Hotel, restaurant: Owner walks away from 10-year labour of love
The owner of historic Claremont House has put the Victorian Italianate mansion on the market.
After working two full-time jobs for a decade and plunging a ton of money into the building’s restoration, Joel Van Sanden says something had to give.
He bought the house in April 2007 and he describes it as a “challenging” 10 years — “to put it politely”.
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“For a decade I have worked full time at Cascade and also at Claremont House, and the house took more time than a regular full-time job,” he says.
“It was a sad decision to sell because I have dedicated a large part of my life to Claremont House.
“And, I probably overextended myself financially. It would have been a lot better to get it to a point where it was generating an income sooner.”
The property took a decade to restore.
Van Sanden battled the Glenorchy City Council for years over whether or not a car park at the property had to be sealed.
Van Sanden calls the nine-year argument “out of control” and “terribly draining”.
“This is the sixth heritage house I have restored and the challenges with this council have exceeded any other. They were ongoing almost since the beginning,” he says.
Today, all of the plans and permits for Claremont House have been approved.
Trading as a restaurant and accommodation.
It is now trading as a restaurant and an accommodation venue.
“I have got heritage, plumbing and building approvals all ready to go,” Van Sanden says.
“Of the 33 rooms there are just a few left to finish updating — four bedrooms and three bathrooms.”
When Van Sanden bought Claremont House it was “unliveable and derelict”.
Owner Joel Van Sanden. Picture: Luke Bowden
To him, that challenge was part of the house’s appeal.
“I would like to stay in Tasmania and buy some smaller heritage homes to renovate,” he says.
“I have owned homes from almost every architectural period, from Georgian right through, but never an art deco house, so maybe that will come next.
“One of the attractions to Tasmania is that 40% of Trust-Listed properties nationwide are located here and this state places a higher emphasis on heritage than any other state.”
The 1838-built Claremont House at 12 Lady Clark Ave is listed for sale with Knight Frank.
This article from The Mercury was originally published as “After 10-year labour of love, the restored, heritage-listed mansion Claremont House is put up for sale”.
