Historic Coronation Drive terrace building could soon become residential again

An architect who restored the Cook Terraces on Coronation Drive in the 1980s hopes the now commercial building would one day return to its original use as housing.

Hamilton Wilson helped convert the building from a bohemian living space into offices and said the terrace had a long history as a house since its construction in 1888.

“It was rotting, there was nothing magical about it. We just pulled it back into shape and gave it another 100 years of life,” he said. “It would have been seen as a reasonably prestigious address, along that stretch of the river.

“It’s part of Brisbane’s history. If it were occupied by people again, it would be a great outcome.”

One of the Cook Terraces has just come up for sale, and the agents are marketing it a residential property, commercial property, or both.

Ray White Toowong agent Kris Matthews said the terraces presented several opportunities under its mixed used zoning. “It has flexibility. It can be commercial or residential,” he said. “You can have that floor as residential and use one of the levels below as a commercial premise.”

Asked if commercial buyers would easily outbid residential buyers on auction day, Mr Matthews said he thought the opposite may be true.

“I think it’d be more valuable for someone as a house,” he said.

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Mr Wilson was excited by the idea that the terraces could be turned back into a home.

“It was originally a house and the thing to do would be turned back into a house,” he said. “You wouldn’t be doing much, just bathrooms and kitchens.

“All of the quality of a grand old terrace house is still there.”

The history of the houses would be a selling point, Mr Matthews said.

“They’re heritage listed and they’re very unique, people drive past it every day and they’ve probably wondered what’s behind that facade,” he said. “It’s a chance for people to buy a bit of history really.”

The terraces were built by builder Joseph Cook in 1888, as part of an economic boom in Brisbane.

Terrace houses were more common in southern Cities and until recently they were a rare sight in Brisbane. Mr Wilson said this made the building historically significant.

“It’s just not a Brisbane typology. It’s a rare thing to see in Brisbane, we had more land than what Sydney had.”

The terrace will go to auction on October 22.