There’s anEspie Dods-designed home in Paddington,to which they added a Victorian villa next door in 2021 for $6.5 million to create a family compound,plus their historic Kurkulla retreat in Bowral,a couple of holiday homes on the south coast and a Federation mansion overlooking Centennial Park,the latter of which Fee had her eye on for a decade before she was finally able to buy it in 2019 for $8 million.
The Centennial Park house built in 1905 has been totally rebuilt since it was purchased by Fee Hancock in 2019 for $8 million.
But five years after they bought it,and having completed a no-expense-spared rebuild of the parkside residence led by Weir Phillips Architects,it’s now superfluous to the family’s needs.
A quality problem to be sure,and one easily solved by selling it,and a $21 million to $23 million guide by Ray White Double Bay’s Ashley Bierman should make parting that much easier.
David Hancock is the chairman of FinClear and was an early investor in Afterpay.Louie Douvis
“I just love really beautiful places and this was a labour of love for me,” said Fee,adding it was briefed as a beautiful big country house in the middle of Sydney.
The five-bedroom residence now includes a gymnasium,sauna,office,media room,swimming pool and loggia set in a Myles Baldwin-designed garden. More notable,though,are the finer finishes,like the kitchen bench made from volcanic rock imported from France,silk wallpaper and a recessed ceiling with gold leaf in the dining room.
No doubt helping to fund the Hancocks’ taste in real estate is their early investment in Afterpay,from which Hancock reportedly pocketed an estimated $100 million.
The house was rebuilt by Michael Walsh and designed by Weir Phillips Architects,and includes a dining room with a recessed ceiling detailed in gold leaf.
In more good news,if the Hancocks needed it,Centennial Park’s suburb record has jumped a few times in recent years. First in 2022 to $20.5 million thanks to a purchase by Aussie Home Loans heiressDeborah Symond O’Neil and her husbandNed O’Neil,and another for the same amount a few months later by fund manager Doug Tynan,and reset at $26.5 million last year when arts patronGene Sherman sold Braelin to software developer Jon Skinner and his wifeRebecca Hung.
Romantic getaway
The landmark Darling Point residence Trevenna-Roskear is regarded as among the suburb’s most romantic residences.
Former barrister-turned-vigneronFrank Kalyk and his wifeGlenda have joined Sydney’s increasingly rarefied ranks of trophy-home sellers,listing their historic Darling Point residence Trevenna-Roskear with a $20 million guide.
The sale plans come as the Kalyks spend more time in France,where in 2015 they purchased a chateau in Bordeaux and started developing a handful of wines at their Chateau Picoron.
Frank and Glenda Kalyk at Chateau Picoron.
The Kalyks purchased Trevenna-Roskear in 2016 for $11 million,making them just the latest of a who’s who of identities to own what is often regarded as one of Darling Point’s most romantic houses.
It was built in the 1800s as two Victorian Italianate terraces that have long since been consolidated into one home set behind a unified,ornately detailed heritage facade and unified internally by a grand central staircase.
Racing identity and later convicted fraudsterDominic Cincotta owned it in the 1980s until it was sold by Barclays Bank in 1993 for $1.95 million toJohn GleesonKC and his wifeDenise.
Trevenna-Roskear was built as two Victorian Italianate villas and consolidated as one residence with a central staircase.
Trophy-home traderLouise Zavattaro took the keys in 2004 for $6.85 million,print magnateMichael Hannan followed two years later for $7.8 million,and JP Morgan’s Asia Pacific head of investment bankingPaul Uren was next in 2010 for $8.3 million.
Since gutted and renovated throughout five years ago and overseen by interior designerDarryl Gordon for the Kalyks. It returns to the market with The Agency’s Ben Collier.
Collaroy’s headline attraction
The Collaroy beachfront house of Malcolm McGuinness has no pool,but a recently built seawall.Domain
Eight years after a devastating weather event resulted in a swimming pool being washed onto Collaroy Beach,its owner,publicanMalcolm McGuinness,has put the house up for sale.
In 2016 an on properties along the Collaroy and Narrabeen beachfront,making headlines around the world and featuring images of McGuinness’ pool left on the beach.
McGuinness,who used to own Scruffy Murphy’s Irish pub in Haymarket,has owned the beachfront house since 2007,paying $2.95 million.
An east-coast low and king high tide in 2016 wreaked havoc on the Collaroy beachfront in 2016.Domain
The house no longer comes with a pool,but it has been spruced up recently with a new kitchen and bathrooms,and is one of 10 houses in a row set behind a recently built seawall.
There is no price guide at this stage but according to Raine&Horne agent Tre Blinkhorn,who has listed it with Aaron Raco,there are plenty of comparables to give some idea of price. One of those sales is the $5.2 million for the beachfront house ofKathleen andGiuseppeCasella,of the billionaire Casella Wines family.
Still in Collaroy,Dana Dupere,co-managing director of sand and gravel company Benedict Industries,has paid $8.1 million for a house in the Collaroy Basin that was built almost 20 years ago by veteran rugby league coachDes Hasler.