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2016
19 May 2023
Auction smashes local sales record
There was no shortage of interest in the sale of a luxury warehouse conversion when it went to auction with six registered bidders all keen to call the property in the heart of Mudgee home.
Three active bidders took part in the May 12 auction before the property at 1 Lewis Street was passed in at $2.6 million.
The Property Shop's selling agent Andrew Palmer, who worked with Sara Perry on the sale, said a deal was made a short time after the auction ended.
While the buyer requested the sale price not be revealed, Mr Palmer confirmed the property sold above $2.6 million but below $2.7 million, smashing the town's previous record of $2.175 million paid for the 1860s' Bleak House at 7 Lawson Street in 2021.
Mr Palmer said the auction kicked off well with an opening bid of $2.2 million.
"It went in $100,000 increments to $2.5 million and after another bid the property was passed in at $2.6 million," he said.
"It was then sold for an undisclosed price, but straight after the auction, to the highest bidder."
Mr Palmer confirmed most of the interest in the property had come from locals, some empty- nesters, or others wanting to downsize or move to a property without too much land to look after.
He said he wasn't surprised the five-bedroom house attracted so much interest with many Mudgee residents having watched the building's transformation over the past few years.
In fact the new owner is a Mudgee resident who made his bids, and negotiated the sale, via the telephone.
"I think it's a very unique property for Mudgee," he said.
"They managed to preserve the history and character of the building while still being able to develop a luxury residence.
"It was a real pleasure to have the opportunity to market such a magnificent building."
Having once served as a WW1 recruitment depot and a miniature rifle range, now-retired architect John Wood transformed the 1863-building by dividing it into two 450 square-metre properties in 2018, completing the rear section the same year.
External work on the front section of the property was completed in 2021 with its interior completed at the end of 2022 shortly after its owner Jill Mackenzie died and it was her estate which sold the property.
Mr Palmer said the "unique" house appealed to buyers because it was a complete new-build inside a 1860s Victorian warehouse with the two-storey home blending historic features with a modern design incorporating expansive living spaces, a home office and a lift.
Downstairs there are tall ceilings, large windows and skylights, and a large open-plan living room with a separate entertainer's bar.
There's also a spacious king-sized bedroom with ensuite bathroom, and a north-facing entertaining terrace overlooking a private low-maintenance garden.
The main bedroom upstairs has an ensuite, walk-in wardrobe and private balcony with views to Lawson Park.
There are also three additional bedrooms, one with an ensuite and a separate bathroom.
According to Mr Palmer the land was first purchased in September 1862 and it served as a warehouse from 1863 to 1864 and later became Dickson's Stores which operated out of the site until about 1900.
Over the years the building served many purposes including operating as a hardware store, a WW1 recruitment depot, a furniture factory, sportsman's club, picture theatre, a miniature rifle range, a P.O.W. reporting centre and a Police Boys Club.
According to CoreLogic the median price of a house in Mudgee is $690,0001 .
23 September 2016
New life for local landmark
The new owners of a 152-year-old Mudgee building plan to restore the former warehouse and convert the interiors into two apartments.
David and Clarissa Mort and John and Helen Wood were the successful bidders for the property at 1 Lewis Street at an auction on Saturday.
The auction was conducted by The Property Shop on half of S & G Birchall, operators of the former Tyrepower business.
The new owners paid $800,000 paid for the property.
Restoration will be project managed by Planned Environment Pty. Ltd. Architects,and is expected to take two years to complete.
The 1864 building was built for the Dickson family who were prominent merchants in the Mudgee district during the 1800s.
An article published in 1864 in the Illustrated Sydney News stated:
"This establishment is situated...in the rising town of Mudgee and as an instance of the successful results of private energy and enterprise, will bear favourable comparison with similar business premises in any part of the colony.
"We notice with great pleasure the improved style of architecture which begins to obtain in our inland townships, and are glad to see premises which are at once ornamental and durable, superseding the more primitive structures of the interior.
"The firm in question is one of the oldest established in the Mudgee district, employing a large number of hands, and, in addition to the premises shewn, and others only partially depicted in our engraving, have been recently compelled, by the requirements of an extending business, to erect additional stores on the opposite side of the street, of the same solid and substantial description, and upwards of over 130 feet in length.
"It is in such healthy and well- regulated enterprise that we recognise the true wealth and well-being of a colony, and men who successfully carry with them into the far bush all their home instincts and habits of well-trained business activity and industry are deserving not only of the material benefits which naturally accrue, but of the thanks of the community at large
The Lewis Street property is listed as a heritage item under Mid-Western Regional Council's Regional Local Environment Plan.
Despite its age, the building retains many of its original architectural features2 .