Pharmaceutical billionaire Dennis Bastas has proposed a $38.5 million renovation of Melbourne’s most expensive house, which sold last year in a $100 million-plus deal.
The grand Toorak home, known as Coonac, would be partially demolished under the proposal and a double-storey extension added at the rear.
The proposed extension to Coonac.Credit: City of Stonnington planning application
An expansion of the existing basement is also proposed – to allow for car parking and amenities – along with a modification to the front fence for an extra vehicle access point.
The application comes even before the house, sold by logistics boss Paul Little and his wife, Jane Hansen, chancellor of the University of Melbourne, has settled. It remains in Hansen’s name.
Details of the price paid will become public at settlement, but is tipped by some to be as much as $135 million and others at closer to $115 million.
Settlement will also confirm the new owners. Although Bastas initially denied knowledge of the transaction when it emerged last year, planning documents show the permit applicant is Gina Bastas, while Dennis Bastas is also listed in the planning documents as a client on the landscape architect’s drawing.
Coonac sold last year.Credit: Craig Abraham
Coonac is heritage listed and was built in the Italianate mansion style, dating to the 1860s. It was built for pastoralist and financier Robert Bruce Ronald. It has been renovated over time, and the latest planning permit in 2010 allowed for the addition of a conservatory, a 10-car basement and a tennis court.
The proposed demolition includes the tennis court, pool and pool house, existing garden to the south and west of the service wing, part of the masonry fence, plus a series of non-original items, including conservatory, first-floor balcony, window and door openings on the western and southern facades of the service wing, and portico, door and double garage opening on the northern facade of the service wing.
The proposed double-storey extension would include an entry foyer, living rooms, dining and lounge room, family room, study/library and kitchen, with access to an outdoor terrace level. Upstairs there would be five bedrooms, bathrooms, sitting room, a mezzanine level and a retreat.
It would include stone finishes in light tones and limestone solid blocks, and the addition would be informed by the retained dwelling and respect the original fabric, the proposal says.
Dennis Bastas was contacted for comment.
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