Commercial properties the real stars of The Block

When hit Channel 9 renovation series The Block first aired in 2003, it was rundown residential properties that took centre stage.

Old apartment blocks, rundown terraces, workers cottages and heritage semi-detached houses were all given The Block treatment as contestants vied to create winning rooms and a potential windfall at series’ end.

But in recent years, with producers looking for larger ‘blank canvases’ in which to create luxurious multi-million dollar homes, it’s been commercial properties that have come to the fore as the new stars of the show.

Here are the commercial buildings that have graced our screens over the years.

Season 7 – Biz Motel, South Melbourne

The first commercial property to feature on The Block was South Melbourne’s Biz Motel, which got a makeover in Season 7.

Branded the “Sky High” season, the creation of apartments within the shell of the former three-star accommodation saw series winners Alisa and Lisandra Fraser take home $295,000 – the smallest winner’s cheque from the last eight seasons.

The former three-star Biz Motel in South Melbourne.

The finished product from Season 7 of The Block.

Season 8 – Dux House warehouse, Albert Park

Once a Presbyterian Church before being converted in 1912 as a Dux cinema, Albert Park’s Dux House presented as the ultimate blank canvas for The Block’s couples to create their vision.

The 607sqm site featured Residential 1 zoning, with producers pouncing on the then-Lloyd Williams owned property

Albert Park’s Dux House is now a residential apartment block within.

Season 9 – Office building, Prahran

The least successful of The Block’s seasons, with some couples taking home a pittance for their months of hard work, Season 9’s Glasshouse was created within the walls of a former office block in Prahran.

Whether it was the location near busy Chapel St, the extreme amount of glass on the building’s exterior or other reasons that saw buyers shy away, we’ll never know,

The glass-wrapped office building that became The Block Glasshouse.

Season 11 – Hotel Saville, South Yarra

One of the most memorable buildings to earn a transformation on The Block, South Yarra’s old Hotel Saville was affectionately branded “The Blocktagon”, for its many-sided shape.

The eight-level hotel, which is remembered as being more than a little seedy after decades in its Commercial Rd location, was sold with a permit for 51 apartments, but just five were built within its walls, as couples were given a floor each in order to craft their homes.

The former Hotel Saville in South Yarra became the “Blocktagon”.

Season 12 – Soap factory, Port Melbourne

One of the most iconic properties ever revamped on The Block, the former J. Kitchen & Sons Pty Ltd soap factory in Port Melbourne was built around 1860, from which the Kitchens became the largest suppliers of candles and soap along Australia’s eastern seaboard.

But more than 150 years later the heritage-listed art deco property was reimagined as five three-level residences, with the series winners taking home more than $800,000 – the second-largest prize ever on The Block.

The former Kitchen & Sons soap factory in Port Melbourne.

Season 14 – The Gatwick, St Kilda

Notorious hotel and boarding house The Gatwick was a prime project for The Block, after years as a rundown destination for some of Melbourne’s most vulnerable residents.

Drugs, violence and murders have been a regular part of the property’s history, but being just moments from the beach and a part of St Kilda’s Fitzroy St retail strip makes it arguably the most high-profile renovation ever completed on the show.

Channel 9 bought The Gatwick Hotel. Picture: Yuri Kouzmin.

Season 15 – St Kilda hostel?

Not far from The Gatwick, backpacker hostel the Oslo Hotel is rumoured to have been bought by The Block’s producers, with a view to featuring it in an upcoming season.

The Block is set to makeover the Oslo Hotel in St Kilda.