Residential revamp: Breathing new life into historic buildings
Architect Tim Greer clearly remembers the day in 1996 when home-grown Hollywood star Nicole Kidman opened the cinema he designed in Paddington, Sydney.
“She came flying down the steps, and she stood in front of the cinema, and she made a speech, and it was the first time I understood what star power meant, the way the room just became electric when she came in,” he recalls.
The Verona Cinema, a restoration of an industrial paper factory built in 1946, closed in 2024 and is now on the cusp of its third chapter – this time as a mixed-use building.
Greer, a director at Tonkin Zulaikha Greer, has again been charged with breathing new life into the historic building.
“The city’s evolving all the time, so it stands to reason that our buildings evolve too,” he says.
The facade of this beloved Oxford Street building will be retained, and it will continue to bring movie joy with four new screens and a bar installed at basement level, similar to that at Paramount House in Surry Hills.
Retail will be located on the ground level, and 46 apartments, four terraces and 14 affordable rental homes will be on the upper levels. Given its long history in Paddington, the development is one that’s close to locals’ hearts, says Jack Joseph, director at developer WT Malouf.
“You’re told not to get emotional about property, but the Verona evokes a lot of nostalgia,” he says
“We know some locals have grieved the Verona, and some worry about what change means for Paddington.
“The part of the Verona that was always for everyone is back for everyone — the ticket, the bar, the Friday night film. Including new homes within the precinct makes it possible to bring back this important community asset.”
Whether it’s nostalgia for a bygone era or a passion for preserving heritage architecture, the landmarks of yesteryear are striking a chord with luxury apartment buyers.
Buying a brand-new apartment with a rich backstory is an enticing prospect for buyers at this premium level, says Tim Rees, partner at SRM Residential.
“It brings a unique and iconic nature to the site that any other brand-new development just simply can’t have or doesn’t have,” he says.
Rees is overseeing sales at Sydney House on Pitt Street, which was once the City Tattersalls Club tower, built in 1891. Designers at BVN and fjcstudio will blend the old with the new by adding a 50-storey tower above three smaller heritage-listed buildings to create a 101-room boutique hotel and 241 apartments.
The stately features of this 19th-century building will wow buyers, but others are already purchasing for more personal reasons.
“We have sold to quite a number of old city club members who absolutely love and adore the position and the beauty of the old heritage building; they wanted to buy back into the development to be a part of that,” Rees says.
“So for them it brings back obviously a lot of memories, a lot of history, and that’s added value to those people.”
In Melbourne, the history and detailing of the old State Savings Bank of Victoria at 623 Collins is being woven into a new residential offering of 41 levels and 320 apartments.
Developer Sterling Global has worked closely with Heritage Victoria to balance preservation with cutting-edge engineering and architectural design to transform the landmark site while retaining the original eight-storey building.
“It’s been about restoring and re-imagining that historical building [that is] part of Melbourne’s architectural and cultural fabric, but, at the same time, creating a contemporary building with contemporary living,” says Kat Klau, development director at Sterling Global.
“There’s a lot of work that goes into reinstating the heritage building and preserving the elements – things like ceiling heights – and it has different finishes to the new building.”
Still in Melbourne, buyers at 640 Bourke St will live in a building that was once home to hardware and machinery merchants Eliza Tinsley & Co. and, in more recent years, an Australia Post distribution centre.
Developer Far East Consortium will restore the original century-old building and transform a nearby laneway to provide a public realm element to the project.
And a new building will soon be gracing the top of the former David Jones department store at 111 Castlereagh, on the corner of Castlereagh and Market streets in Sydney.
The upscale development by Cbus Property merges heritage architecture with luxury living, reimagining it as a mixed-use building where people will live, work and shop.
