Iconic home bought for $5000 in 1963, on sale now for millions
The last mansion of its kind has hit the market in Sydney's affluent suburb of Potts Point.
The Victorian Italianate three-level villa at 18 Ward Avenue was built in the 1880s and sold to a family in 1963 for a mere $5,000.
Now, the property is expected to see bids of a whopping $10 million.
The home was extended in the 1920s to add 12 flats to the rear of the property, and is now ready for the next chapter in its history.
Despite the hefty asking price, renovations are required, with original fireplaces, jarrah floors, wall friezes, plaster moldings, ornate ceilings and a romantic tower room.
The 12 flats include kitchenettes and are also in old-world condition.
Known as Oakleigh, the 536-square-metre home on Ward Avenue could become a grand residence once again, suites for medical professionals, a hospitality venture, an investment, an opportunity for heritage property developers or serviced apartments (if given the local council's rubber stamp), according to listing agency Ray White.
The property, with two grand magnolia trees in the front garden, has been in the Coucke family for five generations, with previous resident Celeste recalling her fond childhood at Oakleigh.
"As a child of the 1960s and 1970s, Oakleigh was an excellent place for my siblings and I to play hide and seek," she said.
"Growing up in a multi-generational family, our lives were shaped by family stories of tenacity in the face of hardship. We lived in an extraordinary home, immersed in the most vibrant, celebrated, scorned, historic, diverse, artistic and notorious community in Australia."
Image credits: Domain