Emerald City: Jerry Schwartz gets a lift

Hotel mogul Jerry Schwartz is in interior decorating mode, installing a lift in his recently aquired Phoenix Acres.

Fresh from his $67 million purchase of Phoenix Acres, the harbourfront mansion once owned by Singaporean tycoon CK Ow, hotel mogul Jerry Schwartz is in interior decorating mode. As with every mansion he owns, Schwartz is installing a lift in Phoenix Acres. He has also decided to lower the tennis court. “Every house I buy I put in a lift and a fish tank — it’s a habit of mine,” says Schwartz, who is also a cosmetic surgeon. Indeed, an Italian glass lift was installed in his Loch Maree Crescent, Vaucluse house, which he sold last year after buying Ow’s property, which sports the biggest private pool on Sydney Harbour. Ow, chairman and chief executive of Singaporean hotel owner and developer Stamford Land Corporation, bought Phoenix Acres, a 3731sq m site with six-bedroom, six-bathroom home in The Crescent, Vaucluse, about 22 years ago for just over $7m from the Braham family.

Delta’s park views

The popularity of luxury apartments overlooking Hyde Park never seems to wane, with singer Delta Goodrem forking out $4.825m for one in The Residence fronting the park. For her money Goodrem has scored a two-bedroom, two-bathroom unit in the College Street complex on the seventh floor. The apartment has a lap pool and 24-hour concierge. Laing Real Estate selling agent Anthony Birdsall declined to comment. The deal was conducted under strict confidentiality, with a buyer’s agent representing Goodrem.

Delta Goodrem has bought a luxury apartment. Picture: Getty Images

Unique court action

Looking tanned and relaxed, fallen real estate agent Nicolette van Wijngaarden fronted Downing Centre Court on Thursday, facing a series of charges over the collapse of Unique Estates. Wijngaarden declined to comment to The Weekend Australian, with the matter ­adjourned until March 12. Her bail continues. Fashion designer Collette Dinnigan was one of several parties caught up in the collapse of Unique Estates last year.