Harrison said the properties were also attracting interest from “first home buyers and just mum and dad-type buyers who are looking at it as an entry into fairly affluent suburbs”. The size of the blocks made the price “very affordable for those areas based on other sales around them”.
“Those buyers are then assessing what they can actually do there. Almost all of the inquiries that we’re receiving from buyers are [whether they] can do some kind of dwelling.
Movement at the (sub)station
A series of former Ausgrid sites in prized suburbs on Sydney’s north shore are slated for auction in coming weeks, including:
“But they are restricted because they’re obviously small sites, you’ve got the various standard council building restrictions … [and] there’s an electrical kiosk on the site, so there’s an easement that’s created around that.
“It’s not for everyone. You’re going to have to be creative in terms of what you build. But there are some people with good imaginations and looking to take on the opportunity.”
Some of the sites, including in Lane Cove (499 square metres) and Willoughby (227 square metres), are on larger blocks.
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“People are talking about doing two-bedroom bachelor-style properties and things like that,” Harrison said.
Nicholas Taylor-Fick, a buyers’ agent with Propertybuyer who specialises in Sydney’s north shore, inner west and Hills District, said the Hunters Hill property was “unusual”. As in every case, the value of the land would be assessed by considering “the highest and best use of the land”.
“To me, it has more value to an adjoining owner. I can’t see how it’s going to be potentially redeveloped because of the size of the land and the shape of it,” he said.
The two street frontages would be “a real bonus if the land was bigger”, Taylor-Fick said.
Neighbours snapped up a similar property in nearby Gale Street, Woolwich. The owners of a multimillion-dollar terrace with harbour views bought the former Ausgrid site next door for $320,000 in 2023. They want to extend the home into the 126-square-metre space.
A smaller kiosk substation is expected to be installed on the Woolwich site, allowing a larger brick structure impeding redevelopment to be dismantled.
The Woolwich terrace and the adjoining land.Credit: Hunters Hill Council
An Ausgrid spokesperson said the electricity distribution company “regularly reviews the land it owns with a view to disposing of properties that are no longer fully in use by the network”.
The Hunters Hill property “was formerly an Ausgrid asset and is one of a number of past Ausgrid sites currently on the market”.
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“Disposal of surplus properties reduces ongoing maintenance and holding costs which leads to lower power bills for Ausgrid customers.”
The spokesperson said the properties were sometimes sold with “operational assets still in place … such as the green electrical kiosks”.
“Whilst these assets will still be maintained by Ausgrid, the remainder of the land will be unlocked for a range of uses, subject to zoning and council approvals.
“Feedback from past and prospective purchases suggest there are a wide range of potential uses for old Ausgrid sites that could be appropriate, including parking spaces, art studios, granny flats, hobby spaces, community gardens and even small cafes.”
The Hunters Hill property is zoned low-density residential. A council spokesperson said that “council has minimum lot sizes for subdivision … ranging from 700 square metres to 1000 square metres”.
“Council also has significant planning controls that would affect any proposed development. Potential purchasers should make their own enquiries on the development potential of the site.”
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