Standing tall as a ship and sporting its own 15-metre high lighthouse, this unusual three-storey mansion, with 10 en-suite bedrooms and built over two large plots, will go under the hammer this month after several years on the market.
Home to a prominent family for the past 24 years, the Titanic-themed residence, previously on the market for R40m, has several quirky features. These include porthole-style windows, a suspension bridge, and a Titanic-themed cafe incorporated into a 60-seat restaurant. Built on a ridge in Bedfordview, Johannesburg, the home has sweeping views across the city and beyond.
A giant fish tank and the glow of recessed lighting gives the house a cruise ship feel. Outside, there is a giant ship wreck feature and a Sun City-style slide leading into one of the property's four swimming poolsy.
There is also a nine-hole putt putt course, a soccer pitch, a club-style venue complete with music decks, a cigar lounge, two Jacuzzis and an underground cellar.
“I built this house from scratch in 2002. It was my dream,” the homeowner, who asked not to be identified for security reasons, told the Sunday Times. “It was the fantasy home where I could get away from Gangster’s Paradise and everything at the end of the day. I would go to the top of the lighthouse and sit there in my sea chair with a cognac and a cigar and gaze out at the view, soaking it all in.”
While it has been on and off the market for “quite a long time”, he is now keen to auction the property and — if he gets the right price, which he declined to disclose — relocate to Cape Town.
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The owner, who is a successful entrepreneur, said he dreamed up the mansion and, although he isn’t an architect, was involved in every aspect of the design and building process, making sure every element was in line with his vision.
“I wanted this to be a fantasy space with spectacular things, where you can never get bored and somewhere the children would never want to leave."
The mansion, dubbed the Titanic House, is 60% glass windows and has a glass-floored entrance hall covering an underground water feature - which his wife has turned off because she objects to the running water sound he loves.
All of the 10 en-suite bedrooms are decorated in neutral colours and every bathroom has some kind of nod to the sea – whether it’s shell or fish motifs in the tiles or underground water scenes painted or blasted on glass.
The owner said his adult children had all since moved out of the home. This, he said, was why he wanted to move on and create a new villa-style residence in the Cape where he can build three homes on his property for his children to return to with their own families.
Should they not get their reserve price, the couple intends to stay in the house and run it as a boutique hotel, restaurant and special events venue.
"I can see the lighthouse being used as a very special place where surprise engagements can be done in private," the owner said.
Broll agent Marianna Toweel confirmed that the reserve price will not be disclosed but said the property is set to go on auction on November 21.
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