The multi-million dollar Bendigo home of Jimmy Possum founders Margot and Alan Spalding is on the market in what might become the highest-grossing residential sale in Bendigo’s history.
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Real estate agency Dungey Carter Ketterer has put a $2.95 million price tag on the 31 View Street property, which also includes the ground floor shop space in which a Jimmy Possum outlet now operates.
The property boasts luxuries like a rooftop pool, views of the Bendigo skyline and Ralph Lauren wallpaper.
Agent Kaye Lazenby said the building was “an exciting prospect” for her agency.
“We haven’t had a property like this before,” she said.
“You just don't get this sort of location and quality at the same time.”
Margot Spalding said she and her husband were moving on to find more space for their 12 grandchildren.
She also said they were eager to begin a new renovation project since completing a remodel of the View Street apartment.
However, Ms Spalding would not reveal where the family planned to relocate, or whether they had already purchased a new home.
The future of the View Street Jimmy Possum store would depend on the new owner’s plan for the space, she said.
“The shop may well stay there,” she said.
“We've only been there three years, so it’s okay, we’re flexible.”
Ms Spalding said she suspected it would catch the eye of an out-of-town buyer.
But chairman of Bendigo’s Real Estate Institute of Victoria division Craig Webster said most properties in Bendigo were sold to local residents.
“I think it'll be likely to be local, professional people who are keen to utilise the commercial business aspect of it,” he said.
If reached, Mr Webster said the almost $3 million asking price would beat out amounts paid for Lansellstowe and Ravenswood Estate, other recent and nearby luxury sales.
He said its renovation and central location meant it was likely to reach close to its price tag.
But despite the house’s opulence, Ms Lazenby said it would be its homeliness than won over a prospective buyer.
“Some people's homes have that display feeling which makes you feel like you can't enjoy it, but that's not the case with this home,” she said.
“They have their grandchildren there, they entertain there.”
Ms Spalding said she felt fortunate to have lived at the address.
“You can look out over the whole of Bendigo, 360 degrees, and the proximity to the fountain means you walk everywhere,” she said.
“It’s one of a kind.”
Erected in 1925, the building originally housed offices for T&G Mutual Life Assurance, a company that built prominently-located premises throughout regional Victoria in the early 20th century.
At the time of their construction, T&G buildings were often the tallest in their town, Ms Lazenby said.