Author // Shannon Edwards, Place Bulimba
A piece of land with a long history in Hawthorne, 93 Elliott Street is soon to begin its new life as two beautiful, family homes.
Located on the top of the street, the property was once one of Hawthorne’s original farmers’ cottages built and owned by John Riding.
Owning quite a bit of farming land in the area, it is believed Riding Road is named after John Riding himself!
Now set for a major development, owner of the block, Daniel Holden, talks about what the plans for the construction, and where the inspiration came from.
Photo Credit: Supplied
What’s the story behind the house?
The house was bought by Collin Lough in 1993 from the Riding family and was a little, three bedroom worker’s cottage.
Collin lived in the property for numerous years, adding on additional rooms and a big balcony, keeping the original heritage of the home.
Back when Collin bought the house it had a lot of character and was a little bit rundown.
Years later, Collin was paid a visit by Bernard Riding who was John Ridings son and was born and raised in the home.
Bernard went through the house with Collin and shared his memories of house the house used to look, which would have been really quite special.
Photo Credit: Supplied
What’s attracted you to the land?
We have lived in Elliott street for seven years and love the community feeling it provides.
The attraction to 93 Elliott for us was the quiet street which is flat and family friendly. Having 3 young kids that was a high priority.
The land is only a mere 150 meters from the park, which is right on the river.
We take our kids there and watch the City Cats go past and play in the park, it’s a really lovely lifestyle.
Additionally, having city views from the street, and even better views from the planned rooftop deck was a huge drawcard.
In Hawthorne and Bulimba it’s usually a choice of either being close to the river, or having great views that are up the hill that attract you to a property, this development gives both.
Photo Credit: Supplied
What are your plans for the development?
We invested over two years to get the design and approvals spot-on, to capture the city views and maximise the land available.
It’s a big block of land that’s being developed – we’ve split it, moved elements from the original house over and are building two properties.
20 per cent of one of the properties will be built from the original heritage-listed house and the other house will be 100 percent brand new and modern – both beautiful homes.
The plans are for six bedrooms with one of them being a self-contained nannies quarters, plus a study.
The basement will have a four car garage with a wine cellar room and a large man-cave for billiards and poker, also a theatre room.
We designed these houses for ourselves to live in with plenty of space for the three kids, two parents and nanny to live in comfortably.
Due to a change in circumstances we have made the decision to build and sell both the developments.
We hope the future owners of the homes will be as excited about them as we have been over the years.
They’re really special.
Photo Credit: Supplied
We caught up with agent Matthew Hackett, expert of the local area. Matthew, how do you believe this development will be received in the community?
It’ll definitely fit into the streetscape of Elliott street as it has a combination of brand new and heritage homes.
The size of the homes will be perfect for the family lifestyle that they’re targeted – they both have pools, a backyard big enough to run around on, a perfect size for a family with lots of room.
It’s at the perfect location – right near Hawthorne Park, close to the cinemas, cafes and shops, near lots of great schools and instant access to the city via the City Cats.
What’s even better, because it’s up on top of the hill sitting as the highest block on Elliott street, the new owners will get fantastic views and a great breeze all year round.