Mystery surrounds Julia Roberts exclusive Sydney rental
Julia Roberts’ luxury Sydney pad is giving off Willy Wonka vibes as the Hollywood superstar bunkers down in one of the city’s best homes.
Mystery surrounds the luxury harbourside mansion, Julia Roberts is quarantining in, located in Sydney’s exclusive eastern suburbs.
The Hollywood superstar jetted into Australia at the end of last month and immediately set about getting acclimatised in one of the country’s most sought-after addresses.
Roberts will star in the romantic comedy Ticket to Paradise with fellow A-lister George Clooney, to be shot in Queensland later this month.
Until then Roberts is bunked down with her entourage at a glorious waterfront mansion in lower Vaucluse.
Industry sources estimate the home would rent for upwards of $20,000 a week. And it sits directly across a small bay from the equally incredible home Leonardo DiCaprio rented for $15,000 a week in 2011 when he was filming The Great Gatsby. A production that house, nor Roberts’ Sydney digs wouldn’t look out of place in.
Roberts’ short term neighbours now include the likes of construction king Harry Triguboff and Menulog founder Leon Kamenev, both of whom own property nearby worth in excess of $100m.
James Packer also used to live around the corner before his sold off his $70 mansion La Mer, while pub baron Justin Hemmes also enjoys nearby harbour views as exclusive as those Roberts was photographed enjoying during her first morning back in the Harbour City in late October.
The median house price in blue chip Vaucluse is $6.36 million, around six times the national house median but Roberts new Aussie home is worth considerably more than that.
Tucked away in one of the most prestigious enclaves in the city, property records reveal the home has changed hands only once in 40 years.
The character filled four-bedroom home which sits on almost 4000 sqm was purchased for $2.185 million in 1981 before it was bought by the late Australian businessman David Coe in 1997 for $14,637,500.
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Coe was best known as the chairman and managing director of Allco Finance Group.
He was a well recognised philanthropist who donated large sums to the Sydney Children’s Hospital and he was also a big supporter of the Museum of Contemporary Art.
Mr Coe died of a suspected heart attack in the US ski resort of Aspen, Colorado in 2013.
According to property records the house has not traded since 10 December 1997.
As a result mystery surrounds what the interior of the house is like, due to the dearth of listing pictures, along with what it is truly worth,.
In some ways it is Sydney’s answer to Wonka’s Factory from the epic Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory - a film Roberts would likely have grown up watching - in that few people know what the massive mansion is like inside.
The property, hidden behind imposing wrought iron gates but with a commanding view of the harbour nearby and further north to Sydney Heads could be worth around the magical $100 million mark under current market conditions.
Mr Kamenev secured a site nearby in April 2016 at the highest price ever paid for an amalgamated residential site of $80 million.
Sydney’s wealthiest resident Harry Triguboff, also currently the country’s third richest billionaire, has a prized Vaucluse mansion worthy of his estimated $15bn fortune. The 87-year-old Meriton boss has owned the Wentworth Rd estate since 1983, paying $4.1m at the time. The next door block was added in 1998 for $6m to create a 5200sqm property. It is one of the largest privately held waterfronts in Vaucluse, eclipsing Justin Hemmes’ Hermitage and
Multi-millionaire Menulog founder Kamenev created history when he snapped up four adjoining blocks on the Vaucluse waterfront for nearly $80m in 2016.
It was the priciest amalgamated residential property site at the time and Mr Kamenev submitted plans for the existing four dwellings to be replaced with a French-style chateau expected to cost $10m to build.
There have been some delays from local council, which gave the green light for the Coolong Rd project on the condition the original height was lowered. The home will have a whopping 2227sqm of living space, including a ‘pyjama lounge’ and cinema. It will feature angled stone columns. Construction is about halfway along.
Meanwhile, the Hemmes family have lived in the expansive heritage-listed waterfront estate The Hermitage nearby for over 45 years.
Built in 1831, the stunning Gothic-style home features a castellated tower, carved barge boards and a roof of multiple gables. Justin Hemmes moved back into the home in 2011 and spent several years faithfully renovating.
“We had a lot of fun with maintaining the heritage component,” he told Vogue.
The hospitality tsar, turned down offers of $40 million and $50 million in 2009. His late father John said at the time, the potential buyers were dreaming. He said he would sell - for $90 million.
La Mer, also sits close to Roberts’ temporary current address and also has a legitimate claim to being one of Sydney’s best mansions.
This incredible six-storey mansion claimed the Aussie record when it was sold by James Packer to billionaire Chinese property developer Dr Chau Chak Wing for $70 million in 2015.
Not a bad price for a place Packer’s ex Erica Baxter reportedly likened to a shopping centre. Made up of three titles, La Mer boasts picture perfect Opera House and Harbour Bridge views. The main dwelling was designed by renowned architect Guildford Bell. But it does lack of water frontage.
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