A heritage listed 1930s milk bar that has been reimagined into a whimsical home is one of three properties being offered for sale in the inner Melbourne suburb of Northcote.
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Thought to be one of Victoria’s very first milk bars, the former dairy has been painstakingly renovated and sales agent John Catanzariti from Ray White Northcote said the owners put their heart and soul into transforming the property across three different spaces.
“Being the original dairy it’s a beautiful property and it’s very well located,” he said.
The three properties include the one time milk bar with Heidelberg Road frontage, the middle property –which was once an artist’s sanctuary – has been dubbed ‘The Gallery,’ and includes two bedrooms, a living area, an ensuite and a private courtyard.
“The last one – the stable – they’ve tried to keep it as original as possible,” Mr Catanzariti said.
“There’s posts there with the original hooks that used to hold down the draft horses and so forth, to export the milk.
“There is a lot of history behind the property, (and) the transformation internally to suit someone’s needs, whether it be the investor or whether it be someone that could occupy one of the properties and then put family in the others, and we’ve had a bit of interest in that space.”
Pointed archways, buttresses and a soaring gabled roof are hallmarks of the dairy’s heyday, while internally there is polished concrete flooring, a bespoke timber kitchen bench, and a sumptuous freestanding tub in the bathroom.
In its National Trust heritage listing, the former Centenary Dairy is described as “of state importance as a near intact and unusual building group from the centenary year of the founding of Melbourne”.
The former Centenary Dairy photographed in 1992. Picture: Heritage Council of Victoria
The statement notes its significance in that it faithfully represented a building use that was once widespread in suburban Melbourne, which was no longer prevalent.
“Its architectural significance lies in the novel adaptation of an ecclesiastical medieval style for a milk bar that with the bungalow styling used in the main house is highly successful for its scale,” it stated.
“It is also historically significant because of the adept integration of these stylistic influences and the now rare and unusual combination of uses (milk bar, dairy and residences).”
With an industrial zoning, Mr Catanzariti said the rare buy of two land titles, also offered scope and flexibility for future subdivision.
The property, located 181 Heidelberg Road and 12 Westfield Street, Northcote is listed for sale via an Expressions of Interest campaign with a price guide of $3,500,000 to $3,800,000.
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