On a hillside in Mosman, a six-bedroom house that was built but never lived in is now offered for $33 million, a quiet end to a long story of ambition and dispute. Its owners, a battery-conversion entrepreneur and his dentist wife, are letting it go because their family has grown from three children to seven, and the house they dreamed of has outpaced the rooms they need. Behind the glass and brass lies a reminder that a view over the harbour is something everyone wants to keep, and that the right to build beside someone else's sky is always contested. What the house eventually sells for will
Battery entrepreneur lists $33m Mosman mansion, a home built through a contentious four-year approval fight
Finished, furnished, and never lived in
Mark
Why does this listing stand out? Big Mosman houses sell all the time.
Mimi
It's the sequence. They bought in 2016, fought for approval through 2020 to 2022, built it, and are selling before anyone has slept there.
Mark
And the fight was over views?
Mimi
Yes. Neighbours objected to losing harbour views. Five of them spoke at the August 2020 panel hearing, and the panel still approved it unanimously, with a privacy condition.
Luke
Worth noting the panel said a second storey would affect views but still met development standards. That's a finding about compliance, not a ruling that the neighbours were wrong to object.
Mark
Then the revised design came back in 2021.
Mimi
With more objections, including a claim that the roof breached planning controls. The panel approved it in March 2022 anyway.
Luke
The roof claim is the neighbours' allegation. The source reports the approval, not any finding that controls were breached.
Mark
What about the $33 million?
Luke
That's the asking price, as reported by the AFR. It isn't a sale price, and nothing here says what it will fetch.
Mimi
The couple's stated reason is family size: three children then, seven now. That comes from Sacco herself.
Luke
And we don't know how long the house has been finished, or whether it was ever meant to be sold, beyond what she told the AFR.
El Pulso
- A finished, never-occupied mansion is on the market at $33 million, a figure that tests the top of the Mosman property market.
- Neighbours fought the demolition and rebuild for years, objecting over harbour views and roof changes that they said breached planning rules.
- The panel approved the original design in 2020 and a revised one in March 2022, so the owners cleared their hurdles but carried the friction with them.
- A growing family of seven has outgrown the plan, and the couple is moving on to a larger home rather than living in this one.
- The listing with Atlas agents will reveal whether a house with a contentious past can command a buyer willing to move in.
On a hillside in Mosman, a six-bedroom house that was built but never lived in is now offered for $33 million, a quiet end to a long story of ambition and dispute. Its owners, a battery-conversion entrepreneur and his dentist wife, are letting it go because their family has grown from three children to seven, and the house they dreamed of has outpaced the rooms they need. Behind the glass and brass lies a reminder that a view over the harbour is something everyone wants to keep, and that the right to build beside someone else's sky is always contested. What the house eventually sells for will say as much about the value of that history as about the value of the timber and stone.
A six-bedroom, three-storey house on a Mosman hillside, finished but never lived in, is now listed for $33 million. Its owners, Janus Electric co-founder Bevan Dooley and dentist Dr Amy Sacco, are selling, as first reported by the Australian Financial Review. They bought the 700-square-metre site in 2016 for $4.9 million, once the family home of racing figure Gai Waterhouse and her husband Robbie.
The reason for selling is simple: when building began they had three children, and now they have seven. The house is full of features, including eight bathrooms, a lift, a mineral pool, a wellness room, a billiards room and a koi pond placed on feng shui advice. Sacco even described a system that lets an owner open the gate, light the fireplace and warm the towels from halfway up the street.
Getting it built was harder than designing it. Neighbours objected to losing their harbour views when the demolition application was lodged in 2020. At an August 2020 panel meeting, five neighbours spoke, and the panel approved the project unanimously with a privacy condition. A revised design in 2021 drew fresh objections over views and roof changes, and the panel approved it in March 2022.
Now the house goes to market through Atlas agents. Its price will show how the top end of Mosman values a home with such a history, and how much a buyer is willing to pay for one they can finally move into.
A six-bedroom, three-storey house on a Mosman hillside, finished but never lived in, is now on the market for $33 million. Its owners, Janus Electric co-founder Bevan Dooley and his wife, Dr Amy Sacco, are selling it, according to the Australian Financial Review.
The couple bought the 700-square-metre site in 2016 for $4.9 million. It had been the family home of Sydney racing figure Gai Waterhouse and her husband Robbie. Dooley's company, Janus Electric, converts diesel-powered trucks to electric vehicles. Sacco is a dentist.
The reason for selling is a growing household. Sacco told the AFR that when building began the couple had three children, and they now have seven. They plan to upsize.
The finished house has eight bathrooms, a three-car garage and wide views of Sydney Harbour, including Shark Island. It has a lift, a mineral swimming pool and spa, and an outdoor entertaining area with a marble bar. Inside are a billiards room, a wine cellar, a fireplace, and a wellness room with a gym, sauna and steam shower. The home can be run remotely. Sacco said that from halfway up the street an owner can open the gate, switch on the fireplace, set lighting scenes and have towels warmed for a chosen time. A feng shui master was consulted during design, which is why the house has a koi pond and a solid brass front door.
Getting it built was harder than designing it. Council records show an application to demolish the existing house, carport and pool was lodged in January 2020, with an estimated cost of $2.77 million. Neighbours worried about losing their harbour views, and objections followed. Sacco described it to the AFR as a contentious development application for something quite substantial, one that got through during COVID.
Minutes from an August 2020 meeting of the Mosman Local Planning Panel show five neighbours addressed the panel, along with Sacco and others involved in the project. The panel voted unanimously to approve, on condition that changes be made to improve privacy for one neighbouring property. It found that any second storey on the site would affect views to some degree, but that the proposal still met development standards.
That did not end the dispute. In 2021 the couple lodged a new application with changes to the approved design, and it drew more objections. One submission from nearby residents argued the revised version would restrict harbour views for neighbouring properties and for the public. Residents also complained that changes to the roof breached planning controls. The panel approved the new plans in March 2022.
The house is listed with Atlas agents Michael Coombs and Priscilla Ouvrier. What it fetches will be a measure of the top end of the Mosman market, and of what a house with such a history is worth to a buyer who gets to move in.
Citas Notables
When we started building we had three kids, now we have seven.— Dr Amy Sacco, to the Australian Financial Review
It was a contentious DA, we were building something quite substantial, and we got it through during COVID.— Dr Amy Sacco, to the Australian Financial Review
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