A former Pentridge prison cell with an $85,000-$90,000 guide has drawn more than 40,000 page views after being converted into a private wine cellar.
One of Melbourne’s cheapest property listings has a chilling catch, with more than 40,000 people clicking to see inside.
The Coburg listing is not a studio apartment, tiny flat or bargain first-home buy, but a former Pentridge prison cell converted into a private wine cellar.
The unusual property at 4120/4 Wardens Walk is being offered with an $85,000-$90,000 guide inside the former jail’s historic D Division building.
Ray White Coburg sales executive Saha Sahardid said the listing had exploded online because buyers were fascinated by both the price and the dark history behind the bluestone cell.
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“The fact that it’s a prison cell, and the history behind it, is definitely the big hook,” Mr Sahardid said.
“It’s a heritage place as well, and Australia is one of those countries where people love heritage and want to keep everything as original as possible.”
Pentridge began as a stockade in 1851 before growing into one of Victoria’s most notorious prisons.
D Division, where the cellar is located, was built between 1887 and 1894 and used for remand prisoners, as well as housing female inmates for a substantial period.
The tiny Coburg listing is not a bargain apartment, but a former prison cell inside Pentridge’s historic D Division.
The former cell is now being marketed as a climate-controlled space for wine, collectibles or valuables.
The building was designed for control and isolation, with thick bluestone walls, cell tiers and narrow spaces that once formed part of the prison’s imposing architecture.
Those same walls are now part of the sales pitch.
The compact cellar is being marketed as a secure, climate-controlled space for wine, collectibles or valuables, with swipe-card access, security cameras and shared function areas within the Pentridge Cellars complex.
But Mr Sahardid said many people inspecting the property were more interested in the former prison’s past than its storage potential.
“There are buyers who have come in and asked, ‘Do you know how many people were hanged here?’,” he said.
“Everyone who comes in knows it was an ex-prison.”
Buyers inspecting the cellar have been asking about the former prison’s dark past, according to Ray White Coburg.
Pentridge’s D Division was built between 1887 and 1894 and remains one of the precinct’s most atmospheric heritage buildings.
The former jail closed in 1997 and has since been transformed into a major Coburg lifestyle precinct, with apartments, shops, restaurants, a hotel and cinema now surrounding the old bluestone buildings.
But inside the cellar, Mr Sahardid said the feeling was still far removed from a regular storage unit.
“Walking in there, you can feel the history,” he said.
“You can imagine it back in the day. It feels like history and it looks like history.”
The building has since been heavily modernised, with owners corporation management covering the broader complex.
Mr Sahardid said the security set up was a key part of the appeal for buyers considering storing wine or valuables.
“Security-wise, they’ve got cameras everywhere,” he said.
“It’s very modernised and up to date.”
The thick bluestone walls that once formed part of the prison’s security are now part of the cellar’s appeal.
Buyers inspecting the cellar have been asking about the former prison’s dark past, according to Ray White Coburg.
While the price tag has helped drive attention, Mr Sahardid said the likely buyer would probably be someone local, or someone with a strong connection to Coburg and the Pentridge precinct.
“I’d probably say someone local,” he said.
“Someone in Coburg would definitely be the one who would buy it.”
The campaign has also flushed out other Pentridge cellar owners who are now considering whether to sell.
The former Pentridge cell at 4120/4 Wardens Walk, Coburg, is scheduled to go under the hammer on May 23.
Owners can use shared spaces within the Pentridge Cellars complex, adding a social twist to the unusual storage buy. Picture: realestate.com.au
Mr Sahardid said one owner contacted him after seeing the listing’s marketing, despite having barely used his own cell.
“He told me he had owned one for 10 years and had never really been in there,” Mr Sahardid said.
“He said, ‘I don’t even know if I still have the key.’”
Mr Sahardid said the interest showed buyers were still willing to act on unusual properties, despite concern about higher interest rates.
“People still want to buy homes,” he said.
“People still want to have the Australian dream of owning a home.”
The former cell is scheduled to go under the hammer on May 23.
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