A dream family home to be built over four blocks of land in the top spot at Greenhills Beach will include the ultimate parents’ retreat, tennis court, swimming pool and extensively landscaped grounds.
Costing about $16 million, including land, the home with panoramic ocean views will become a landmark at the extreme southern end of Shorebird Parade, the dress circle of Shearwater Landing estate.
The owners are successful, young computer technology businessman, Ben Richardson, and his wife Inger, who have a young family and already live next to the beach at Cronulla.
Mr Richardson, who co-founded computer software firm Campaign Monitor while a student at University of Wollongong, joined BRW’s Young Rich List after a US firm bought a $US250 million ($348 million) stake in the business.
A development application (DA) for the house and amenities, with an estimated construction cost of nearly $6 million, has been lodged with Sutherland Shire Council.
Mr Richardson declined to comment on the plans.
The DA said the 3,364.5 square metre site originally comprised four individual lots, but had recently been consolidated.
It is understood the Richardsons bought the land two years ago at an auction of oceanfront sites, which sold for an average of about $2.5 million.
The plans have a strong emphasis on outdoor play and relaxation areas.
A striking feature of the house plans is a parents’ retreat, connected to the main part of the house on two levels by a hall.
It is understood it was designed to meet the irregular shape of the block and to provide a privacy landscaping screen.
The DA said the proposal involved “construction of a two-storey dwelling over semi-basement double garage and storage space, a detached pool house with rooftop terrace, detached car port structure, swimming pool, tennis court and extensive landscaping works, incorporating viewing decks”.
The house is “in two distinct components or modules”, linked via “a hall” on two levels, the DA said.
The main component, facing Shorebird Parade, comprises a double garage, storage and workshop space, music room and storage for plant and equipment at the lower ground level.
At the middle level, there is a street-facing terrace space, lounge and adjacent terrace space, kitchen and pantry, laundry and ancillary storage.
On the upper level are three bedrooms, each with ensuite, and a street-facing balcony.
The second component has a lounge, dining space and a covered deck with associated outdoor dining and cooking spaces on the middle level.
The deck is oriented towards a substantial lawn area located in the south-western corner of the site.
The upper level contains the master bedroom with ensuite, storage and study space.
Between the swimming pool and tennis court there is a pool lounge, pool house which includes a dining and kitchen area, tennis lounge, bathroom and storage.
Mr Richardson and business partner Dave Greiner grew up in the shire and have been friends since they were five.
In 1999, while they were in their final year of studying information and communication technology at the University of Wollongong, they started a web consultancy business in a garage at Gymea Bay.
The business developed into the leading provider of simple software, which enabled businesses to send out advertising emails en masse at a very small price.
In 2014, US venture capital firm Insight Venture Partners bought a $US250 million ($348 million) stake in their business, one of the largest investments into an Australian tech start-up
