Vaucluse home owned by Neville Wran on Princes Ave to be demolished by new owners Samreen and Imran Kassam
This Vaucluse block was once home to beloved former premier Neville Wran. But with the repair jobs stacking up, the new owners want to demolish it and start over.
Wentworth Courier
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A Vaucluse home which was once owned by legendary former premier Neville Wran is set to be demolished with the young family that now own it deciding they need to do a complete rebuild.
When the couple took ownership of the property the backyard pool had been converted into a “swamp” housing enormous fish and frogs for around a decade.
Cardiologist Dr Imran Kassam and his GP wife Samreen purchased the Princes Ave house from brothers Richard and Roger Pang, who had grown up in the property, for just over $4 million in 2016.
The doctors and their children lived in the home for about six months after purchasing it.
They have since rented it out but intend to return to the neighbourhood after their new home is constructed.
Dr Samreen Kassam said they had decided to lodge the $2.4 million development application with Woollahra council after finding they were constantly making repairs to the property.
“We bought the property four years ago and lived there for a while renovating it enough to be able to be lived in,” Dr Samreen Kassam said.
“We plan to rebuild as the property is past its life cycle, and needs constant maintenance which is consistent with its age.
“We are aware that Neville Wran lived there about 60 years ago 1961-1966, well before he was the premier in 1976.”
The Kassam family and indeed the former owners only found out Wran once owned the house, and lived there with his first wife Marcia and their two children Glenn and Kim, when it went to auction and his name was discovered on an old land title.
The development application is for a two to three-storey, five bedroom dwelling with basement parking and a swimming pool.
It is mostly compliant with the Woollahra Local Environment Plan with the exception of minor variances to the wall and fence heights.
Standing at 7.9m at its uppermost point, the proposal by architect X. PACE Design Group is well under the 9.5m height limit for the area.
Documents prepared by planned Gary Shiels and Associates describe the proposal as “elegant” and say it “nestles into the sloping topography, and integrates well with the existing streetscape”.