Gossip Queen: The Block’s cash splash in Melbourne market
Channel 9 has dropped an eye-watering amount of cash on the popular reality reno show over eight years. See which season’s site set them back the most.
Fiona Byrne
Don't miss out on the headlines from Fiona Byrne. Followed categories will be added to My News.
Hit TV series The Block has poured almost $90 million into property during its tenure in Melbourne.
The reality renovating series has been set in Melbourne since 2011 and in an eight-year period the Channel 9 production has spent an eye watering $89.75 million purchasing sites to be developed, renovated and overhauled for the show.
The eye-opening size of the show’s investment in the Melbourne property market comes as The Block prepares to move from St Kilda to leafy Brighton in 2020.
A Channel 9 company associated with the show paid $14.9 million for a large parcel of vacant land in New Street, Brighton earlier this month and has submitted plans to the Bayside council to relocate five old weatherboard homes to property.
The $90 million figure is the combined amount the show has paid for 12 sites over the past 8 years. It does not include what was then spent on building luxury homes and apartments at those locations.
The production has invested huge amounts, buying through different companies, in suburbs such as South Yarra, Prahran, Albert Park, Port Melbourne, South Melbourne and Richmond.
The Block-spendathon kicked off with the 2011 season and the renovation of four homes in Cameron Street, Richmond. The properties were purchased for the show for $3.6 million.
Next up $3.025 million was forked out for four terrace houses in Dorcas South Melbourne followed by the purchase of the former BizHotel in Park Street, South Melbourne for $6.71 million which was the setting for the 2013 ‘Sky High’ series of the show.
Nine aired two series of The Block in 2014 which centred on the renovation of a warehouse in Albert Park that was purchased for $5.9 million and the transformation of an office block in Prahran, which was bought for $8.25 million.
Nine again aired two series of the show in 2015, the first being the overhaul of the former Hotel Saville in South Yarra, a location which was sold to the production for $6.25 million, and then an apartment block in Darling Street, South Yarra which was bought for $5.7 million.
In 2016 a Block related company spent $5.025 million on a derelict soap factory in Port Melbourne.
Next up a Nine-owned company was used to purchase vacant land in Elsternwick for $9.6 million as the location for the 2017 series. It was also the purchase vehicle used to buy the notorious St Kilda flophouse, The Gatwick Private Hotel, for $10 million. The Gatwick’s transformation was the subject of the 2018 series of the show.
THE BLOCK’S NEW MELBOURNE LOCATION
Buoyed by the success of its first St Kilda investment the Block’s next project, The Oslo hotel set 9 and the show back $10.8 million when it was purchased in an off market deal last year .
Now with a $14.9 million initial spend in Brighton, another off market deal, the show is preparing to go around ‘the block’ once again.
Beauty queen slams ‘dumb blonde’ insult
Former Miss Universe Australia and qualified speech pathologist Olivia Rogers says brains and beauty are not mutually exclusive, clapping back at a heartless mum who labelled her a “dumb blonde” who wouldn’t trust Rogers to teach her child.
Fev’s savage swipe at AFL WAGs, players’ diva behaviour
Footy legend Brendan Fevola has delivered a brutal reality check for the AFL players and WAGs in the Queensland hubs, savaging their diva-like behaviour and unleashing some pointed words of advice.