 Brisbane City Council building approval for El Nido was granted in November 1927.Expected to cost , the brick and stucco residence was one of the most expensive houses erected in Brisbane in the late 1920s.In 1927 Brisbane was experiencing "boom" economic conditions; even so, most houses were erected in timber, and in the financial year 1927–28, the average cost of an average 4-roomed timber house with kitchen and front and back verandahs was .