Rich lister’s mansion downsize takes shape on Brighton foreshore

2 weeks ago 6

Walkers pounding retired their steps on the Brighton foreshore volition beryllium amazed to larn that the monolithic factual location dominating the skyline is really downsizing successful action.

Rich lister, philanthropist and Brighton fixture Patricia Ilhan’s knockdown rebuild of her aboriginal 2000s household location is intolerable to miss, facing the canine formation and Middle Brighton Pier.

Patricia Ilhan among the scaffolding of her caller location successful Brighton.

“I cognize the location is large,” she told The Age during a caller blustery day. “There’s lone 4 bedrooms – we are downsizing from six.

“It is not a cardinal location you rise children successful immoderate much – this is much astir entertaining. I would emotion to person each the kids and grandchildren travel implicit with america arsenic they grow.”

Ilhan, worthy $407 cardinal successful 2018, according to The Australian Financial Review, has 4 children and 1 stepdaughter, but astatine this signifier the aforementioned grandchildren are successful the realm of hopeful expectancy alternatively than reality.

The two-storey house, positive basement, which is designed by high-end steadfast Taylor Pressly Architects, volition diagnostic a swimming pool, occurrence pit and a circular rainfall good with a sculpture greeting visitors arsenic they arrive. It should beryllium finished successful 13 months acknowledgment to the enactment of builder VCON and task managers Gallagher Jeffs.

Ilhan’s caller location is taking signifier connected the Brighton beachfront.

Ilhan is keen to speech astir Brighton, and her fundraising for the Centre for Paediatric Allergies astatine Epworth Hospital, which includes a six-day locomotion successful Tuscany successful September with an purpose to rise $200,000. But portion this communicative is each astir the future, it rapidly turns a country to the past.

Ilhan’s archetypal husband, John Ilhan, was an unthinkable migration occurrence story, having arrived successful Australia aged 5 from Turkey and yet making a luck arsenic the laminitis of the Crazy John’s mobile telephone retail chain.

When helium died of a bosom information portion jogging successful 2007, aged 42, helium was worthy $310 cardinal and was astatine the clip the 126th-richest antheral successful Australia. He near down 4 children nether 10: Yasmin, Hannah, Jaida and Aydin, past aged conscionable 10 months old.

“When John passed distant I made a prime and I chose the kids,” says Patricia Ilhan, 59, who sold Crazy John’s to Vodafone, which aboriginal discontinued the brand.

A 2003 photograph of John Ilhan with Patricia and daughters (from left) Jaida, Hannah and Yasmin. Ilhan died successful 2007 aged 42.

Ilhan was not expecting it, but Age lensman Simon Schluter arrived to sprout the caller location with a photograph helium took of her household from 2003, successful her aged house.

It has go a treasured household photograph and the Ilhan says her daughters person kept a copy.

Ilhan sold the adjoining plot to her spot successful Brighton successful 2021. A location volition present beryllium built connected it.

“Twenty years agone erstwhile Simon took that photograph helium had nary thought it would go specified a large portion of our family.”

Ilhan is not rather an bare nester yet, with lad Aydin, present 17, and Jaida, present 23, inactive astatine home, on with her stepdaughter, Makenzi Blackman, besides 23. Two years ago, Ilhan joined Makenzi’s father, Chris Blackman, a section dada she had known for decades from the schoolhouse run.

While celebrated for monolithic mansions, Brighton’s proportionality of freestanding homes is 57 per cent portion 42 per cent of homes successful the suburb are flats and semi-detached residences, including municipality houses.

On average, the proportionality of freestanding homes successful a Victorian suburb is 73 per cent, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics.

The Ilhan location is not the lone operation on the Bay Trail.

In 2021, Ilhan sold the household garden, connected a abstracted rubric adjacent doorway connected Seacombe Grove, for much than $20 cardinal to entrepreneur Sean Senvirtne, the laminitis of the MyDeal retail site. Senvirtne sold 80 per cent of the tract to Woolworths 2 years agone successful a $243 cardinal deal. He is gathering his ain household location connected the Seacombe Grove site.

Before Ilhan’s aged location was knocked down, she staged a expansive demolition merchantability of fixtures, fittings and furniture, including selling decorator labels covering including from Chanel, Armani and Dolce&Gabbana for betwixt $200 and $300 each. Part of the proceeds went to bosom crab charities. Ilhan herself is simply a survivor.

And conscionable earlier the location was demolished, Ilhan deed the headlines erstwhile acrophobic neighbours contacted constabulary to study the bare location had been graffiti bombed.

But erstwhile constabulary rang Ilhan to pass her of the damage, she had to archer them it was OK. Family and friends had done it themselves during a farewell party.