The widow of ‘Crazy John’ Ilhan, Patricia Ilhan, has been revealed as the owner of a vacant Brighton block set to reap an eight figure cash windfall.
Marshall White agent Stephen Smith confirmed Mrs Ilhan is the owner of 23 Seacombe Grove, which is on the market with price expectations of between $18.5-$20 million.
He said the 1727sq m block, which is next-door to Mrs Ilhan’s home, had been owned by the family for 19 years and was used as a garden.
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Patricia Ilhan has carved up her Brighton block.
She is the widow of John Ilhan, pictured here with the mascot for his Crazy John’s store.
Marshall White agent Stephen Smith said vacant blocks on the waterfront were incredibly rare.
Part of Mrs Ilhan’s sunroom reached over onto the block, but he said this would be demolished prior to settlement, allowing the buyer to treat the land like a “blank canvas”.
“If you want to be near the Royal Brighton Yacht Club and the dog beach, these blocks, they never come up. It’s only once every 20 years, if you’re lucky,” Mr Smith said.
Local buyers and expats were homing in on the listing, all with the hope of building their dream luxury home.
Mrs Ilhan has owned the block, which is currently used as a garden, for the past 19 years.
Mr Smith said local buyers and expats were circling the listing.
It’s close to the Brighton dog beach as well as Church St shops and restaurants.
He said it was unlikely other Brighton waterfront homeowners would be enticed to subdivide their blocks, despite the big ticket price tag.
“There’s so few of these blocks available that the likelihood of one coming up again is really low.”
It’s also down the road from 39 Seacombe Grove, Brighton, which at $22 million is the suburb’s most expensive recorded sale.
Seacombe Grove is one of ritzy Brighton’s most sought-after pockets.
The block is just a few steps from the beach and close to Church St shops, restaurants and elite schools.
It is also down the road from Brighton’s long-time residential record sale holder at 39 Seacombe Grove, which belonged to late 7-Eleven co-founder Beverley Barlow.
The Zagame hospitality family recently listed their luxury home at 27-29 Kent Ave, Brighton, for $25-$27.5 million.
Mrs Barlow set a new Bayside price record for recorded sales when she bought the property for $22 million in 2015.
But that record is set to be trumped by 27-29 Kent Ave, which is owned Melbourne’s wealthy Zagame hospitality family and was recently listed with a $25-$27.5 million price guide.
The late Mr Ilhan was the founder of the Crazy John’s mobile phone retail chain.
He is survived by his wife, Mrs Ilhan, and their four children.
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rebecca.dinuzzo@news.com.au
