The Block 2018: Old Gatwick apartments triumph over the new penthouses

The Gatwick may have risen like a phoenix out of the ashes, but it was the contestants who chose to stay true to the building’s heritage who came up the ultimate winners, catapulting the three original “old Gatwick” apartments ahead of the two ultra-contemporary penthouses on auction day.

Against predictions and after a bruising season of critiques week in week out, the public had the final word, with a couple paying the highest price for Sara and Hayden’s apartment.

With its generous floor plan, ample storage and off-centre kitchen orientation, Sara and Hayden managed to appeal to the lucrative downsizer market, tapping into the requirement for low-maintenance, high-luxe living. All three of the old Gatwick apartments offered a sense of spaciousness that the penthouses couldn’t compete with, and two of them went one step further with their northern orientation.

And the cherry on top for apartment three was Hayden and Sara’s determination to mash up old-school St Kilda glamour and style with modern-day bling. The result, like the neighbouring older style properties, felt grown up yet also playful.

The Gatwick Hotel has long been the poster child of St Kilda, first as an elegant grand dame and then in its most recent carnation as an enfant terrible.

In the rejuvenation of the building, it was hard not to be dazzled by the notion that the four-metre tall contemporary glass and steel penthouses would drive buyers to embrace a more sophisticated and New York way of living.

Who were we kidding? This is Melbourne, a city that holds history and heritage close to its heart.

How much did The Block apartments sell for?

• Sara and Hayden: 3/34 Fitzroy Street sold for $3.02 million (prize money $645,000)
• Kerrie and Spence:  1/34 Fitzroy Street sold for $2.85 million (prize money $415,000)
• Courtney and Hans: 2/34 Fitzroy Street sold for $2,770,000 (prize money $410,000)
• Bianca and Carla: 5/34 Fitzroy Street sold for $2,991,000 (prize money $301,000)
• Norm and Jess: 4/34 Fitzroy Street sold for $2,859,000 (prize money $209,000)

The pull of the old Gatwick should never be underestimated. On paper, it had an answer to all the issues apartment cynics throw at medium-density living. Concerns around noise are quickly dismissed with the building’s structure comprising double-brick, a concrete slab and double-glazing.

Storage and space angst is quashed with the heritage apartments dwarfing the neighbouring penthouses for square metres. And, the emotional appeal of buyers wanting uniqueness is swiftly answered with the building’s beautiful art deco features. But, ultimately and perhaps crucially, what was offered was a true piece of Melbourne history that can never be replicated.

Buyers’ advocate Nicole Jacobs, who bought the winning apartment on behalf of a local couple downsizing from Malvern, said the size of Sara and Hayden’s apartment helped get the deal across the line, coupled with the solid nature of the build, the second-floor elevation and the northern orientation.

“The buyer profile between the old Gatwick apartments and the penthouses was just so different. The interest in the penthouses was mostly coming from younger buyers. In terms of size, they’re not really thinking about [space for] kids. The area alone of the older apartments just made more sense. For $29,000, my buyers got an extra 60 square metres of living space.”

Unequivocally, buyers were thinner on the ground due to the softer Melbourne property market. But, as McGrath selling agent Michael Townsend said: “In reality, quality properties will always perform and have the ability to transcend any market fluctuations.

“St Kilda is getting its mojo back. You can see the grandeur and opulence of yesteryear returning,” he said.

Everything old is new again, and that’s never more true than for The Block this season.