After selling out the first two residential developments of Ascot Green, Mirvac has lodged plans for the next apartment block in the precinct, which will comprise hundreds of apartments and a rooftop boasting gorgeous city views.
Comprising twin towers, the development application (DA A005794918) seeks to build 256 multiple dwellings over the course of two stages. The first stage will deliver 115 apartments and the second stage will complete 141 units.
Ascot Green‘s Building C and D have been designed as subtropical-inspired apartments, which will have the precinct’s first four-bedroom units and four integrated terraces fronting the racecourse. The rooftop enclave will have a private dining area and plush lounges for entertaining and leisure.
On the other hand, the ground floor spaces will include a resort-style pool overlooking the racecourse and gym facilities. Some 475 car parks across two basement levels have also been included in the design.
Once approved, the dwellings will go to market by late 2021 or early 2022.
“In keeping with the peaceful and natural surrounds, residents will enjoy the authentically Queenslander experiences of shade and shelter, and screening and greenery, with the ability to open and close elements as they wish to maximise natural light and ventilation,” Mirvac Design director Nicolas Thioulouse said.
Photo Credit: Developmenti/BCC
It comes as Mirvac has successfully sold out the first two buildings, Ascot House and Tulloch House, as part of the Brisbane Racing Club‘s master plan. Ascot House, with 90 apartments, has been completed, whilst Tullock House, with 84 apartments is expected to finish by the end of the year.
Aside from the luxury apartments and the retirement living spaces, Ascot Green will also house commercial spaces, medical services, retail, dining, childcare, and swim school.
Along the tree-lined Henry Street in Ascot stands Nyrambla, the hillside house which was formerly used as a United States-Australian intelligence base for codebreakers during the Second World War. The house is drawing much interest today because it just hit the market following the death of its owner, Brisbane socialite Andree Daws, in August 2020.
But the gorgeous structure hidden amongst tall trees next to some of the most expensive houses in Brisbane has such a rich history. Here’s the story of the historic house called Nyrambla.
Photo Credit: Paz Avalos/Google Maps
The Owners and Dwellers
Built in 1885 for Henry P Abbot, the manager of the Australian Joint Stock Bank, the original property was over 15 acres, which stretched across Henry and Yabba Streets and had separate stables and servants quarters.
When Mr Abbot retired to Sydney, he rented out his imposing two-storey home to Patrick Perkins, the Queensland brewer. By 1925, Mr George Willoughby Whatmore, the manager of the Austin cars automotive group, bought the Nyrambla.
Mr Whatmore, a member of the Council and a champion cyclist, was the grandfather of Ms Daws. But his death in 1929 saw Nyrambla’s transformation as a large house, which was converted into six flats.
Its front side used to be alongside Yabba Street but as the house split off, the Henry Street side became the main entrance even today.
Photo Credit: State Library of QueenslandPhoto Credit: State Library of Queensland
There were more additions to Nyrambla over the years. In place of stables and servants quarters were the swimming pool and tennis court.
Other famous inhabitants of the Nyrambla flats included ABC presenter Blair Edmonds, farmers market operator Jan Power and Queensland actor, director and writer Bille Brown until Ms Daws acquired the property.
Today, Nyrambla is a nine-bedroom, six-car garage site with seven bathrooms, two sunrooms and a guest wing with a spacious living room area on the second floor.
Photo Credit: Lost Brisbane/Ray White Real Estate/Facebook
In 2013, Ms Daws converted part of the house into an art studio for her husband, Lawrence, whose paintings are displayed at art galleries across the country as well as in London, Scotland and China. He still continues to paint today at 93 years old.
Ms Daws’ son Rick Roberts has lived in this house since the 1980s and has decided to put Nyrambla in the market.
The Allies’ Intelligence Base
In 1942, the Allies requisitioned the Nyrambla as a top-secret facility after U.S. General Douglas MacArthur made Brisbane their headquarters. MacArthur, along with Australian General Thomas Blamey, made frequent visits to this house at the height of the war in the Pacific.
Photo Credit: Ozatwar.com
For the next three years, the 18 enlisted servicemen and six officers of U.S. 837th Signal Service Detachment and members of the Australian Women’s Army Service (AWAS) and cryptanalyst from the Australian Cypher Section worked in the back garage to decipher intercepted Japanese codes using a Typex machine and IBM tabulators. The decoded messages were transmitted to Allied bases from all over the world.
Photo Credit: Wikimedia Commons
Historical accounts stated that one of these intercepted messages was Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto’s itinerary to Rabaul in 1943. The Allies were able to intercept his aircraft, killing the commander of the Japanese fleet.
Mirvac, the real estate group behind Ascot House, announced that the construction of Ascot Green’s pioneer residential tower is on track for completion by mid-2018. Various fixtures in both interiors and exteriors had been successfully in place.
The firm had just finished the rooftop slab and had been in the process of installing high level services, which includes fire protection, hydraulics/plumbing, and electrical. The ceilings and partitions on Level 4 had commenced. Cladding has started on Level 3, including columns which extend down to the ground floor.
Meanwhile, laying of asphalt to the internal road had been completed in the first weeks of October. The roadway that would link Lancaster Road with Nudgee Road is supposed open by the time that Ascot House opens. The widening of Nudgee Road is expected to be finished before Christmas.
Credit: Mirvac YouTube
The $950-million worth Ascot House will be the first Ascot Green project that will benefit from Mirvac’s pioneering sustainability initiative developed under Hatch. Solar panels and batteries were installed on the rooftop of the residential building. With this, future residents would reduce their electricity bills by up to 70 per cent.
Hatch had been Mirvac’s award-winning internal innovation program, which uses customer insights to drive innovative ideas in the property space for development.
Credit: Mirvac YouTube
Future residents of Ascot House will also enjoy the view of the Eagle Farm, along with the nearby parks and recreational places. The riverfront in Hamilton is just a short walk down the Racecourse Road. Clayfield and Hendra is also just within walking distance.
Completion of the Racecourse Village, a two-storey shopping centre just next to the Eagle Farm Racecourse, was also set to be completed by mid-2018, just in time for the first residents to be moving in to Ascot House. The complex would have Woolworths store and other eleven retail stores at ground level, including an open car park with 297 parking spaces.
Credit: Brisbane Racing Club YouTube
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