Toorak's Mega Sales

The Age

Saturday April 26, 2008

Marc Pallisco

What are Toorak's best streets? It depends what side of Toorak Road you sit. Marshall White director John Bongiorno says while Albany Road houses some of Toorak's highest-profile residents, it's not without its fair share of more understated "AAA-quality" contenders.

St Georges (pictured), Clendon, Lansell, Irving and Hopetoun roads are also considered the best in the suburb and thoroughfares many residents in the eastern and south-eastern suburbs aspire to.

But Albany Road rarely has a house languish, with the most common buyer the neighbours. The most recent sale was the Coomaroo mansion, at 63A, which sold to developer and neighbour Len Warson for $8.4 million last year.

Anti-development advocates warn that Warson, who controversially demolished the Lisieux mansion at No. 63 to build a house in '98, could demolish the 108-year old Coomaroo and his own to build a $30 million mega-mansion.

The biggest sale on St Georges Road was March last year: US businessman Bob Edgell and wife Fena sold their $15 million, seven-bedroom mansion at No. 49.

Mr Edgell built the house in 2004 after paying neighbours, the Baillieus, $5 million for a 3434-square-metre slice of their land that adjoined his 2500-square-metre block. An overblown version of Tara from Gone with the Wind, it has five entertaining rooms, cinema, vast master bedroom, pool, tennis court, putting green and croquet lawn.

Good Guys boss Andrew Muir has the record for paying the most for a place in Toorak, paying $17.75 million for Steve Vizard's Orrong Road mansion. Mr Muir topped the record held by Toll Holdings boss Paul Little when he paid a reported $16 million for Coonac in Clendon Road.

Mr Little paid $3 million to buy a block next to his, arguably raising his spending to $19 million. Coonac is the largest privately owned landholding in the suburb. -- MARC PALLISCO

© 2008 The Age

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