A restored century-old Queensland homestead atop Coorparoo’s Raby Road is the centrepiece of a $5 million inner-city residential development delivering a prime example of urban revitalisation by Brisbane-based boutique developer Your Style Homes.
Aspect Coorparoo at 43 Raby Road is the type of project that buyers are flocking to with full views of Brisbane’s city skyline and superior finishes, prompting six of eight townhouses to sell in quick succession.
Your Style Homes’ Managing Director Dean Parker said the company aimed to sympathetically and carefully restore the site’s existing 100-year-old Queenslander to its former glory, while drawing on the home’s character, accent design elements and materials to build and design the contemporary development buildings to its side and rear.
The view from Aspect's rooftop apartment.
“The challenge of the project has been to maintain the existing home, refurbishing it to reach today’s current building standards and creating three separate three-bedroom townhouses, and adding an additional modern buildings containing five, three-bedroom townhomes,” Mr Parker said.
“Original homes like this existing dwelling were originally built to suit a British style of living with small windows and small rooms, so we tried to weave in the modern style of development living - with large, open, light-filled spaces – together with the essence of the existing house,” Mr Parker said.
Your Style Homes Managing Director Dean Parker“Aspect Coorparoo has retained and refurbished the existing front façade of the Queenslander fronting Raby Road to enhance the relationship and preserve the character, the original splendour, maintaining the original rooflines and enhancing its classic street appeal,” he said.
Development manager Nick Crang said the process of shifting the home for development to proceed on the remaining land parcel was carefully considered.
“Once the home was reset in its new location, we carefully removed the Queenslander’s internals in bite-sized stages in order to restore the home without compromising its structural integrity.
“Rebuilding the home piece-by-piece in order to reach modern-day building standards required careful planning as to not impede the progress of the remainder of the development,” he said.
“The home was shifted forward toward the street and to the left of the project’s site to create an adjoining modern townhouse, and an additional five in behind,” he said.
“Once the home was moved and landed on its new footings, we strengthened the homestead’s character-to-street interface by carefully restoring the façade and roofline.
“Shifting the home only took around one week, however the total process took nearly 12 months due to the complexity of coordinating the site,” Mr Crang said.
“From the design phase there was a high emphasis placed on retaining the original façade, rooflines and enhancing street appeal whilst preserving the original charm,” Mr Crang said.
The quality finishes include stone benchtops, timber flooring, Roger Seller kitchen and bathroom fittings and premium-grade appliances expected from a modern inner-city development, Mr Parker said the project differentiates itself through its striking blend of quality, ultra-modern and classic charm.
“Aspect has been very well-received by the community. This design retains the loved qualities of the Queenslander peppered gently through the newer structures, while bringing something ultra-modern and highly valued to the neighbourhood,” he said.
Mr Parker said he hopes the restoration project will inspire other developers to retain and refurbish existing character homes as the urban regeneration trend ripple across the city.
Aspect Coorparoo offers three-bedroom townhomes, with 2.5 bathrooms and two cars from $719,950.
