Landmark Ballarat residence finds buyer after being reborn after fire
The impressive residence at 71 Victoria Street, Bakery Hill, rose from the ashes of a fire.
A landmark Ballarat residence that was reborn from the ashes of a restaurant fire has finally found a buyer after first being listed in 2019.
The grand four-bedroom house at 71 Victoria Street, Bakery Hill, was painstakingly restored by local builder and vendor Luke Antonio after a fire tore through the property when it was a popular Spanish and Mexican restaurant, Zaragosa.
Jellis Craig Ballarat director Tim Valpied said a couple retiring to Ballarat had purchased the stately home after falling in love with the property’s character.
RELATED: Stately house rises from ashes of Ballarat restaurant fire
COVID-19 could drive one of Ballarat’s biggest ever sales
Ballarat real estate: Why regional city is a golden opportunity
The former Bakery Hill restaurant before renovation.
The blaze was believed to have been sparked by a faulty refrigeration unit.
After extensive work, the home’s period features have been recreated.
“They just loved its originality and its story,” Mr Valpied said.
The property sold for $1.050m: the top end of its $975,000-$1.05m price guide.
“It’s a Victorian of real substance,” Mr Valpied said.
Former Mayor of Ballarat East James Long initially built the abode known as Long Wood in 1865, which has since been home to a doctor, a hairdresser, art gallery and two restaurants.
The interior has been remarkably restored.
A beautiful updated kitchen.
The plumbing, electrical work and plaster are all new.
The main bedroom also features a dressing room.
The renovation restored the property’s original grandeur to the standards of modern living, complete with a new kitchen, formal and informal living rooms.
More from news
Handcrafted timberwork, hardwood floors, fireplaces and the original triple-brick exterior are other notable period features.
“It’s a significant building,” Mr Valpied said. “A lot of people would have remembered and been there as a restaurant, but after the fire it needed a massive renovation.”
Mr Antonio previously told the Herald Sun when it was first listed he “probably bit off a bit more than (he) could chew,” when he purchased the dilapidated property for $480,000 in 2016.
It took him three years to fully renovate the historic building.
Another spacious bedroom.
Period flourishes run throughout the home.
The outlook from the property’s front balcony.
READ MORE: Mt Buller, Bella Vista: Exclusive ski lodge apartment hits the market
Nar Nar Goon cattle farmers to make $80m-plus in massive land sale
Australian rental market finishes 2020 with unexpected decade-high growth