Brighton's mega-mansion and pseudo town hall, Kinane finally sells

Jonathan ChancellorDecember 7, 2020

Businessman Russell Small has sold his record-seeking Brighton residence offering, Kinane, but not for its desired record price.

The sale, recorded last Friday, came two years after its listing. It has been suggested by Fairfax Media the sale was $10 million plus through J P Dixon. 

The prestige sale followed the decision to slice off an 825-square-metre building block from the Kinane estate. The 825-square-metre Esplanade parcel was then listed with $4 million hopes and sold earlier this year at $2.8 million to Ivanka Babic of the Melbourne suburb of Brooklyn. 

The Kinane estate was listed in August 2011 with $20 million hopes.

It sold on 2,400 square metres, set on the corner of The Esplanade and Kinane Street.

Fronted by Canary Island palms, the landmark Max Beck-built residence had been extensively renovated since it last sold for a record $11.2 million in 2006.

It was listed by businessman Russell Small, who retired in 2010 from the board of the telecom and utilities industry services provider Service Stream, and his partner, Belinda Ding.

After its 1988 completion by the then Becton chief, the locals dubbed it the Brighton Town Hall because of its imposing size and prominent position on almost an entire block of the Esplanade.

The six-bedroom four level house, with views over Port Phillip Bay, comes with an internal lift and garaging for nine cars.

It comes with bespoke interiors conceived by designer Kalef Alaton.

Upon entering, guests are greeted by a majestic foyer decked in Italian Riviera limestone and white marble flooring. There’s Abadela timber panelling from Africa in adjacent rooms.

There are four living domains, formal and informal dining rooms and a 1,200-bottle cellar.

The Brighton record remains on Glyndon Avenue at $15.6 million for a 2009 beachfront reserve mansion sale which was also briefly listed for sale in 2011 with $20 million hopes.

Estate agent Jonathan Dixon of JP Dixon confirmed in June 2013 that retired cricketer Shane Warne's Brighton home, Kilkerran was officially on the market with an asking price believed to be around $15 million.

The agency was also involved in the March 2013 sale of another brighton listing to the retired Australian cricket captain Ricky Ponting and his wife, Rianna of the Shandford Estate, a 1920s Edwardian seven-bedroom house on 1890 square metres with tennis court and a private laneway to the nearby beach.

It was bought on March 6 having last sold at $2.7 million in 1999. It was sold reportedly for around $10 million by private treaty having $12 million expectations by the vendor, Jeffrey Hunter, whose company Hunter Products supplies toys, sporting and leisure equipment to Australian retailers.

Jonathan Chancellor

Jonathan Chancellor is one of Australia's most respected property journalists, having been at the top of the game since the early 1980s. Jonathan co-founded the property industry website Property Observer and has written for national and international publications.

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