Source: Domain.com.au
New projects like Muse and Mayfair are making St Kilda Rd the new destination for wealthy downsizers. Its fast becoming the Golden Mile for apartment living, so its only fitting the most expensive buy on the block comes with its very own golden throne.
A $33,000 toilet with a gold-plated remote is among the uber luxuries at Melbourne’s most expensive apartment.
The penthouse at the yet-to-be-constructed St Kilda Road complex, The Muse, has hit the market with a colossal price tag of $45 million.
Its sale will smash the previous national record set by the penthouse at Southbank’s Australia 108, which sold for $25 million in 2015.
Property developer Kane Devitt says buyers are already circling.
“There is some strong local interest around this penthouse at the moment and we’ve had a few private viewings with some select individuals who have been following the property for a while,” he says.
The penthouse comes with all the trappings of wealth including a self-cleaning toilet made by Japanese brand Toto. The super swish loo, which costs more than Australia’s average car, operates automatically with the lid opening and closing, and the toilet flushing, when sensors are activated.
The elaborate toilet self-cleans with every flush using a glaze that is fired on to the bowl and a UV light inside the lid, creating a photocatalytic reaction that decomposes bacteria.
It also has a night light and the front and rear washing jets that can be programmed at the touch of the gold-plated remote.
Devitt, who is developing the 14-storey tower with his father Peter, says the toilet had to be the best money could buy.
“We’re offering the very best in penthouse living, so why not offer the best toilet that’s on the market?” he says.
“The Toto toilet may not be as common in Australia as it is overseas, but it is widely recognised internationally as the pinnacle of luxury.”
The opulent penthouse also includes its own swimming pool, billiard room, wine room, gym, steam room and even circadian rhythm lights to help residents adjust after overseas travel.
Spanning the top two floors, the penthouse measures 1001 square metres with an extra 190 square metres on the terrace. Views take in Port Phillip Bay, the Shrine of Remembrance, Royal Botanic Gardens and the city skyline.
“We wanted to create something really beyond luxury and the market research suggested that that’s what was really missing in Melbourne, not through lack of demand, but lack of supply,” Devitt says.
Security at The Muse, on the corner of St Kilda Road and Toorak Road West, is high-tech, with garages only accessible via number plate recognition. Facial and fingerprint scanners will be inside the building.
Interior designer John Scaramuzzino, a director at Bruce Henderson Architects, says the apartment complex takes luxury to a new level.
“It’s definitely the most luxurious project that we’ve ever worked on and I think it’s probably going to be the most luxurious apartment development in Melbourne in terms of the level of finishes and the quality throughout,” he says.
Construction of upmarket apartments for the mega-rich is booming in the St Kilda Road precinct. Geared for rich downsizers and wealthy international buyers, these include the Mayfair, designed by internationally renowned architect Zaha Hadid, the trio of towers that make up Magnolia Residences and Albert Park Residences by rich lister Tim Gurner.
But none can beat Sydney’s most expensive apartment, on the market for $66 million.
Construction of The Muse will be completed by late 2021.
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