Rock stars have graced this rare and raw former dairy in Melbourne’s inner south-east, which is on the market for the first time in 50 years.
The distinctive building was the set for an INXS music video, and the 1986 Aussie movie Dogs in Space, which starred the band’s late singer Michael Hutchence.
Price hopes for 9 Charles Street are $2.8 million to $3 million, and the versatility of the site has drawn a range of prospective buyers, ahead of the November 1 private auction.
Since it ceased operation as a dairy, it has been used as an ice works, a film set, and a studio for the vendor, who works in creative arts, agent Jack Richardson of Abercrombys Real Estate says.
Dogs in Space followed the lives of housemates in Prahran during the punk era of the late 1970s.
“The owner tells me it was the coolest thing ever seeing Michael Hutchence strut up the driveway, towards the camera,” Richardson says.
According to a Variety magazine interview this year with band member Kirk Pengilly, the music clip for Listen Like Thieves was filmed at the same location as the movie.
Richardson says properties of this size and scope are rare for Prahran. It could become a residential conversion or a studio for a buyer in the visual arts. Alternatively, because the building does not have a heritage overlay, it could be demolished to make way for a new build.
A state government gazette published in 1937 includes 9 Charles Street – then licensed to a Mrs Mabel Bretherton – in a list of dairies around Victoria that were permitted to sell milk.
The vendor has made improvements over the decades, such as installing new steel-framed windows, but much of the building remains original.
Locals have expressed curiosity after walking and driving past the site for years.
“It’s one of those properties that is quite iconic – everyone knows it,” Richardson says. “There’s a lot of intrigue and history around it. I’ve been selling in Prahran for nearly 15 years now, and I’ve never seen anything like it.”
Given the rich character and storybook facade, Richardson says a buyer is likely to form an emotional connection and see the potential for something out of the ordinary.
Timber floors, stable doors, exposed trusses and decorative pressed-metal ceilings feature across two levels, on a deep footprint that takes up most of the 365-square-metre block. The floor plan includes a kitchen, powder room, a second-floor terrace and space for six bedrooms.
“I’d like to think someone will keep the character of the building and play on that and do a converted warehouse-style development, which would be really cool,” Richardson says. “I think that would attract a bit of attention on the other side too, when they do come to sell it as a finished product.”
The property is close to Albert Park Lake, where a number of high-end developments have rolled out. Richardson says those have fetched in the realm of $5 million to $7 million.
“This pocket of Prahran is elevating to another level, which will help this property and whoever buys it, and puts in the right level of investment, to have comfort that they’ll get a return.”
The address is moments from the train station and Greville Street, which has a European feel, thanks to popular bistros and cafes.
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