A DERELICT soap factory in Port Melbourne has been transformed into luxury apartments by amateur renovators turned reality TV stars.
The art deco building, on Ingles St, is home to this year’s season of The Block, which hits screens on Sunday night.
Channel 9 is rumoured to have bought the imposing 1920s building, formerly the Velvet Soap factory offices, for $5 million.
Five couples have spent 12 weeks transforming the dilapidated heritage-listed building into luxury three-bedroom, two and half bathroom apartments.
Geelong primary school teachers Ben Toyne and Andy Sunderland, both 25, told the Leader swapping pens for power tools had been an “incredible experience”.
“But it’s still probably the hardest thing we’ve ever done,” Mr Sunderland said.
The pair, who had to quit their jobs to take up their spots on the hit reality TV renovation show, said they had only about three and a half days of tradie experience between them before embarking on the 12-week building project.
Mr Sunderland said not having a female in the team was a “major disadvantage” when it came to shopping and styling the rooms.
“We did the best we could but we relied on people in shops to help me out,” he said.
Despite the stress and sleepless nights, the two were still best mates and had avoided most of the (on and off screen) drama on the show, Mr Sunderland said.
“I don’t think there was too much drama, not that we got involved in anyway, but it’s such a high-pressure and unnatural situation to be in and emotions run high,” he said.
“You don’t get much sleep, you eat really badly — you basically live on Maccas and coffee, but it’s still awesome.”
But Mentone couple Sasha Wright-Neville, an account executive, and Julia Treuel, a property stylist, said this season of the popular show had “way more drama” than previous seasons.
“I cried pretty much every day for a week when we first started,” Ms Wright-Neville said.
“It took about a week or so but then I think we really hit our stride,” Ms Treuel said.
“We’re so proud of what we’ve done — we would move in (to their apartment) tomorrow and I think that’s the test for us of whether we’ve done a good job.”
Ms Wright-Neville said the show was “the hardest thing I’ve ever done in my life and will ever do”.
“It’s so much harder than it looks; I wasn’t expecting it to be that hard, but I think “normal” life will be boring now that we’ve had this experience,” she said.
The median price for a three-bedroom apartment in Port Melbourne is $1.4 million.
Dannie Corr, director of St Kilda real estate agency Whiting & Co, said buyers would pay top dollar for apartments in “older style” buildings.
“We’re finding there is a strong demand for that period style,” he said.
“The apartment doesn’t have to be old style but people are paying a premium for older-style buildings — they generally have larger rooms and higher ceilings.”
He said car parking was a “crucial element” for attracting top price for apartments in the inner south.
[Source: Herald sun]
