLease

An ongoing discussion between LendLease and the Docklands Community continues regarding their new development called ‘Serrata’.

The Serrata apartment tower is set to take shape at 815 Bourke Street, and will be a 15-level, 144-unit complex, between Victoria Harbour and the Yarra River. A Vivas Lend Lease representative says the development provides an opportunity for Generation Y “first home buyers” with a desire for city living to get into the market. One bedroom apartments are priced from $385,000.

Vivas Lend Lease say they have been encouraged by the council to build more residential developments at Victoria Habour. Community members and purchasers of Montage and Mosaic (also by Vivas Lend Lease) feel that the Serrata apartments were not described adequately to them, and that mis-representation over the nature of the new block had occurred.

According to the Docklands News, Director of Lend Lease Hugh Martin has said that the system of approvals for new developments in Victoria is flawed. When asked why Lend Lease did not consult the community earlier, Mr Martin said that ‘You can’t display a master plan until it is approved’.  He re-iterated that it was a Government-driven site, and that consultation needed to primarily be with the Government initially. It sounds like the old dilemma of chicken – before – egg in the case of the Victoria Habour development.

What do you think of Serrata? Will it be deleterious to the quality of lifestyle and value of apartments at Montage and Mosaic? J.C Street eagerly look forward to the unveiling of the master plans for this development.

 

 

What to do with the Kids at Docklands these Holidays!

J.C Street are here to solve entertainment for the kids these holidays, all at Docklands of course! But wait – don’t be worried! Above is not a picture of our favourite office pooch, Bella.

It is instead an amazing plastinated dog from the new Docklands exhibition garnering much attentioned called ‘Amazing Bodies’. Amazing is for sure! This revolutionary exhibition has brought lots of new people to the Docklands, as they view an always fascinating (and confronting) set of scientific specimens. An experience usually only reserved for medical students and similar, come and learn about what’s going on inside our bodies in this educational environment.

Currently running until the 31st of August at Waterfront City Pavilion, Docklands Drive, the exhibition has been popular with families and school groups wanting to learn more about human and animal anatomy.

Also (less controversially) throughout the month of July on Friday evening a special fireworks presentation will be on. This is a great reason to pop into the city for a Friday night dinner to see the glittering lights at Docklands.

You’ll get a great show from anywhere near the water, but head to Waterfront City for the full sound and light experience. Shows commence at 7pm.

Find out more about what’s warming up Docklands in winter by clicking here.