One of Sydney’s most unique homes, a cantilevered architectural gem high above Middle Harbour, will go to auction next month, with a price guide of $10 million to $11 million.
Commissioned by Kevin Anschau of Lend Lease in the late 1980s, Anschau House, in Seaforth, took five years to build and features a two-level home perched atop two single piece steel girders.
Listed with Nathan Tse and Jake Rowe, of The Agency Northern Beaches, the property at 73 Seaforth Cres, is one of the most unique homes on the market.
“It was designed by a very prominent architect, by the name of Martin Chapman, at that time,” Mr Tse said.
“The brief to the architect was ‘I want something that’s going to maximise views. It doesn’t need to be big but I want easy vehicular access to my property, I want sun and I want privacy’.”
Mr Tse said Seaforth Cres featured waterfront properties and a lot of them were south-facing, which meant they got little to no sun in winter.
“So what Kevin Anschau did was build this house that was out from the cliff, hence why it’s on those girders.
“It gets the sun because it’s not stuck in the cliff, it’s actually protruding out, and it’s also high enough that it gets eastern sun in the morning.
“It also gets some northerly sun because it’s been solar planned and it gets western sun.
“So it is one of the few houses in Seaforth Cres that gets sun, despite the fact that the front of it faces south, and the main reason is because it protrudes out and it’s high enough.”
Spread across two levels, the home features a glass-encased, free flowing layout with a family, living, kitchen and dining room on the entry level and four bedrooms on the upper floor.
Poised on an exclusive street-to-waterfront block, the home has near level street entry and inclinator access from the residence to the waterfront.
The home is nestled in landscaped gardens, offers an entertaining terrace hugging the water’s edge and has an exclusive-use jetty and pontoon with a 15m four-post deep waterfront berth.
“The big thing is this property offers, it’s not a large house, but it offers many things that many of the other properties in Seaforth Cres do not have,” Mr Tse said.
“This includes easy vehicle access, sunshine and privacy.
“And then, of course, the property itself goes down to the waterfront and the owner owns the land right up to the high watermark.
“So she’s bought the land, it’s not crown land down the bottom.
“There’s no leased land in terms of the actual land, she’s got what’s called a registered lease over the jetty poles and water, which is actually a registered and surveyed lease.
“It is a very valuable piece of land if you’ve got a boat because it offers long tenure and complete security of the lease over the water.”
Other notable features of the property include a waterside terrace as well as a north courtyard complete with a wet bar, barbecue and retractable roof.
Interior design features include marble flooring, traditional Italian stucco on raised ceilings and feature walls and an ecostone kitchen.
Mr Tse said there had been solid local interest in the home, which he described as like a penthouse apartment that would suit a couple.
“There is some interest in it,” he said.
“You’re not going to get 100 people there, it’s not that type of property.
“It’s quite bespoke.”
The property will go to auction at 9am on April 20, on site.
