Eyewatering cost of Guy Sebastian’s ‘monstrous’ ‘Fort Guy’
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Guy and Jules Sebastian appear together
Guy Sebastian’s mansion stands on a massive block more than three times the size of the average Sydney home.
It has all the hallmarks of a luxury resort and cost about $7 million to buy, demolish, and rebuild.
But the imposing structure, cheekily nicknamed ‘Fort Guy’ by some, has been a growing flashpoint between the singer and his neighbor Phillip Hanslow since its creation in 2017.
At the time, Hanslow described Sebastian’s architecturally designed house as an “ugly fortress” buttoning itself right up to the side of the small house his wife, Carol, owns next door.
He also claimed that a ‘brick missile’ from the demolition of the existing house had damaged his property.
Hanslow’s complaints made headlines, but there are no records of him appearing before Randwick City Council to challenge the construction of Sebastian’s palace.
Now the neighbors are embroiled in a bitter legal battle: the inaugural Australian Idol winner has filed a restraining order against the 66-year-old, who has also been accused of intentionally damaging a fence on the boundary of his junction blocks.
Hanslow appeared at Waverley Local Court on Thursday with his frail wife, Carol, to ask a magistrate to adjourn the matter until he had recovered from bowel surgery and could seek legal representation.
He told Daily Mail Australia out of court that he would probably have to sell the property because he and his wife are “too old” to deal with the stress of the situation.
Sebastian’s property sits on a 1,400 m/sq block, while the Hanslows have a 325 m/sq plot. The average size of properties in Sydney is around 400 m/sq.
Guy Sebastian appears in ‘Fort Guy’, his concrete mansion in Maroubra, in the eastern suburbs of Sydney.
The house is built for entertaining, with a grand piano sitting in prime spot in the center foyer on a raised platform, so Sebastian can entertain family and friends (pictured)
The imposing structure, which has all the hallmarks of a luxury resort, towers over its neighbors
The Battle Scars hitmaker and his wife, Jules, bought the property for more than $3 million in 2013 when it was already a large five-bedroom, four-bathroom bungalow with a heated pool and tennis court.
But the then-newlyweds wanted it for themselves and immediately submitted development applications to demolish the existing structure and erect their own concrete palace, at extraordinary cost.
According to applications submitted to the Randwick City Council in 2014, the demolition cost $50,000 and the excavation of the land an additional $42,000.
Development costs totaled $3.3 million, which included $2.8 million for construction costs and another $1.5 million for fit-out.
The result was a concrete monolith that overlooks Sydney’s eastern suburbs, the Pacific Ocean and towers over many of the smaller neighboring properties.
“We didn’t grow up in houses like this,” Sebastian previously told Are Media.
‘Every day, we look at each other and say: ‘Why is it us?’ But there is beauty in feeling like an alien in your own space. You never stop appreciating it.
While the front of the property appears austere, gray and desert-like, with small windows and a curious cactus plant sticking out of the pebbles in the front garden, the rear of the structure is bathed in sunshine with huge windows.
The house is built in a U-shape and is built for entertaining, with a grand piano sitting in pride of place in the central foyer on a raised platform, so Sebastian can entertain family and friends.
Mr Hanslow arrived at Waverley Local Court in his old Ford 4WD on Thursday morning, with his frail, terminally ill wife.
Sebastian’s house is shown on the left, next to Hanslow’s house (right). Hanslow’s property is small and ends where the lawn begins on the right.
‘Fort Guy’ Is Entertainment At Best: Built In A U Shape At A Total Cost Of $7 Million
The couple spent Thursday entertaining musicians at their home, running short errands and uploading photos of designer suits to Instagram, as Hanslow fought to bring his terminally ill wife to court.
The retiree is accused of threatening to kill the singer for an argument that began over a fence. He allegedly told the pop star “I’ll put a bullet in your head” while he was wielding a hammer during an incident on January 23.
But Hanslow denies this and believes he actually said ‘someday someone is going to put a bullet in your head’.
Police raided Hanslow’s home in the days that followed, arriving at the old man’s home while he was in the bathroom.
Hanslow was arrested, charged and struck with a warrant of violence seized for Sebastian’s protection.
There was a media circus outside of court when Hanslow arrived Thursday and helped his frail wife Carol out of their battered Ford F150 4WD.
He grabbed an oxygen tank to help her breathe as he helped her into a wheelchair, telling Daily Mail Australia that his neighbor was a “vindictive” person.
Sebastian tore down the five-bedroom bungalow that was on the property when he and Jules bought it for $3.3 million in 2013.
“He’s paranoid about security and he’s got a big security camera outside, so anywhere he goes off the property, he can see…” Hanslow said.
We’re going to have to sell. We are too old for this.
His wife wore an electronic pulse monitor on her finger and expressed concern that her heart rate was too high when they entered the courthouse.
The elderly couple waited outside the courtroom, with Ms Hanslow gasping for breath, for around an hour before their matter was heard.
When they finally entered the courtroom, the court officer raised his voice and said, ‘Whoever is responsible for that beeping, can you turn it off?’
Members of the public seated in the gallery had to explain that it was Ms. Hanslow’s pulse machine.
The court officer apologized, but the old woman felt self-conscious and turned off the device.
Mr. Hanslow pulled a wheelchair for his wife from the trunk, before helping her out of the car and into the chair. Her breathing tube was visible.
He pleaded no guilty and his matter was adjourned until March 9. The AVO against him and the conditions of his bail were extended.
‘I tried to get legal assistance to represent me [but] no one was available,’ Hanslow told the court.
He also said he needed to go to the hospital on February 16 to have his “infected intestine” removed.
Later, outside court, Hanslow was asked if he was surprised to have been charged.
“I’m shocked by the whole ordeal and surprised that the police even arrested me,” he replied.
Tensions have been high between the neighbors since the start of the mammoth project in 2017
“They broke into the back of the house, broke down the door and entered the house while I was in the bathroom and arrested me and then took me out of the police station and I spent six and a half hours in jail just because of a heated argument. .among the neighbor, which I think is really overboard.’
In a stroke of luck, Mr. Hanslow’s case caught the attention of celebrity lawyer Bryan Wrench of Murphy’s Lawyers, who was in Court 2 on another matter by sheer coincidence.
Wrench has had a number of high-profile clients, including music icon Shannon Noll, NRL star Sam Burgess and Wolf Creek actor John Jarrett. On Thursday morning, she expressed interest in taking on Hanslow’s case.
‘It’s kind of great to think that these guys [the Hanslows] they are a threat. I don’t normally do this, in fact I’ve never done it before, but I’d be happy to represent you,” he told Daily Mail Australia.