The five best warehouse conversions on the market
With Channel 9’s The Block: Fans v Faves art deco apartments taking off, everyone’s talking about warehouse conversions. We run through five of the best on the market.
263 Rouse Street, Port Melbourne, Victoria
It’s no surprise that Melbourne makes an almost clean sweep of the warehouse conversion market – as a former industrial hub that saw most of its major manufacturers move away from the inner city decades ago, there are now plenty of beautiful historic buildings to occupy.
This three bedroom apartment in Port Melbourne with $1.2 million plus expectations bears all the hallmarks of a great warehouse conversion – open plan living spaces, interesting scaling and plenty of timber, steel and exposed brick. Not to mention a huge cast iron fireplace. The median unit price in Port Melbourne was $660,500 in February, while the median house price is $897,500, according to RP Data.
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This particular newly renovated apartment began its life in 1908 as the Wertheim Piano Factory. It then became the home of Heinz Australia, before it was passed over to GTV9, 1957. The former Channel 9 studios once housed a radio station, a concert band, a junior ballet, a full time chorus and an orchestra.
This two bedroom, two bathroom conversion includes a large decking area, a rare amenity for inner city warehouse living. The grand arched windows flood the open plan living space with light. It’s selling from $1.095 million; Richmond's median house price is $1,041,000. The median sales price of Richmond units in February was $485,000.
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18/120 Cambridge Street, Collingwood, Victoria
The former Foy & Gibson spinning mills have been converted into a series of apartments. The building was built in 1895 and designed by Collingwood councillor William Pitt. This two bedroom apartment’s signature is its distinctive bay windows and soaring ceilings.
The vast space is divided by ornate wooden panelled walls and screens, giving the one-time factory space a unique character. The spinning mills apartment is on the market with expectations of $800-880,000. Collingwood's median unit price in February was $388,000, and its median house price for the month was $889,000.
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Developers Cleveland & Co are currently accepting enquiries for two and three bedroom apartments off the plan in this Surry Hill industrial site. The history of the two adjoining warehouses goes back to 1889, and the two buildings with art deco and Victorian heritage features are set to house 39 apartments. SJB Australia, who have plenty of experience will injecting new life into heritage buildings, will be the project’s architects, with interiors by Burley Katon Halliday.
According to the listing, most apartments will have a northerly aspect, meaning there’ll be plenty of light bouncing around the spaces, with three to four metre high ceilings. The site's Surry Hills location is thus far undisclosed. Median unit prices in the suburb sat at $658,500 for February.
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1/2 Atkin Street, North Melbourne, Victoria
At 150 years old, this North Melbourne building has had a long life as a Masonic hall. It has now been converted into apartments, with this multi-level residence selling from $600,000. The listing describes the apartment as having a “riot” of materials, shapes and textures, and it’s hard to disagree. With Baltic pine, Kauri pine and oak timber flooring, the apartment also features exposed brick, original 1855 bluestone walls and exposed steel.
The conversion was undertaken by Re:CONSTRUCTION, a firm that specialises in warehouse conversions. The two bedroom residence also includes a raw-walled balcony and a solar power system. The apartment is on the market for $600-660,000. The median unit sales price in North Melbourne were at $472,500 for February, while the median house price was $910,000.
