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Rich property flipper buys $28m Bellevue Hill house to knock it down
By Lucy Macken
Soaring building costs amid a runaway housing market make property flipping a brave way to try to make money. But there are big capital gains to be made for those with the money to back it.
Enter Paula Liveris, house flipper and wife of former Dow Chemical boss and now Brisbane 2032 Olympic Games president Andrew Liveris.
The Bellevue Hill house will be sold to Paula Liveris after 45 years of Bray family ownership.Credit: Domain
Less than a year ago Liveris purchased an architect John Suttor-designed house in Bellevue Hill for $28 million from Diana and the late Michael Bray, who had owned it since 1978 when Michael was the local mayor.
At the time a source close to Liveris said the purchase was to be an investment for the Point Piper-based Liveris, making good on her previous property flipping forays in New York, Michigan, Florida and Greece.
And this week, as the couple took in the Paris 2024 Olympics, Liveris’s plans for the battleaxe block of 1669 square metres landed with Woollahra Council proposing to demolish the 1947-built house to make way for a luxury residence set across two and three levels designed by Polly Harbison Design with a swimming pool.
Plans are with council proposing to demolish the John Suttor-designed house to make way for a $14.7 million residence.Credit: Domain
Given an estimated build cost of $14.7 million and $1.88 million stamp duty on the purchase the project is expected to total at least $44.5 million, which should help form some idea of how much she wants to sell it for once it’s complete. Fingers crossed neighbouring homeowners, like tech billionaire Scott Farquhar and fashion designer Camilla Freeman-Topper, like what they see on the drawing board.
Silo boy strikes again
It is fair to say Alexander Michael is somewhat of a maverick among architects, even by the standards of his fellow professionals. After all, he was once known as “silo boy” after he purchased a decommissioned nuclear missile silo north of New York and converted it into a private home. He paid $US160,000 for it in 1996 and sold it in 2018 for $US750,000 to a doomsday prepper.
The Edmund Blacket-designed Presbyterian Church in Darlinghurst sold for $5.94 million.Credit: Domain
Then there’s his ProtoHouse II, inspired by the Cold War-era silo, that he built from shipping containers on a hilltop in Kangaroo Valley and sold to Seven’s co-host of The Morning Show Larry Emdur in 2020 for $2.15 million.
Architect Alexander Michael has landed on his latest home project, a landmark sandstone former church in Darlinghurst.Credit: Marco Del Grande
And having recently sold the Potts Point terrace he long shared with his late partner, jeweller Tony White for $9.75 million, he has found suitably interesting digs into which he will create his next home.
The landmark sandstone church on the corner of Palmer and Stanley streets has had a colourful history since it was built in 1856 by colonial architect Edmund Blacket for the Presbyterian Church.
In 2000, Jodhi Meares founded the bikini fashion label Tigerlily in the cavernous space and in more recent years it was home to the local Pentecostal church known as C3 Church. Long owned by real estate agent Peter Long, it was listed with BresicWhitney’s Shannan Whitney, who sold it to Michael for $5.94 million.
Next stop, Sydney City Council.
Creative magic
Marc and Gillie Schattner are the renowned public artists behind Rabbitwoman and Dogman.Credit: Edwina Pickles
Public artists Gillie and Marc Schattner have form when it comes to property flipping, so it is notable to see the internationally renowned sculptors buy a Victorian terrace in Potts Point known as Jersey for $8.6 million.
Jersey is a Victorian terrace in Potts Point sold for $8.6 million to Marc and Gillie Schattner.Credit: Domain
The collaborative couple, best known for their hybrid characters Rabbitwoman and Dogman, first landed on high-end title records in 2015 when they paid $3.9 million for a house in Bellevue Hill. It was renovated and sold less than a year later for $5.75 million.
Having pocketed a $1.5 million capital gain they went to Centennial Park, paying $6.5 million in 2017 for a Federation mansion and selling it after another do-up for $12 million in 2021 to Grant Samuel’s former boss Guy Fergusson.
Since then their Sydney home has been in Woollahra where in 2021 they bought the designer digs of New York-based former Macquarie banker Alan James and Jennifer Fletcher for $10.5 million. No sign of the artist couple’s Woollahra residence on the market, yet.
Fizzy returns
Peter Brooks made his debut on the now defunct BRW Rich List in 2011 after he sold a part of his soft-drinks company, P&N Beverages, to Japanese brewer Asahi for $188 million.
More than a decade later he has taken to high-end property, paying $11 million in April last year for the Darling Point duplex of the late heritage architect Ian Stapleton.
The Darling Point residence of Peter Brooks is for sale with a $17 million guide.Credit: Domain
What was two apartments has since been gutted, leaving the internal space to be reconfigured into a single residence flush with high-end finishes, an internal lift, a pool and an extra level.
Job complete, the Mosman-based Brooks has returned the property to the market ahead of an August 31 auction and a $17 million guide.