Andy Lee and his partner Rebecca Harding got the green light for the $5 million remodel of their 1876 Italianate mansion, and their new neighbors couldn’t be happier.
The popular radio host, 42, and the model, 32, invested $8.5 million in the abandoned Hawthorn property in 2021 and have big plans to build a second home on the land.
Lee and Harding intend to connect the heritage house with a modern construction via a tunnel, and local residents have told Daily Mail Australia they are eager to see the results.
The neighbors who live on the street are fed up with looking at the current state of the house, which they have described as ‘dump’ and ‘disgusting’.
“I think it’s great that they don’t tear down the heritage house. As a private residence, I think it’s fantastic compared to what they could do,” said a neighbor.
Andy Lee and his partner Rebecca Harding got the green light for the $5 million remodel of their 1876 Italianate mansion, and their new neighbors couldn’t be happier.
“It’s definitely a nuisance to the eye, but worse than that, just an absolute tragedy to treat a historic home like that and let it demolish due to neglect.”
The neighbor criticized the previous owners, who left the property in a horrible state for more than a decade after their own renovations ceased for unknown reasons.
“I hope the council has taken respect for this very old building seriously,” he added.
Another couple agreed, saying, “It looks so disgusting right now, I’d love to see it.” [renovated]. Anything would be better.

The popular radio host, 42, invested $8.5 million in the abandoned Hawthorn property in 2021 and has big plans to build a second home on the land.

Lee and Hardy intend to connect the heritage house with a modern construction via a tunnel, and local residents have told Daily Mail Australia they are eager to see the results.

The neighbors who live on the street are fed up with looking at the current state of the house, which they have described as “dump” and “disgusting”.

“I think it’s fantastic that they’re tearing down the heritage house. As a private residence, I think it’s fantastic compared to what they could do,” said one, adding that it was a “tragedy” that the heritage home was treated the way it was.
Others said they’ve been forced to watch the ‘wreck’ for almost two decades and can’t wait for Andy and Rebecca to fix it.
“I’ve been here 23 years and I’ve been a collapsing garbage can. So as soon as someone fixes it, the better… I would oppose anyone who really opposes it,” said one man.
‘If they’re restoring what’s there, then building backwards is fine. It has been an eye sore.

Another couple agreed, saying, “It looks so disgusting right now, I’d love to see it.” [renovated]. Anything would be better’

Others said they’ve been forced to watch the ‘wreck’ for almost two decades and can’t wait for Andy and Rebecca to fix it.

“I’ve been here 23 years, and that place has been a collapsing dump. So as soon as someone fixes it, the better… I would oppose anyone who really opposes it,” said one man.
He added: “The problem is they tore down the old Victorian fireplaces, the previous owner, and left it that way.”
“It actually had a beautiful terrace around it as well, and then they took it down and the renovations stopped what the previous owners were doing and it stayed that way for 10 years.”
The local council gave Andy and Rebecca the green light to begin the lavish renovation of the derelict Melbourne mansion at the end of June.
Some of the planned features outlined in the development plan include a home theater, gym, swimming pool and ‘mega bedroom’.

He added: “The problem is they tore down the old Victorian fireplaces, the previous owner, and left it that way.”

The neighbor continued: “Actually, it also had a lovely deck around it, and then they took it down and the renovations stopped everything the previous owners were doing and it stayed that way for 10 years.”

The local council gave Andy and Rebecca the green light to begin the luxury renovation of the derelict Melbourne mansion at the end of June.

Some of the planned features outlined in the development plan include a home theater, gym, pool and ‘mega bedroom’