Antony Catalano buys Gurner's shrunk $30 million Saint Moritz, St Kilda penthouse
The Melbourne developer GURNER has sold the penthouse in its Saint Moritz project for $30 million to the former boss of Domain, Antony Catalano.
The penthouse, if confirmed as sold at $30 million, will be a record price for Melbourne apartments.
GURNER is currently amending the exisiting permit for 14 – 16 The Esplanade, St Kilda, to halve the number of proposed apartments from 240 to 120 on the Novotel site.
Fender Katsalidis is the lead architect, with Koichi Takada Architects appointed to design one of the three buildings.
The interior designer is David Hicks.
Jack Merlo has been tasked with the landscapes.
The first of the three buildings, Pacific House, is set to launch mid-year, featuring 45 residences averaging $4 million.
The $30 million penthouse that sits atop Pacific House will offer 650sqm of internal space along with a 175sqm terrace with private pool, six bedrooms, a seven car private garage with direct access lift, four living rooms, in-home sauna and gym.
The double-storey penthouse will have a cascading two-storey water feature surrounded by marble-clad walls, a solid Nero Marquina bathtub with 180 degree water views, another internal pool that submerges into the rooms below - complete with transparent glass that can be viewed from the lower level - a floating fireplace and a 1000-bottle, temperature-controlled wine cellar, accessible via a sculptural spiral staircase.
GURNER initially designed the penthouse with a floorplan of over 1,300sqm and an even bigger price-tag however the early feedback they received from local and international clienteles was that a penthouse of this size would be too big.
There were hopes it would be a $40 million penthouse.
GURNER will offer a full design customisation package included within the $30 million purchase price, which Nine Entertainment reported took place this week.
The 120 private residences encompassing two, three bedroom, four, five and six bedroo offerings, comes with prices ranging from $1.4 million to $30 million.
The project is currently taking registrations of interest with sales to launch in mid 2019.
It was 2015 when the entire 100th floor of the southern hemisphere's tallest building under construction, Australia 108 was bought by an undisclosed businessman based in China for $25 million, a Melbourne record. The apartment cost more than $33,000 per square metre, spanning the entire top floor of Australia 108, with its own grand entrance foyer on level 98 as well as a private glass elevator.
Cussell would not confirm the identity of the family who had purchased the penthouse, saying only their decision to relocate from a substantial waterfront mansion in Melbourne to a luxury apartment would challenge traditional thinking on what constitutes a family home.
“ The couple will be moving their large family into the 7-bedroom penthouse, which is a trend we are seeing more and more as Melbourne families sell their traditional established homes in favour of the convenience, comfort, amenity and security of a modern building all within minutes of the best that Melbourne has to offer.
“”The beach is at your doorstep, Melbourne’s best boulevard opens up from your driveway, the buzz of St Kilda surrounds you and the city is a few minutes away. It doesn’t get any better,” Mr. Cussell said.
The deal comes when the digital real estate company Catalano departed just a year ago is trading at record lows on the ASX.
Catalano departed Domain in January 2018 when its share price was $3.15. It is now trading at $2.12, at record lows, with a market cap of $1.3 billion.
He retains shares in Domain, even seeking late last year to return to the group.
His son Jordan's own off the plan apartment development spruiking website, which is run with former The Review Weekly, MMP Fairfax staffer, Tom Hywood, recently raided Domain for a sales team recruit, Scott Rudgley.
Rudgley was billed as "one of Domain’s best strategic minds who led Domain in its golden times," in their announcement which couldn't resist a sledge against the former employer.
It says its marketing offerings can be up to 50 per cent cheaper "compared to the once dominating operators."
Their AD Group was established as Catalano and Hywood reportedly identified a gap in the market for a digital real estate marketing portal specialising in off-the-plan apartments.
