Vacant Council properties spark critics

Council’s Property Department has again come under fire, this time over its failure to let two floors of the old Woolworths building in Kings Cross, vacant for over four years.

Beneath them are two floors housing the Kings Cross Library, which incorporates a mezzanine level, and Council’s one-stop-shop at street level.

“The top two floors have remained vacant, despite wonderful city views, and vast, stylish interior spaces: each floor is more than the size of two full-sized tennis courts with 7 metre ceilings,” said Andrew Woodhouse from the local Heritage Society, who also described the building as a “fully conserved, heritage-listed, art déco, green-tile-clad, confection.”

But Council says one level is set to become an extension of the library while a tenant is being sought for the top floor.

Mr Woodhouse estimates Council has foregone $1.3 million in rent, based on nearby commercial rentals.

“Sometimes with heritage buildings, it’s a case of use it or lose it,” he said. “The longer these spaces lie idle, the longer they are at risk of opportunistic, anti-heritage development applications.”

In contrast to nearby commercial projects on the market, which have extensive street signage, no ‘For Lease’ signs have ever appeared on the Council site.

Nor has the space ever been offered for community use.

However a City of Sydney spokesperson said: “The City is currently developing plans to refurbish the second floor of the building to become an extended library area with a public computer lounge and training area, meeting and function room and office space for community organisations.

“The City is actively promoting the third floor for lease, working with a real estate agent to find a suitable commercial tenant.”

The City’s preference is for the floor to house offices.

Council purchased the building under Lord Mayor Frank Sartor before the City had control of the former South Sydney Council area, and locating the library and Council shop there was a key part of Mr Sartor’s strategy to “civilise” Kings Cross by changing the mix of usage along Darlinghurst Road, complementing the first grey-granite-and-smartpole upgrade outside the CBD.

Early plans to let the space to nightclubs or restaurants fell through as such uses would have put the library beneath at risk in case of fire or other accident.

Council also owns the retail space along much of the north side of Oxford Street, Darlinghurst and remains in conflict with the Darlinghurst Business Partnership over the number of vacancies, particularly on the upper floors of number 66.

Partnership president Andrew Duckmanton says the space should be commercially leased.

“This would bring in about 100 people working in the area. If each of them spent $20 a day that would make a real difference to the retail strip,” he said.

Council announced plans to develop a food shopping mall with a three or four-star hotel on the upper levels but these have been put on hold with Council citing problems with heritage issues. Retail along the strip has been depressed since the Council upgrade of the street and there have been several rental disputes between Council and some of its small retail tenants.

“It’s atrocious,” said Mr Duckmanton. “Council owns 19 per cent of the property in Oxford Street and they’ve done nothing with it for years.”

“Meanwhile in less than two years Mirvac has bought the Crown Street Reservoir building and it’s just about ready for fitout.”