Grand estate has interest in $30m-$35m range

Fittingly named due to its elevated position overlooking the Royal Sydney golf course, The Knoll is a rare Rose Bay trophy home.

The Burns family, descendants of Sir James Burns who founded blue chip merchant company Burns Philp, have called the grand Kent Rd property home for 60 years; one of only a handful of owners in almost a century.

Next week’s Wentworth Courier House of the Week, the estate measures 2536sq m, larger than almost all other non-waterfront properties in the coveted suburb.

Its unparalleled size, says selling agent Michael Dunn of Richardson & Wrench Double Bay, means the property has few comparisons, though there’s understood to be early interest in the $30m-$35m range.

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It’s on a whopping 2536sq m block.

The home is being sold in an expressions of interest campaign.

“We’re selling the home by expressions of interest, because it’s such a different property,” he says.

“There are very few comparable sales I’ve seen in recent years. Certainly nothing of this land size has sold in Rose Bay the last 12 months.

“It’s incredibly rare.

“We’re going to have to take it to market and let the market decide.

“Now that spring selling season is here, we’ll see where prices land as the market warms up.”

Rose Bay’s current price record sits at $54.6m. The benchmark was set in February for a house on a 789sq m waterfront block on Dumaresq Rd.

The Kent Rd home was designed by Scott, Green & Scott in 1935 for WA Freeman in Georgian revival style, reminiscent of a stately manor in rural Britain.

“This is a very impressive home with a real presence,” Dunn says.

“It’s positioned in Rose Bay, but, quite frankly, you could be in the countryside because it’s just so peaceful.

”You could be in the countryside.”

“It would be perfectly suited to a lover of golf because you’re looking down across the recently renovated Royal Sydney Golf Club.

“The outlook is picturesque.”

Standing tall over the famous fairways next door, The Knoll features spacious level lawns, established gardens and a 15.2m pool.

Hidden from the street behind its 43m frontage on a quiet cul-de-sac, the original two-storey home has six bedrooms, four bathrooms – including two ensuites – and multiple casual and formal entertaining spaces that spill out to the park-like grounds.

“The home has got fabulous potential,” Dunn says.

“There are many original features, and with a sympathetic makeover it will be an incredible family estate – a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.”

Just metres from the golf clubhouse and Cranbrook Junior School, The Knoll is close to Lyne Park and Catalina Restaurant.

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