A historic mansion and former Catholic convent on Rippleside’s foreshore has come full circle after re-entering the market as an imposing private home.
The 1848 Italianate residence is the centrepiece of a 3000sq m waterfront estate around which the Stella Maris development was designed.
55 Bay St, Rippleside, is selling via expressions of interest for $5.75m to $6.3m.
Developer Monno is seeking $5.75m to $6.3m for the two-storey home overlooking Corio Bay.
New owners could expect to fork out even more should they proceed with a planned restoration and council-endorsed drawings for a substantial contemporary addition to the St Helens mansion.
If approved, Carr architecture studio’s plans would see 55 Bay St, Rippleside, transformed into a five-bedroom, five-bathroom home with a basement cinema, wine room, pool, bar, gym, pool and three-car garage.
The clifftop front yard looks directly over the Corio Bay at the point the Spirit of Tasmania turns toward its wharf.
The home has been fitted out as a display for the Stella Maris development but has approved plans to be transformed into a five-bedroom, five-bathroom home with a basement cinema, wine room, pool, bar, gym, pool and three-car garage.
Monno originally intended to complete the restoration and extension itself as the final chapter of the Stella Maris project.
But managing director Geno Hubay said it became clear buyers at the premium level didn’t want something prescribed.
“This is a highly personal, once-in-a-generation property,” Mr Hubay said.
The home offers high ceilings, decorative features and opens to a first floor veranda.
A central passage showcases the home’s grand proportions.
“So rather than imposing a finished outcome, we made a deliberate decision to bring it to market with the vision in place but leave room for the future owner to interpret that vision in their own way.”
Whitefox’s Dylan Francis and Kerleys director Damian Cayzer are jointly selling the property via an expressions of interest campaign closing on April 21.
The heritage-listed mansion, described as “the crown jewel of Geelong waterfront”, is one of the last remaining Geelong homesteads predating the Gold Rush.
A first floor living room offers a grand space overlooking the bay.
The home is one of the last remaining Geelong homesteads that predate the Victorian gold rush.
Originally built as a private home for squatter G.F. Read Jr, it became the Sister of Mercy’s Stella Maris convent and school in the 1920s.
It has most recently been used as a display suite for the Stella Maris precinct, which delivered 52 luxury new apartments across four surrounding buildings.
A new kitchen and internal upgrades were completed for presentation purposes, as well as critical ground work to enable future development.
55 Bay St, Rippleside, is selling via expressions of interest for $5.75m to $6.3m.
The historic mansion is designed to become a private home within the luxury Stella Maris development at Rippleside.
“The architectural plans we’ve developed take it well beyond that, reimagining the house as a truly world-class private residence, while still respecting the integrity of the original structure,” Mr Hubay said.
“The next phase is where the full potential of the estate is realised.”
Mr Cayzer said the estate was a landmark residence of undeniable significance positioned within one of Geelong’s most tightly held waterfront enclaves.
“There’s a sense of permanence here. The architecture, the grounds, the position, it’s something that simply can’t be replicated,” he said.
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