Melbourne Heritage Watch

You’re probably wondering whether I put my money where my mouth is regarding heritage.

For the last couple of years, I have realised the dream of owning (paying off at least) a heritage listed apartment. The Edwardian building where I live is both historic, unique and aesthetic.

However it has not been without problems. For example, in the most recent incident, a drunk passer by decided he’d test his fist on one of the lead light windows facing the street. While insurance fortunately covered the damage, it was costly. One of the joys of living in an inner city “entertainment district” I suppose ….

While the exterior of the building is faithfully preserved (with just a few modifications), the interiors were heavily modified, a victim of the 1980s classic “beige invasion” which was the order of the day for rental properties.

I’ve also had to do extensive renovations on leaking plumbing, rotting timber window frames, floorboards, double hung window cords. Additionally I’ve had to deal with the ever present problem of grafitti vandalism. The interior is smaller than most would be used to, so I’ve had to adapt to making use of less space. There is also no car parking, so I’ve had to learn to live a car free lifestyle, which while trying at times definitely has its own rewards.

I do plan to restore the interiors to the best of my ability, although as far as I can tell no original plans or photos earlier than the 1980s exist and the plan does seem to have been modified at one stage. Nevertheless, there is plenty of paint stripping to be done.

Our body corporate is in the process of applying for heritage restoration funding under the Melbourne Heritage Restoration Fund, however this does not apply to maintenance, so there is still a significant cost involved. They are currently in the process of making the building comply to council fire regulations, which is an extensive process which unfortunately does also undermine some of the heritage features of the place. Living in a heritage property means adapting to a whole range of building codes that never existed 100 years ago. But adapting is a much better option for conservation than demolition.

It all adds up and can be a stress on the budget at times, particularly in tough economic times. And more than once I’ve considered packing up and moving to Tasmania.

But is it all worth it ? ……. Hell yes.

It sure beats all those years of living in 1960s “dog box” style apartments in the outer suburbs. They are the difference between having a home designed by an architect and a builder. I can tell you, the definition of cognitive dissonance is the desire to have your own home demolished … It doesn’t matter how many coats of paint you whack on those things, they stay ugly, depressing and completely uninspiring.

Every the design of my heritage home throws new details, nuances and perspectives my way. It inspires me to live a full life. They just don’t make buildings like they used to. Very lucky to find it passed in at auction during the peak of Melbourne’s recent housing boom, in fact it cost less than many of the dog boxes of the same size in the area and less than most houses in the far outer houses which are now suffering such severe mortgage stress and petrol pain.

So am I right to be advocating for other people’s properties to be given legal heritage protection ? I think so. These days the trend seems to be for modern, contemporary and low maintenance. While what I’m doing was popular in the early 90s, I can’t seem to find too many like minded people these days, I guess where some people see problems, I see a challenge. While people may not be enjoying heritage at the moment, fashion goes in cycles. I guarantee you in 20 years time, people will not only be ruing the loss of many of the buildings being ruined at the moment, but snapping up what is left.

But for now I can still see the value of my little heritage oasis in the concrete jungle. If I had the money, I’d be buying up heritage properties left right and centre.