City mansion fetches one of Tassie’s top prices of the year

News Corp Australia Network

Petrusma Property managing director Sam Towns at the lodge. Picture: Supplied

---

IT is not every day that a home as grand and luxurious as this one hits the market.

And it is even less common to see a New Town property sold in this sky-high, prestige price range.

Petrusma Property managing director Sam Towns has sold No.40 Swanston St for $5.8m.

REIT and realestate.com.au figures show a few homes in the suburb have sold in the mid-$2m range while nearby Stoke House fetched $3.5m-plus back in 2018.

Where No.40 sits in the record books might be up for some debate. It was marketed as a sprawling, stately residential home or an iconic house that also had a commercial element to it, should a buyer be enticed, as Maylands Lodge is an award-winning boutique accommodation offering.

No.40 Swanston St, New Town.

---

No.40 Swanston St, New Town.

---

No.40 Swanston St, New Town.

---

Mr Towns said the property attracted a wide range of potential buyers, with each having their own unique ideas for how the 1887-built home might be used next.

“The property attracted a huge number of inquiries, and a broad range of potential buyers,” he said.

“A few people flew in from interstate with the idea that they might make it their home.

“Interestingly, it was one of the first groups that I took through the property in week one of the campaign that ended up buying it.

“They are internationally-based investors who will treat it as a business rather than a home.”

Mr Towns said his vendor was happy with the result.

“Their feedback was that we did not shy away from the challenge, we delivered an excellent outcome,” he said.

No.40 Swanston St, New Town.

---

No.40 Swanston St, New Town.

---

No.40 Swanston St, sometimes known as No.27 Pirie St, was designed in the Victorian Italianate style by acclaimed colonial architect Henry Hunter.

The three-level house boasts 12 guest rooms, a formal lounge with a log gas fireplace, a wet bar and a sub-floor wine cellar.

There is a formal dining area with a breakfast island and a commercial kitchen on the ground floor.

No.40 Swanston St, New Town.

---

No.40 Swanston St, New Town.

---

Throughout the property there are scores of features that speak to its era, including chandeliers, marble fireplaces, ornate cornices, stained glass windows, a terrific timber staircase and bells that were once used to summon servants.

The gated, sprawling grounds stretch across 5318sq m, with manicured gardens and 16 off-street carparking bays.