Judith Neilson unveils plans for $34m inner Sydney mansion

The billionaire’s latest Sydney project will see waves of concrete attached to a 100-year-old warehouse in an extravagant cut above the rest of its more humble neighbours.

The billionaire art collector Judith Neilsen has lodged plans for a multimillion-dollar inner-city four story residence in Sydney. Picture: Supplied.

Billionaire art collector and philanthropist Judith Neilson has filed plans for an $18.5m residential development in the inner Sydney suburb of Ultimo.

Plans from architecture studio Atelier director Andy Carson reveal a hundred-year-old former warehouse, just a block back from Broadway, will be converted into a four-level, five-bedroom house.

The building, 66 Bay St, Ultimo, was purchased for $15.4m in August 2021, bringing the project’s total cost to at least $33.9m.

Neilson is known for her real estate portfolio in Chippendale, but the location of the new residence a suburb across would put her directly next to the busy Broadway Shopping Centre.

With a median house price of $1.85m in Ultimo, the development is set to stand out as an extravagant cut above the rest of the neighbourhood.

A former home of J.P. Van Gelder & Co. milling engineers from as early as 1918, the building was then used as retail and office space across its four stories until acquired by Ms Neilson.

The redevelopment, which was lodged on May 4, will aim to be “a world class adaptive re-use of the existing commercial building into a unique and architecturally significant single residence,” according to the project’s design statement.

As with Neilson’s lauded Indigo Slam residence in Chippendale, the project has been designed to last at least another 100 years.

Nelison’s Indigo Slam design in Chippendale. Picture: The Australian

The infrastructure works seek to rip out the entire interior of the building in the name of “conservation and restoration”, removing what the design statement referred to as “poorly executed additions” to the original construction.

Under the plans, a striking modern addition made of waves of concrete similar to the design of Indigo Slam will be added to the rooftop, which will house the master bedroom, rooftop garden and swimming pool.

“The clearly discernible addition offers visual separation and contrasts the highly articulated sculptural form against the cubic warehouse form and thus offers a rich mix of old and new which enhances both,” the design statement said.

The rooftop garden will showcase a mixture of native plants and “exotic species”, along with a cascading water feature and sleek concrete seating areas.

Other features of the development will include a wine cellar, car lift and four ensuite bedrooms, along with separate lounge, living and sitting rooms.

The development comes as the latest chapter in Neilson’s collaboration with Atelier Andy Carson, who oversaw the restoration of a Victorian era heritage building into the ‘Old Dick’ addition to Neilson’s White Rabbit Gallery.

The architecture firm also designed the $5m Headland House on Werri Beach, near Gerringong on the NSW south coast, for Neilson’s daughter Beau.

Indigo Slam, Neilson’s current home, set her back nearly $15m by the time it was completed in 2016.

It remains unclear as to whether Neilson herself intends to move into the new development in Ultimo.

She recently sold a four bedroom terrace in Chippendale, which was formerly used as a guesthouse for visiting artists, for $2.6m.

The sale was a rare outlier for Neilson, whose portfolios in both real estate and art are far more often added to than subtracted from.

The architect declined to comment.

Originally published as Judith Neilson unveils plans for $34m inner Sydney mansion