Russell Crowe’s harbourfront apartment quietly on offer for $42m to $50m

Russell Crowe is known to have toyed with the idea of selling his harbourfront apartment over the years, but has never been tempted enough to accept what have been some fairly bullish offers.

But he could do so now, according to a couple of well-placed sources, who say the door has recently been opened to buyers with a spare $42 million to $50 million.

Of course, at that price, who wouldn’t open the door?

But this is no suburban unit. Crowe’s whole-floor spread is set at the exclusive northern end of the landmark Finger Wharf in Woolloomooloo, claiming about 1000 square metres of living space, as well as a marina berth and parking for seven cars.

Crowe’s long-time friend and former Sydney Boys High schoolmate John McGrath is yet to respond to inquiries, but sources say he is again advising the Hollywood A-lister, even putting details of the off-market listing to the ranks of McGrath’s senior selling agents.

Crowe’s media manager, Grant Vandenberg, offered a fairly vague response to inquiries, saying only that “people are always making enquiries about it”.

Meanwhile, McGrath Double Bay’s William Manning – who in previous years has presented offers of about $25 million and $35 million to Crowe – has been spotted frequenting the apartment in recent weeks. Unsurprisingly, he too declined to comment.

The apartment was originally slated to be four residences when the heritage-listed wharf was restored and redeveloped in the 1990s by the late Lang Walker’s Walker Corp.

When it last sold in 2003 for $14.35 million, it was the highest apartment sale ever recorded in Sydney, although that record has since been smashed a few times over, and now stands at $140 million for the penthouse in Lendlease’s One Sydney Harbour.

It was previously owned by Nutrimetics founder Imelda Roche and her late husband Bill Roche, who made almost $1 million each year they owned it, having bought it off the plan in 1998 for $9.8 million.

Crowe first flagged a willingness to part with the apartment – to spend more time at his Nana Glen farm north of Coffs Harbour – eight years ago.

At the time it was described by a buyer as an “unpolished bachelor pad” amid hopes of $30 million, but by early 2017 it was pulled from the market and Crowe instead sold his Darlinghurst office space and boutique gym for $18.2 million.

It caught the eye of Sam Barnett, son of former Western Australia premier Colin Barnett, in 2018. Barnett even went to the press claiming to have paid $13 million for two of the four titles that make up the spread. There were no coy responses from Vandenberg at that time: he dismissed the claims outright, saying it wasn’t even for sale.

Soccer boss scores

President of Sydney Olympic Football Club Damon Hanlin, who runs and owns construction firm Titan Cranes, has joined the ranks of Mosman’s trophy home owners, paying a reported $20.2 million for a house on Quakers Hat Bay.

The four-level house has for the past 60 years been owned by local dance instructor Jean Wilmot, who followed up her retirement some 20 years ago by joining a troupe of dancing grannies on Todd McKenney’s cabaret show, Todd McKenney Live.

There was no comment on the sale from Simeon Partners’ Richard Simeon, but well-placed sources say Hanlin is expected to put his construction industry know-how to the job on a knock-down rebuild of the north-facing waterfront property.

Hanlin is coming from Dural, where a recent expression-of-interest campaign to sell his luxury acreage recently closed amid $12 million hopes.

Agents are in negotiations on the Dural estate, known as Domus House, although it remains to be seen if it will top Dural’s $11.5 million record.

On offer is a two-hectare property with a contemporary six-bedroom house, floodlit football pitch (but of course), swimming pool, gym, separate two-bedroom apartment, and a six-car garage.

Hanlin won’t be left homeless once he sells and while he waits to build his new home. Earlier this year he settled on a $10.1 million pad in Sydney’s latest tower of power by Lendlease, One Sydney Harbour at Barangaroo.

High-end Sirius

Across town and in another landmark apartment block, a company controlled by fintech investor and bank industry leader David Fite has paid $22 million for an apartment in the newly redesigned Sirius building.

Fite’s is the highest apartment sale to settle in the JDH Capital development, although word is there are a few buyers circling the $50 million penthouse of Jean-Dominique Huynh.

Fite, a non-executive director of Tyro and former Westpac senior executive, bought the three-bedroom spread in a company name, with a majority interest to Ironbridge chief executive Greg Ruddock.

It is expected to be a Sydney base for Fite, especially once he sells his Longueville trophy home Otahki.