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The Muse apartment draws $21m and Cullen Royle agency launches

At the height of the pandemic lockdown a cashed-up Melbourne resident has forked out the highest price for a Melbourne apartment all year.

The Muse on St Kilda Road. Construction of the 42-unit complex is set to start next month with completion by early 2023.
The Muse on St Kilda Road. Construction of the 42-unit complex is set to start next month with completion by early 2023.

At the height of the pandemic lockdown a cashed-up Melbourne resident has forked out the highest price for a Melbourne apartment all year, pledging to pay $21m for a yet-to-be-built apartment in the $300m The Muse complex which is being developed at 409 St Kilda Road. The level 11 sub-penthouse which sports five bedrooms and a 246sq m terrace as well as parking for seven vehicles was sold by Michael Robinson and Daniel Cashen of Co-Lab Residential. They did not disclose the buyer. Construction of the 42-unit complex is set to start next month with completion by early 2023. Residences range in size from 217sq m apartments to 1000sq m-plus terraces with prices starting from $3.2m to $45m for the penthouse, which when sold will be the most expensive apartment in Melbourne. Peter Devitt is the developer of the glass-encased tower which has added security measures for its wealthy owners.

Boutique agency launches

High-profile Sydney real estate agent Deborah Cullen has joined forces with rural specialist Richard Royle to launch a new boutique property agency, Cullen Royle. The Sydney-based agency will specialise in luxury residential, lifestyle, rural and agricultural sales.

Richard Royle and Deb Cullen.
Richard Royle and Deb Cullen.

Cullen was previously a partner with Knight Frank Prestige Residential having left the agency last Friday. Ms Cullen said it was the perfect time for Cullen Royle to launch. “Throughout 2020 it has become clear that the marketplace has changed,” she said. “Our high net worth clients are looking for something new and different to the traditional transactional-based listing and selling model of old, giving us a mandate for an alternative bespoke service.”

Over the years Ms Cullen has negotiated the sale of $20m-plus luxury assets in Sydney and country estates such as Mona Farm at Braidwood, and Bellagio Estate, Rosehill Farm, Yverdon Estate, Ripley Estate and Burradoo House in the NSW Southern Highlands. Mr Royle was most recently director of CBRE’s NSW agriculture team, while previously leading Colliers International’s NSW agribusiness division.

Fancy your own boatshed?

The former Hunters Hill home of Cate Blanchett and Andrew Upton has hit the market again with price expectations of $20m to $22m. The vendors, Katrina Chandler and Chris Barter, have won approval to develop a boatshed on the property, given the home’s access to the waterfront reserve. The historic house, Bulwarra, is being marketed by LJ Hooker Avnu’s Michael Coombs who recently sold a Byron Bay mansion for a similar figure.

Price drop for Darling Point unit

A Darling Point apartment, once owned by the Rivkin family, has copped a drop in its asking price. Ray White’s James Ledgerwood reduced the price for the three-bedroom Darling Point Road unit from $8.1m to between $7m and $7.5m. The apartment has parking for five cars.

Lisa Allen
Lisa AllenAssociate Editor & Editor, Mansion Australia

Lisa Allen is an Associate Editor of The Australian, and is Editor of The Weekend Australian's property magazine, Mansion Australia. Lisa has been a senior reporter in business and property with the paper since 2012. She was previously Queensland Bureau Chief for The Australian Financial Review and has written for the BRW Rich List.

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Original URL: https://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/property/the-muse-apartment-draws-21m-and-cullen-royle-agency-launches/news-story/1fda01e5eb46dba29fea871f66066761