John Pascoe Fawkner’s Melbourne home listed for sale with eye to developers

7 Oak Park Court, Oak Park, is listed for sale through Nelson Alexander.

7 Oak Park Court, Oak Park, is listed for sale through Nelson Alexander. Photo: Supplied

The  Melbourne home of pioneer John Pascoe Fawkner has been listed for sale for the first time since 1992.

Fawkner established the 3500-square-metre Oak Park estate, in Melbourne’s north, in 1840.

Fawkner’s estate, Belle Vue Park, was largely replaced in 1880 by a two-storey house built by Joseph English that stands to this day. All that remains of Fawner’s original homestead is stables.

The two-storey house was built in 1880 by Joseph English.

The two-storey house was built in 1880 by Joseph English. Photo: Supplied

John Liberman, 68, bought the estate in 1992 for $561,000 and spent about $1.2 million over three years renovating it.

“It’s beautiful now, but not when I bought it,” Liberman said. “I heard it was a brothel at one stage.”

Mr Liberman said developers could build up to 12 units on the site while retaining the four-bedroom heritage-listed home.

The house has two formal lounges.

The house has two formal lounges. Photo: Supplied

He and his wife are selling the home for health reasons and are hoping for more than $4.5 million.

Nelson Alexander agents Sean Keogh and Michael Keogh listed the property on Friday.

“I’ve never sold a house like this before and I’ve been in real estate for 27 years,” Sean Keogh said.

“We recently sold a property in the area in the high $3 millions with a similar size land.”

Their marketing campaign pitches the home to homebuyers, renovators and developers.

It has a granite kitchen, a gym, a sauna, a pool, two lounges and marble fireplaces.

On May 16, a 9100-square-metre estate in Heidelberg built in 1846 sold for $5.2 million to a Toorak family.

It’s for sale by tender closing June 25.