Potts Point Units To Be Demolished For Packer-Backed Luxury Apartment Block
Image: Angelo Bouras/Instagram
The NSW government has approved a $91 million development application allowing the demolition of a beloved unit block in Potts Point, set to be replaced with less than two dozen luxury apartments.
The James Jacker-backed, Melbourne-based company Time and Place would see the 80-year-old Chimes building on Macleay Street, comprised of 80 studio or one-bedroom units, replaced with a new building of up to 13 storeys with about 34 apartments following years of backlash from the City of Sydney and community members.
At least 15 per cent of the block would be assigned as temporary “affordable housing”, priced lower than market rent for at least 15 years, as per the NSW government’s affordable housing scheme of giving developers extra height and floor space if they offer homes for lower-income earners.
The revised plans have seen almost 200 negative submissions raising concerns about the loss of lower-income housing, the displacement of current residents, the “excessive” scale of the project, and the intention to demolish the building rather than adapt it.
Sydney MP Greenwich condemned the plan as “the most perverse use of the affordable housing policy imaginable,” arguing it would slash 80 modest rentals to fewer than 10 affordable units.
He said the scheme was “essentially evicting essential workers to make way for millionaires” at a time when Sydney needed more affordable homes, not fewer.
Time and Place has since suggested later designs could include more apartments and a greater proportion of affordable housing.
“No identified heritage significance” government rules
The Department of Planning, Housing and Infrastructure ruled the project was in the public interest when it approved an amended concept development application last month. It also found Time and Place had demonstrated that adapting the block would not provide “reasonable building safety and amenity for residents”, and that the upgrades that met National Construction Code standards “would require demolition or major alteration and reconstruction”.
“It would be unreasonable to expect the retention of the existing building which requires substantial upgrade to comply with code and amenity requirements and has no identified heritage significance,” an assessment report said.
The department ruled the plan was in line with the future character of the area, and with the government’s intention to boost affordable housing in well-located areas.
The demolition of the Chimes is expected to take five months.
In June, the City of Sydney introduced rules limiting “net dwelling loss” to 15 per cent, but as the rules are not retrospective, they won’t apply to the Chimes.
Potts Point Preservation Group chairman Peter Sheridan said developers were treating the suburb like “another Point Piper,” and that that erasing 80 modest units for fewer luxury apartments “makes no sense at all.”
“They chase extra height, carve out views, and sell penthouses for $30 or $40 million, while the community loses its diversity,” he said.
You May Also Like
