Central Element smash Coogee apartment record with $20 million Ballamac House penthouse sale
Luxury developer Central Element has broken all of Coogee's real estate records with the sale of the penthouse at their heritage restoration project, Ballamac House.
The three-bedroom penthouse sold for $20 million, the highest price paid for anything in Coogee.
The 241 sqm penthouse sold for just under $83,000 per sqm internally, and close to $90,000 per sqm when incorporating the 77 sqm of external space.
The sale trumps the previous suburb record which was $13.1m for a four-bedroom house located on Wolseley Road, just a short distance from Wylie’s Baths ocean pool with views across Coogee beach to Wedding Cake Island.
The record for an apartment was previously held by the recent sale of $8.8m for a 286 sqm four-bedroom penthouse on Carr Street, with panoramic north-facing views across Coogee Beach to Clovelly, by former NSW premier Bob Carr.
It also beats the record in neighbouring South Coogee, which is $18.5m for the three-level five-bedroom clifftop residence at 1A Seaside Parade that was achieved earlier this year. Before that, the $16.85m for the Bunya Parade ‘Coogee Castle’ held the record, which was purchased by Fred Schebesta, the co-founder and CEO of the comparison website, Finder, in 2021.
CE’s Ballamac House has a long and colourful history – established by Charles Moore in 1860, the coveted estate has lived many lives over the years, as a private residence, hotel and infirmary, with many prominent figures passing through its doors.
CE will transform the site into eight prestigious three-bedroom oceanfront residences across two buildings.
The heritage Victorian house itself will undergo a meticulous restoration to reinstate it to its original grandeur as it is converted into two exquisite residences, with the further six dwellings sitting in a new building to the east with awe-inspiring ocean views. The project will launch to market later in the year.
The $20 million sale was to a local owner-occupier who fell in love with the history of the site and the uninterrupted views out to Wedding Cake Island that will be enjoyed from the building's elevated position on Coogee’s north headland.
Cameron Porter, Head of Sales at Central Element, says Coogee is growing as a sought-after destination.
“We’re seeing a lot more buyers in that ultra-luxury downsizer market who would have traditionally been looking in Bondi and Bronte now turn to Coogee, with the suburbs elevated lifestyle offering," Porter says.
"The flurry of hot new restaurants Coogee’s seen appear in recent years, such as Yana and Louie, and of course Coogee Pavillion’s mimi’s, means locals have world-class dining as well as everything else the idyllic coastal suburb has to offer right on their doorstep."
Porter says they knew there was demand for premium apartments in the area following their success of their award-winning Anden Coogee project around the corner.
"With Ballamac House’s enviable location on Coogee’s north headland just up the road from mimi’s, combined with the quality of product that buyers know Central Element can deliver, we’re expecting this project to be snapped up as it launches to market later this year.”