Colour back at the beach

The site of Scarborough’s iconic ‘blue house’ has undergone some major changes since its sale by former owner, colourful Perth businessman Davide Bianchi, in 1999.

The latest owners, developer Peter Watt and his wife, Alison, bought the site from Malaysian interests in 2001 and have since turned it into Guadalupe Hill – a set of five architecturally designed townhouses, specifically created for executive accommodation.

Mr Watt said he felt it was important a connection to the ‘blue house’ be maintained in the new structure, and an original bright blue south boundary wall remains on the Diego Court property.

Not that colour is lacking in the new, $4 million townhouses, which feature a traditionally colourful Mexican style.

A large tile depiction of Our Lady of Guadalupe, commissioned through the Australian embassy in Portugal, overlooks traffic passing on West Coast Highway.

The Watts based the exterior colours of the townhouses on their children’s favourite colours.

“We had a great opportunity and responsibility to put something iconic on the site,” Mr Watt told WA Business News.

“We wanted to build something beautiful, and I was drawn to the Mexican style because of the use of colour, and there is also a Mexican theme in the area.

“The site has really leant itself to that style of building, and the response from the community so far has been overwhelmingly positive.”

He said the townhouses had been designed with executive accommodation in mind.

“We wanted to provide an alternative to apartment accommodation, which for people with family or guests is less than ideal,” Mr Watt said.

“As the project manager I worked hand in hand with the architect, and we planned the townhouses with the executive in mind.”

Guadalupe Hill’s five townhouses are all furnished and equipped, and are all leased up until January.

“We haven’t started heavily marketing Guadalupe Hill yet, and although we are leased most of summer, from January onwards, we are all free,” Mr Watt said.