A waterfront mansion that had been vacant for 20 years sold for $6.7m.

Hope Island was maintained in pristine condition by a local builder who built it for an overseas owner who rarely stepped inside.

Warren and Wendy Hickey of Hope Island Realty marketed the three-story home at 2319-2320 Cressbrook Drive.

Mr Hickey claimed he never met the owner in the US, who finally decided to sell the lavish holiday home that he owned since 2004.

Resort-style al fresco area

The garden is landscaped

Set over a 1,900 sqm lot in the exclusive northern Gold Coast estate, the five-bedroom, six-bathroom house was an early example of the work of local architect Jared Poole, known for his sleek contemporary designs.

“From the beginning, this house is of great quality. It is also a traditional design, so the design is timeless,” said Mr Hickey.

“The house was in a pristine state, as it had not been used for many years and had been well maintained.

It just didn’t age. The property looked as good today as it did when it was first built, apart from the color scheme and certain aspects of technology and lighting.

 

The house has five bedrooms and six bathrooms. Landscaped gardens surround it. A grand foyer leads to expansive living spaces with high ceilings.

The resort-style outdoor area includes covered terraces for entertaining, a large swimming pool, and a spa with a fountain.

There is also a formal dining area, a home cinema, an upstairs master retreat complete with a dressing room and balcony, a pontoon 22m long, suitable for berthing superyachts, and a basement garage that can accommodate eight cars and a turntable.

Spa with a View

The property is immaculately kept

Mr Hickey said the buyers were a family who planned to migrate from China and saw great value in the rare large block size.

The buyers visited the property twice and were very impressed that it was on two blocks. He said that technically, you could make a small change to the house and still end up with an empty block next door.

The listing said that the Foreign Investment Review Board approved the property. “This is an excellent opportunity for foreign investors who are looking for a luxurious waterfront home in Australia,” it stated.

PropTrack data indicates that house prices in Hope Island have increased by 5.3 percent over the last 12 months to a median price of $1.58m.

A pocket-sized rooftop garden offers outdoor space at 19 Waterloo St. Picture: supplied.

Shannon Battisson, the jury chair, said that Australia desperately needed new approaches for its built environment.

Ms Battisson stated that “our hope was to send out a message to the Australians on where our industry should go in terms of sustainability and learning from Country.”

Nightingale Village

The Frederick Romberg Residential Architecture Award was given to the Nightingale Village, a multi-housing development in Melbourne’s inner city suburb Brunswick.

Nightingale Village was awarded the Frederick Romberg Residential Architecture Award for Multiple Housing. Image: Supplied

The urban village consists of six buildings designed by different architects, all based on social, environmental, and financial sustainability principles.

Nightingale Village is a collection of six buildings designed by different architects. Picture: supplied

Austin Maynard Architects designed a building for the Nightingale Village. Clare Cousins Architects and Hayball also contributed to this project.

The village does not have any parking spaces for personal cars but has enough space to park share cars. It also features a passive design; there is no air conditioning. There are shared laundry facilities and minimal interior finishes.

The jury stated that “despite their similarities in terms of the overall design, the buildings are all as different as one would expect from a group consisting of architects who normally compete with each other but are now on the same team.”

Merricks Farmhouse

The Merricks Farmhouse, designed by Michael Lumby and Nielsen Jenkins, won the National Award for Residential Architecture.

The Merricks Farmhouse has won the National Award for Residential Architecture. Image: Supplied

This Mornington Peninsula home offers a unique take on rural sheds, with walls covered in succulents and resembling a mossy ruin.

A large courtyard with giant stepping stones and native plants surrounds the pond.

Merricks Farmhouse has a partially submerged concrete water tank that can be used as a swimming pool. Image: Supplied

The rear of the house has four modest bedrooms, a sunken living room, a kitchen, dining and cooking area, which merges into a courtyard.

The black timber ceilings rise to hidden skylights and then drop to bedroom height.

Michael Lumby and Nielsen Jenkins designed the Mornington Peninsula property. Image: Source

The Merricks Farmhouse has a pool and a partially submerged concrete water tank that is a great place to cool down in the summer.