Village Roadshow boss Clark Kirby's $17m-plus Armadale bakery conversion and Toorak trophy home among top deals

A flurry of mansions has changed hands in Melbourne’s leafy eastern suburbs, with a standout Armadale warehouse conversion fetching more than $17 million and an oversized Toorak home listed with hopes of more than $23 million also trading.

Village Roadshow chief executive Clark Kirby and his wife Sara have found a buyer for their family compound, an architect-designed conversion of the former Golden Crust Bakery.

The property on Sutherland Road, Armadale was listed with a price guide of $17.3 million to $19 million and has now been marked as sold online. Three sources with knowledge of the deal but not authorised to speak publicly put the sale price as at least $17 million.

The buyer is yet to be revealed on title records but is understood to be a Melbourne-based family.

SOLD - $17,250,000

69 Sutherland Road, Armadale VIC 3143

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The block last sold in 2014 for $11.5 million, public records show, with only Sara listed on title.

On an oversized block of 1850 square metres and renovated from 2006 by architects Jackson Clements Burrows, the property includes a four-bedroom main residence and an additional two-bedroom self-contained pad, perhaps for guests or teenagers.

The main home features a stone kitchen with butler’s pantry, De Dietrich appliances and an integrated Liebherr fridge-freezer, plus a basement wine cellar and tasing room, and a fitted library/study.

Residents of the secondary dwelling can enjoy a living room with a wet bar opening to an outdoor dining terrace.

Landscaped gardens and a wet-edge heated pool and spa are included.

Mr Kirby was elevated to the top job at Village Roadshow replacing Graham Burke in a reshuffle announced this year, amid a board and management overhaul that saw his father Robert Kirby step down as chairman.

He is said to be planning to spend more time on the Gold Coast, where the company operates theme parks such as Warner Bros Movie World and Sea World and its film studios.

Selling agents on the deal were Marshall White’s Marcus Chiminello and Nicole French.

Mr Chiminello confirmed the sale when contacted by Domain but would not be drawn on the price or the buyer.

“The past few weeks has certainly seen a resurgence in the prestige market,” Mr Chiminello said.

“In the past two and a half weeks have had $55 million worth of sales. It has been a good finish to the year.”

He also confirmed the sale of a six-bedroom mansion in Toorak, but would not comment on the price or buyer.

The Heyington Place pile, known as Palmilla, was most recently listed with a price guide of $23 million to $25.3 million and boasts a tennis court, 10-car garage and swimming pool.

SOLD - $22,200,000

3 Heyington Place, Toorak VIC 3142

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It was first listed in the spring of 2018 through a different agency with a guide of $27 million to $29.5 million.

Vendors John and Lisa Zeigler undertook an extensive renovation and took the home to market in a bid to find their next project.

John’s work as the former Asia-Pacific head of marketing giant DDB Group has seen the couple live around the world from Singapore to Dallas, Texas, while they have also spent time in Los Angeles, close to the heart of television producer Lisa.

On almost 2300 square metres, the home features a living area with double-height ceilings and a spacious kitchen with an AGA oven.

Mr Chiminello also sold the historic Toorak home Carmyle for about $13.5 million on behalf of the Gunter family.

He has also listed a family home at 6 Monaro Road Kooyong with a guide of $4.4 million to $4.8 million for auction this Saturday.

Melbourne’s prestige market has been picking up this spring, with new vendors also willing to list their homes as confidence rises.

Elsewhere, the owners of Stokehouse restaurant Frank and Sharon Van Haandel listed their Toorak mansion with hopes of $11.2 million to $12 million, while a grand home on Yar Orrong Road in the same suburb sold for more than $15 million.

In Portsea, a near-$20 million house was snapped up days after hitting the market this spring.