A century-old home perched high on a Sunshine Coast headland has changed hands and is set to make way for a development.
No. 11 McIlwraith Street at Moffat Beach has been sold for $11.25 million and is likely to be replaced by a four-storey apartment block.
Ray White Caloundra elite selling principal Andrew Garland said the old Queenslander there is believed to be the first house built on Moffat Head in the 1920s.
“The timbers were floated off a boat at Moffat Beach and pulled up the hill by bullock,” he said.
“It housed American troops during World War II.”
The 814sqm property was once owned by the estate of former Queensland premier Ned Handon before it was sold at auction in 1963.
It remained in the same family for more than 50 years, and hardly changed.
“It’s still quite original,” Mr Garland said.
“I think they updated the kitchen, but it’s a very original Queenslander-style house with timber construction and a corrugated iron roof.
“Anyone who knows anything about Moffat knows about McIlwraith Street and the old place.”
Mr Garland said sale prices from the 1960s were unavailable but the family would have paid very little to buy the property then. There was an internal transfer in 2007 before it sold for a relative fortune this year.
“It was owned by a brother and sister, who inherited it,” Mr Gardner said.
“They were getting to the age where it needed to be sold because the next generation couldn’t take it on (so) it was a bittersweet sale for the family. They didn’t want to sell but the reality was they had to.
“It attracted an extraordinary price from a private buyer who’s going to build a unit building for his family.
“Part of the contract process was the buyer getting development approval.
“It’s a medium-density residential site with a 12m height limit, which allows you to build four storeys, so there’s a nine-unit building going up there with underground parking, for private use.”
Mr Gardner said the site was remarkable.
“It’s paradise,” he said.
“The price reflects the quality of the position there, looking north.
“You can see all the way up the coast, past Point Cartwright, to Mount Coolum and forever.
“It’s a special piece of the world.”
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McIlwraith Street is a prized pocket, featuring a single road along the headland and homes on either side.
“They (homes there) don’t come up (for sale) too often, but when they do they set a new benchmark.”
A planning report compiled by Saunders Havill Group, prepared for Mick and Dulce Pty Ltd, stated that the building would suit the area.
“The proposal presents a high-quality architectural design, material and features a number of critical design elements, including: a built form that is responsive to its locality and context, and is compatible with the intended pattern of buildings within McIlwraith Street and the surrounding local area.”
The street has a mix of one and two-level homes and three and four-level apartment blocks.
Auction results
2/1 Barnes Drive, Buderim
- Passed in at $855,000, contact agent
- 3 bed, 2 bath, 1 car
- Ray White Buderim, Jacob Stinson
4/91 Goonawarra Drive, Mooloolaba
- Passed in at $950,900, contact agent
- 3 bed, 2 bath, 1 car
- Ray White Mooloolaba, Brent Higgins
28/139-141 Bradman Avenue, Maroochydore
- Passed in at $1.35m, contact agent
- 3 bed, 2 bath, 2 car
- Ray White Maroochydore, Niall Molloy/Lottie Gunter
111-121 Main Creek Road, Tanawha
- Passed in at $1.5m, contact agent
- 4 bed, 2 bath, 3 car
- Ray White Buderim, Jake Loiero
17 Wilguy Crescent, Buderim
- Sold under the hammer for $1.61m
- 4 bed, 2 bath, 4 car
- Ray White Buderim, Lew Pottinger/Tully Thompson
11 Harvard Court, Sippy Downs
- Sold under the hammer for $1.15m
- 4 bed, 2 bath, 2 car
- Ray White Maroochydore, Matthew Burke/Pam Thomas
