Rightsizing on a grand scale at Elizabeth Bay’s Billyard Ave
As reported by Kate Farrelly | Full story here
This Elizabeth Bay development shows that compromises don’t have to be made when moving from the family house.
When it comes to moving from a palatial home into an apartment, well-heeled and discerning buyers are looking for designers and developers they know and trust. They’ve also decided size really does matter. Now, a new development is underway in Elizabeth Bay that looks set to impress with an experienced team, elegant design and oversized floor plans.
Jason Boon of Richardson & Wrench Elizabeth Bay, who is marketing the project alongside 1st City Group and Ray White Projects, says the grand scale of the Billyard Ave residences is almost unheard of in this ever-popular, inner-east suburb.
“Located opposite one of Australia’s most iconic trophy homes, Boomerang House, Billyard Ave nods to the glamour of the rich and famous, from the location and views, to the architecture and finishes,” Boon says. “But it’s the size of each apartment that truly sets it apart in the current market.”
Internal floor spaces in the nine residences range from 360 to 400 square metres, excluding outdoor areas, parking and storage. For those buyers seeking generous gardens to complement their house-sized apartment, Billyard Ave will include two garden “manors” with an impressive 220 square metres of outdoor living and entertaining space on title.
“To put the scale of these apartments in some perspective, market data shows that over the
past five years the largest ground floor apartment in Potts Point/Elizabeth Bay was over 100 square metres smaller than Billyard Ave, with gardens around 80 square metres smaller,” Boon says. “Traditionally, buyers have had to amalgamate smaller apartments to create a home of this size.” In Knight Frank’s 2022 Rightsizing report, more outdoor space was high on the wish list for 65 per cent of respondents, especially in the wake of the COVID pandemic.
For buyers aspiring to move out of large family homes with significant grounds, Billyard Ave’s garden manors will offer a house-like feeling. Philippe Remond, an established eastern suburbs developer and founder of P-3 LIVING, who is leading the development for Billyard Ave, says he has seen first-hand the joy that a generous garden or courtyard can deliver for downsizers, with his mother spending time in her garden each day, pottering, relaxing or entertaining.
“I think downsizers coming from a big house would definitely miss having a garden, especially if they have a pet or love to entertain family and friends,” Remond says. “So, I think the Billyard Ave garden manors would give them a feeling of living in their own space.
“They can go out freely and feel like they haven’t moved onto something smaller.” Having seen the work of landscapers Dangar Barin Smith, Remond engaged them to “take Billyard Ave to another level”.
“They have beautiful ideas, they understand layering, and they make the spaces functional so you won’t have to maintain the space every day,” Remond says. Positioned three metres above street level and offering privacy and views of the harbour, the gardens will include water features and an outdoor dining space with a built-in Wolf barbecue, he adds.
Beautiful big pots will help to break up the space and create distinct thoroughfares, while substantial street trees and high walls provide additional solitude. In each of the garden apartments, every room opens out to garden, courtyard or balcony space, creating a wonderful connection to the outdoors. Inside, interior designer Victoria Judge, senior associate at SJB, has created exceptionally well-appointed dwellings.
Features include oak parquetry and custom marble mosaic floors, fluted glass and marble finishes and timber veneer joinery. There are both formal and informal living rooms plus a separate, multipurpose living space that can be used as a rumpus room, media room or home gym.
The key living spaces of every Billyard Ave apartment face north, and most enjoy boat- studded harbour views. “There have been no compromises in the design,” Judge says. “Each of the apartments has four bedrooms, four bathrooms, three car parking spaces … it’s classic, it’s grand and there’s an extreme sense of luxury.” Remond says buyers who want to move from a large house to an apartment should consider Billyard Ave.
“These homes offer,” he says, “all the size of a house, the fabulous function of a new building created by renowned designers, plenty of garden space, parking, et cetera, but with the huge benefit of single-level living and lock-up-and-leave convenience when going on holidays.”
