PERIOD GREENWICH ESTATE A SLICE OF SYDNEY HISTORY
A rare slice of Sydney history, Coolabah blends Victorian grandeur with modern luxury in the heart of Greenwich; once home to Lane Cove’s first Lord Mayor and now listed with a $6.5m guide.
2 min
Coolabah has earned its place in Sydney’s heritage for several reasons. The period Greenwich estate is not simply a prime example of Victorian era design; the property was also home to Lane Cove’s premier Lord Mayor, Jeremiah Roberts.
Dating back to 1883, the restored residence at 45 Greenwich Rd has only had a handful of owners, including vendor and interior designer Jo Ellis-Doty.
“Our family has lived here for 14 years,” says Ellis-Doty.
“It’s 142 years old and we’re only the fifth family to own it. We’ve loved every moment of restoring and living in this incredible home.”
Ellis-Doty and her husband are downsizing to an apartment, so Coolabah will be auctioned on May 31. It will be sold for a guide of $6.5 million via James Bennett of Belle Property Lane Cove.
Prior to its grand makeover, records show the property last exchanged in 2011 for $2.1 million.
The classic five-bedroom house has been masterfully enticed into the 21st Century by its owner, with meticulous attention to detail.
“Locals have told us how the sitting room was used to hold dances. They would open up the French doors to the porch and linger too late in the night,” Ellis-Doty adds.
“When we were renovating, we found a safe embedded in the primary bedroom wall, and a bag of jewellery was retrieved.
“It had been forgotten by the previous owners, and they were very happy to have it returned. We are so very honoured to have been the custodians of such a beautiful period property. We will miss it terribly.”
The original owner, Lord Mayor Roberts, made his name in publishing before entering politics. He came to office in 1895, marking the beginning of the area’s municipal independence from the borough of Willoughby.
“Homes like this don’t come around often. It’s a true Greenwich treasure,” Bennett says.
With a raft of period features, Coolabah has high ceilings and several ornate fireplaces, including an original made in the 1850s and later imported from England in the downstairs bathroom.
Now updated for modern family living, the heritage home on 663 sq m features two large living areas that spill out through French doors to terraces. In contrast, the state-contemporary provincial kitchen features a vast island bench and a walk-in pantry.
In addition to a ground-floor bedroom and palatial main bathroom, there are three more bedrooms on the upper level, including a primary suite with another grand bathroom and a private balcony showcasing city skyline views.
Outdoors, manicured hedges frame immaculate gardens and a travertine wraps around the backyard mosaic saltwater pool.
Although it was created in the 19th century, Coolabah has a host of modern day amenities from ducted air-conditioning and solar panels, to CCTV security and a gated carport. There is also a separate lock up garage.
Sitting on the corner of Greenwich and the aptly named Coolabah Ave, the stately home is close to village shops and cafes, as well as Wollstonecraft Station and a number of sought-after schools.
Coolabah at 45 Greenwich Rd, Greenwich, is being marketed by Belle Property Lane Cove Principal James Bennett with a $6.5 million price guide and will go to auction on May 31.
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A five-bedroom Palo Alto home designed by Steven Ehrlich is listed for $44 million, making it the city’s most expensive listing. Built around a dramatic concrete spine, the home features four courtyards and a pool.
3 min
For years, tech entrepreneur Asher Waldfogel and his wife, Helyn MacLean, dreamed of building a modern house in Palo Alto, Calif.
The couple, however, worried about clashing with the Mediterranean-style architecture typically associated with their neighborhood of Old Palo Alto.
So they tapped architect Steven Ehrlich to create a design that paid homage to its surroundings with stucco, mahogany and titanium zinc cladding. They spent $20 million over several years building the house, completed in 2005.
Now looking to be closer to their adult daughter on the East Coast, they are putting the five-bedroom home on the market for $44 million—the most expensive listing in Palo Alto.
Waldfogel is an angel investor who co-founded Redback Networks, a telecommunications-equipment company. MacLean previously had a career in fundraising.
The couple purchased the roughly 0.4-acre site for $7.1 million in 2000 and demolished a circa-1930s Spanish Colonial home. The house they built pinwheels around a central staircase. It has 7,900 square feet of livable space, with four distinct courtyards and a pool.
A key feature of the home is a cast-in-place concrete wall, or spine, that is two stories high and about 80 feet long. “There’s a little bit of controlled chaos in what comes out of the form,” unlike a perfectly uniform surface, Waldfogel said. “If you want that, you do it in plastic.”
Waldfogel said he and his wife are thinking about the next phase of life now that their daughter is grown, although they have not decided where they will move. They also have a home in Sun Valley, Idaho.
“Right now we’re just trying to emotionally let go and decide what to do next,” he said.
Palo Alto, an epicenter of venture capital and tech startups in Silicon Valley, is home to some of the country’s biggest tech titans. Sales volume and prices are rising, with a median sale price of $3.5 million for the three months ending in August, up 5.8% year-over-year, according to real-estate brokerage Redfin.
Arthur Sharif of Sotheby’s International Realty—San Francisco Brokerage has the listing.
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