a day ago
Brighton waterfront: Poker player's $30m+ mansion buy revealed
Brighton's rumour mill is in overdrive after a more than $30m property deal involving a philanthropic poker player, wild storms and close to 60m of the suburb's waterfront.
A sprawling, more than 3800sq m address in the elite Bayside suburb has sold after a marathon, two-year sales effort.
And with the buyer already owning another similarly-sized waterfront address two doors down, locals and industry insiders are wondering if there might be a chance they are looking go collect a combined 1.14ha along the high-end suburb's waterfront.
The recently sold house was listed on behalf of the family of late developer Bruce Terry and his wife Judith, seeking as much as $50m, since 2023.
Records show it now has a caveat on it in the name of Pamela Colman, wife to lawyer, MCS Property developer, philanthropist and poker player Julius.
The pair already own another waterfront home a few doors down, which has Brighton locals and market watchers wondering whether the owner of the property in between the two addresses has been, or will be, approached.
Listing agents Kay & Burton's Ross Savas and Alex Schiavo declined to comment on the sale, or to confirm a price, though it was recently listed with a $39.9m-$41.5m asking price before being removed from online portals.
However Brighton insiders believe the deal would have been below $40m and potentially closer to $30m — though still likely setting a record.
Those same insiders noted storm activity had felled a number of large trees on the block a few months back, potentially providing benefits for the next owners plans for the site — which had widely been expected to get a multimillion-dollar renovation after it sold.
Sales records show Brighton's current top house price was set by a waterfront Seacombe Grove mansion, sold by the family of late 7-Eleven Australia co-owner Beverley Barlow, for $31.6m in 2022.
Morrell and Koren buyer's agent David Morrell said after its initial ambitions, he believed a more 'sensible' price had been paid for the newly sold home — though did not have an exact figure.
However, Mr Morrell said that if the buyers hadn't already struck an agreement with the home between the two mansions — collecting the set could now be tricky.
Combined, the two properties now owned by the Colmans would now span more than 7000sq m, and due to the shape of the blocks mean they now own almost all of the waterfront between the two addresses. A review of Google Maps puts the bay facing property line close to 60m long.
If they are able to add the third residence, it would top 1.13ha, making it one of the biggest residential Brighton holdings — and likely the biggest with water frontage.
It is not known if that is the Colman family's intention.
But such a gambit might appeal to Mr Colman, who in addition to working as a property developer, has played poker on the international circuit.
He has reportedly tipped his winnings into the Colman Foundation charity, which supports the education of disadvantaged kids around Melbourne and Victoria.
It's a cause he became passionate about after moving to Melbourne from Poland as a refugee aged four, following World War II.
His philanthropic efforts have been recognised with an Order of Australia medal.
Mr Morrell said the Brighton sale was one of relatively few notable transactions this winter, with Melbourne's top end 'the slowest I have seen it'.
While he wasn't ruling out a rise in more impressive residences hitting the market in October and November, he said he wasn't expecting a great deal to hit the market between now and September — largely due to global trade tensions and wars creating concerns about the financial stability needed to underpin such deal.
