It was the sense of scale and history that drew award-winning architect James Russell to the Fortitude Valley Wesleyan Church and church hall.
Located in the middle of Brisbane’s bustling urban heart, the 1888-built, heritage-listed church had the craftsmanship, materials and soaring majesty of a future home.
Far from a cookie-cutter suburban home, the church and church hall mark the substantial buildings prospective homeowners are looking for as a point of difference in the luxury property market.
“Both of them, they’re both buildings that were built beautifully,” James says. “They’re both buildings that were built to be around for 100 years. The materials are beautiful, the way it is put together is considered and not part of a fashionable approach to design.
“In another 20 years they will still be gorgeous buildings.”
The former Robin Dods architecture award winner undertook an extensive restoration and renovation of the Brookes Street properties, converting the free Gothic structure into a three-bedroom courtyard home, with a separate commercial office and coffee-shop tenancy in the adjacent building.
“To have that heritage, or be between two heritage buildings, it is a lovely guide because it gives you a great start process,” James says. “Like an interesting or tricky site process, it makes a building more grounded.”
The church was designed by James Cowlishaw, who created many notable Brisbane buildings, including the Brisbane Grammar School hall and stately residences Oakwal in Windsor and Hanworth in East Brisbane.
James and his young family lived in the church component of the home for their first four years of ownership. “Lying down to sleep at night under a 14m ceiling, living in there was beautiful.”
Now reluctantly up for sale, the converted home is a being sold either as two separate titles, or in one line.
Further south in Yass Valley, in the NSW Southern Tablelands, after a decade and $2 million of renovation costs, the labour of love has reached the end for Karina Jitts.
The owner of the heritage-listed sprawling Old Linton property has spent years slowly upgrading the 1850s home of sheep baron AB Triggs’ to its former glory, complete with a full dining hall, commercial kitchen, ballroom, formal lounge, library, breakfast room and walled heritage-listed rose garden.
“It’s so beautiful to look at and it has a real presence,” she says.
“I love the symmetry of the house. The number of beautiful woods in the house and the number of leadlights, those characteristics you don’t get in modern houses anymore: the very tall ceilings, the cedar around the walls, yellowbox flooring, the highly polished floors, the long dining hall that seats 45 to 50 people.
“It has some amazing rooms.”
Some smaller rear rooms in the eight-bedroom main home are still yet to be finished, but Karina and her family want to downsize since their children have left the coop and they had reached retirement age.
Katrina says previous owners had used the property as a wedding venue or accommodation provider but they had only kept the house as a residence.
In Brisbane, a private family is selling a six-apartment art deco block in inner city New Farm in its first trade since it was built in 1936.
LJ Hooker agent Brett Greensill says it was purpose built for the family as an investment property that has been retained for 81 years. The units were available for individual rental but have never been strata titled.
Featuring distinctive solid brick construction, overhanging eaves and bay windows, the building has all the features of the art deco period.
“It has remained in the family from generation to generation,” he says. “This is the first time it has been offered for sale.”