Tucked very privately off Yarra Boulevard, I attended the auction of this 1970s Besser brick property last year. I was running terribly late and rushed inside five minutes before the auction was due to start, for a very quick look. It was such a fleeting inspection that I really don't remember the property as well as I would like, but I do recall just how much I liked it and have thought about it several times since it was passed in that day. I'm quite sure I was standing next to the architect at the auction as I could overhear some of the conversation he was having with his son. He was clearly disappointed at the lack of interest in the property; as I recall, there wasn't one bid.
But the house is back on the market with a "revised price", and I'm sure the architect would be even more disappointed to hear Jellis Craig touting how the marvellous riverfront location "offers exciting scope to enhance/extend or to redevelop into state of the art prestige home STCA". It would be such a shame to see this home demolished and replaced with another hideous McMansion.
What I remember most about my brief inspection of 4 River Retreat was the feeling of it being a bit like a treehouse. Not so much in the traditional rustic way, but the house is built into the side of a steep hill and overlooks the river, so as you scale the three levels, it very much feels like you are climbing a tree. From memory, the kitchen was a little cramped and in need of an update, but in general, it was a very liveable home. The vaulted limed timber ceilings give the home a classically modern edge, and the slate floors throughout match the grey brick superbly. I always like it when there's a void between the lower and upper levels too - it adds such a feeling of height and space.
4 River Retreat is being sold by the Hawthorn Jellis Craig office. Expressions of interest close Monday Februrary 20, and the price range is listed as $1.75 - 1.925 million.
