Posts Tagged ‘edwardian’

The Surrey Hills Post Office in 1944 from the National Archives of Australia

A great little example of the Edwardian heritage of Surrey Hills in Melbourne’s east is gone as the local council did not move to protect it.  The historic building at 609 Canterbury Road has been bulldozed.

The polychromatic Federation Freestyle building had been restored as recently as the 1990s and ironically was for many years home to “Gargoyles & Dragons”, one of many restoration companies in the Canterbury area which serviced a once booming restoration industry.

From the Progress Leader:

THE demolition of a slice of Surrey Hills history without the need for council permission has outraged locals, who say it should have been protected. The former post office in Canterbury Rd, built in 1915, was bulldozed by private owners last Tuesday. Disbelieving residents were angry they were not consulted or given a chance to object. Boroondara Mayor Jack Wegman said no planning permit was required because the site was not in a heritage overlay and approval for demolition was issued by a private building surveyor. ‘‘Council appreciates residents’ concerns; however, under the building legislation the owner was not legally required to undertake public notification,’’ he said. Neighbour Nigel Elms questioned why residents were ‘‘put through hoops’’ to obtain planning approval for simple alterations to their homes, yet a historic building could ‘‘disappear overnight’’. ‘‘There’s been no advertising, no information, and something will be built in its place that no one knows anything about,’’ he said. Canterbury resident Robin Kelly said the failure to identify the building as heritage-significant in a 1991 City of Camberwell Conservation Study was ‘‘disgusting’’.

‘It’s upset me that a beautiful building, almost 100 years old that means so much to Surrey Hills residents, would be torn down,’’ she said. ‘‘It’s such a waste.’’

Ms Kelly is a past president of the Surrey Hills Historial Society. Cr Wegman said the owner would need to apply for a council planning permit to construct a new building.

Maling Ward councillor Dick Menting said he would ask the council to investigate ways to protect other historic buildings.

Ringwood-based owner Kinvale Gardens Investments Pty Ltd refused to comment.

Thanks to Bobman for pointing this out.

Editor Note: We can no longer trust our local councils to be vigilant in matters of heritage.  If you love a particular building, make sure you research its heritage status and if it is not protected, lobby your local council for its inclusion in an updated heritage study and/or nominate it to the National Trust and Heritage Victoria.  Sadly that will not always guarantee it will be saved, but it will at least be afforded a better chance.

Gardenvale railway station house. Image from wikipedia.

The Gardenvale Railway Station’s station house  at Gardenvale station on the Sandringham line was destroyed by a suspicious fire this morning.  The main weatherboard and hipped corrugated iron roofed station building was constructed in 1904.

Urbis has made an application to Port Phillip Council to demolish the William Pitt designed 1903 mansion “Avalon” at 70 Queens Road to replace it with a 12 storey apartment tower.

While it has been left in a shocking state by its owners, this massive mansion, currently serving as a hostel is significant as it is one of the last works by one of Melbourne’s most significant architects.

The mansion could be restored and still have an apartment tower behind it in a similar way to others nearby on St Kilda Road like the Grosvenor (55 Queens Road), The Mansions (83 Queens Road), Warwillah (572 St Kilda Road), Majella (473 St Kilda Rd), Airlie (452 St Kilda Road) and many others. There is no reason why development and heritage have to be mutually exclusive in this case ….

A small group of current and former residents leads the fight to stop its redevelopment. The overgrown and neglected gardens and dilapidated exterior hides some grand Edwardian interiors and a south facing wooden facade which reads as a arts and crafts styled terrace house.

Objections must be lodged before June 12.

Another Luxury Apartment Tower in St Kilda Road Precinct
Written by Marc Pallisco
Thursday, 13 December 2007
A consortium led by Macquarie Bank has paid a record $3300 per square metre of land, to snap up a development site opposite Albert Park Lake and the Melbourne Grand Prix circuit.

The property at 70 Queens Road is expected to make way for a luxury apartment tower, similar to the nearby Lucient project at 430 St Kilda Road, which Macquarie Real Estate Capital is developing with boutique private developer Lustig & Moar.

70 Queens Road was sold with a permit for a 10-level, 46-unit apartment tower. When developed, units in the block would offer uninterrupted views across Albert Park Lake and the St Kilda township, to Port Phillip Bay and Williamstown.

An existing double-storey red brick building, split into six separate apartments, will be demolished to make way for the as-yet-unnamed development.

Jones Lang LaSalle executive, sales & investments Damien Steele confirmed the property had sold off-market when contacted by BusinessDay but declined to elaborate on any part of the deal. However other well placed sources say the property, which sits on a 2,323 square metre block, sold for a price of around $7.7 million.

Entry level apartments in the Lucient apartment project at 430 St Kilda Road, started at a very high $2.2 million. Lucient is one of several prestige apartment complexes under construction in St Kilda Road, which runs parallel to Queens Road, across the road from Albert Park Lake.

Other prestige residential projects under construction in the immediate vicinity include Balencea at 454 St Kilda Road at Grosvenor at 55 Queens Road, at the corner of Beatrice Street. Sydney-based developer Stockland recently announced it would build an apartment tower on the site of the Royal Victorian Institute for the Blind building at 517 St Kilda Road.

This year alone, the record price for an apartment in St Kilda Road has been smashed twice, giving developers confidence to build in the inner-city precinct.

In October this year, developer Pan Urban sold a single level penthouse apartment at 401 St Kilda Road to an international buyer for $8.59 million.

Four weeks later, boutique property developer Ubertas sold a penthouse apartment at 505 St Kilda Road, the site of one of St Kilda Road’s earliest office towers, for $10 million.