An artist’s render of The Big Group founders’ Bruce and Chyka Keebaugh’s future $10m+ penthouse in Richmond’s Carmine House.
Melbourne skyhomes worth up to $20m are wowing buyers with ultra luxurious features from carlifts that bring your pride and joy into your penthouse to rooftop pools.
It comes as the city’s crime woes have rich-listers opting to buy into complexes offering robust security measures including biometric entry points, cameras and around-the-clock staffing.
Quirkier additions across other homes include a crawl-in ensuite bathroom, a gym with a natural rock wall and a Mohammed Ali mural.
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A CBD apartment listed by celebrity chef Shannon Bennett even has a sleeping pod with individual spaces for his children, turning a single bedroom into accommodation for four.
The face behind several Melbourne hospitality ventures and a MasterChef guest judge, Bennett is looking to sell the Level 11/35 Spring St, pad with a $5.7m-$6.1m range.
Colliers’ Nancy Monitto has the listing which features a temperature-controlled, 300-bottle wine cellar.
Celebrity chef Shannon Bennett has listed his apartment at Level 11/35 Spring St, Melbourne, with a $5.7m-$6.1m range.
Shannon Bennett ran Vue De Monde at the top of the Rialto Towers and is also behind The Lui Bar, perched on level 55 of the Towers.
Each of the sleeping pods is equipped with its own television and data points.
This week, high-profile entrepreneurs Bruce and Chyka Keebaugh who founded hospitality giant The Big Group revealed they have bought a penthouse in developer Fortis’ Carmine House in Richmond.
Industry sources indicated the ex-Real Housewives of Melbourne star Ms Keebaugh and her husband splashed more than $10m on the residence to be built as part of the $330m mixed-use Richmond Square precinct.
The deal, negotiated by Christie’s International’s Sean Cussell, has shattered Richmond’s previous $7.435m home price record.
Bruce and Chyka Keebaugh’s penthouse will be part of the wider $330m mixed-use Richmond Square precinct.
The Big Group founders Bruce and Chyka Keebaugh. Their company is one of the Australia’s largest privately-owned catering and event companies.
This penthouse within the Docklands’ 1 Hotel & Homes development by Riverlee sold for $20.5m.
In February, an impressive penthouse within Docklands’ 1 Hotel & Homes development changed hands in a $20.5m transaction overseen by Forbes’ Nick Peters
It showcases an ornamental conservatory, cocktail bar and outdoor terrace and is part of developer Riverlee’s wider $600m Seafarers’ project.
However, former media boss Antony Catalano’s $29.95m St Kilda penthouse was withdrawn from public sale in June after failing to find a buyer.
A ‘sky garage’ within Growland’s Neue Grand complex on St Kilda Rd.
An apartment within the complex, for sale at $5.98m, is fitted with two kitchens.
Australian Apartment Advocacy chief executive Samantha Reece said safety was foremost in most buyers’ minds as crimes like aggravated burglaries hit the headlines across Melbourne.
She said baby boomers and single women seeking enhanced home security made up a large number of apartment owners.
“We’re seeing a greater focus on CCTV footage and cameras within apartment buildings that people can rely on if there has been any kind of untoward activity, they can actually then hand those over to the police,” she noted.
Reception areas, fobs to access a particular floor, around-the-clock staffing and systems which show homeowners who’s at the front door when they’re away are also growing in popularity.
This Melbourne home offering a three-car “sky garage” and biometric fingerprint access has a $7m price tag.
A four-bedroom penthouse at 8 Louise St, Melbourne, which could be yours for $11.995m. Marshall White’s Nicholas Brooks has the listing.
Marshall White group sales director John Bongiorno said security had become a more prominent front-of-mind feature for Melbourne homeowners across the past two years, because of the city’s crime rates.
Mr Bongiorno added that concierge facilities, gyms and environmentally-sustainable features were also popular with apartment and penthouse buyers.
“And people tend to prefer off-the-plan because maybe they can tailor it a bit more to their own preferences,” he said.
A Melbourne sub-penthouse offering biometric fingerprint access and a three-car “sky garage”, allowing owners to admire their cars from the living area, is currently for sale with a $7m price tag through agency Yale Global Solutions.
Another apartment, this one in Growland’s Neue Grand complex on St Kilda Rd, also features a sky garage. The $5.98m residence is listed with Fredrick Property.
The address’ garages are accessed via a German-engineered high-speed lift.
A penthouse at 79 Clendon Rd, Toorak, features a wraparound terrace, a main bedroom with a marble-fitted ensuite and freestanding bath, formal sitting room and a private rooftop pool.
This Brighton five-bedroom apartment is set within a complex where there’s a tennis court with a pavilion, plus an indoor swimming pool and a gym.
Meanwhile, a penthouse at 79 Clendon Rd, Toorak, featuring a private rooftop pool and terrace is on the market for $10m-$11m with Forbes’ Nick Peters.
Mr Peters said the rooftop was Toorak’s highest point and offered amazing 360-degree views.
In the Bayside municipality, a Brighton five-bedroom apartment boasting a rooftop terrace, security system and parking for four cars hit the market with a $9.6m-$10.5m range earlier this year.
Kay & Burton’s Matt Pillios said the home would likely be relaunched in August.
“Many buyers are saying that penthouses and apartments are extremely safe and security now has become a massive, massive decision maker for many purchasers,” the agency director added.
In Carlton, this penthouse has a rather unique crawl space …
… through which visitors can get into the opulent bathroom.
Fellow Kay & Burton director Nicole Gleeson had the listing for an East Melbourne sub-penthouse, advertised with a $11m-$11.5m range, which sold this month.
The home features a four-car garage and a garden terrace with a built-in barbecue.
Ms Gleeson, who declined to comment on the sold price, said the buyer had recognised how rare such homes were in the suburb and decided to snap it up while they still could.
Last month a Carlton penthouse with a fireplace which residents could crawl under to enter a bathroom sold for $1.64m.
A natural rock feature and murals are showcased at 9/6-8 Armytage St, Lorne. It’s on the market with a $3.25m price tag.
The three-bedroom residence offers views across Lorne Beach, Louttit Bay and Great Ocean Road’s coastal landscape.
An image capturing construction of the combined office, gym and wine cellar which includes the exposed rock feature.
Further out of Melbourne, a three-level unit at 9/6-8 Armytage St, Lorne, priced at $3.25m, has a combined office, gym and wine cellar with a large natural rock wall centre piece – plus wall murals of Bells Beach surfers and boxer Muhammad Ali.
Owner Sam said tradies couldn’t clear the rock with jackhammers so he decided to simply incorporate it into the room.
“The exposed rock wall is in the middle and wine cellar above it, it has become the absolute feature,” he said.
A steel dolphin sculpture by Scottish artist Carn Standing was lifted into the home’s top living area by a cherry-picker.
Great Ocean Road Real Estate’s Karen Stribling has the listing.
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